14 Comments

  1. “Yes, we are called to hold each other accountable but this is to be done with their best interest in mind. Not out of our own pride and sense of piousness.”

    This! When we truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will do exactly this.

    • melissa

      Yes, church hurt takes place when the accountability comes from a place other than love. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!

  2. This is such a touchy subject. Unless everyone involved is willing to keep their eyes on Jesus there is rarely a good outcome. It’s definitely something we should approach through prayer.

    • melissa

      Prayer is always the best course of action! And through prayer there are definitely times that God calls us to reach out to others in love and kindness. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!

  3. My pastor always says “church isn’t a country club.” We can’t be selfish about what we want, but rather need to find out what others’ want and what speaks to their faith.

    Thank you for sharing this!

    • melissa

      I think I would love your pastor! Selfishness eats away at so much of our life and relationships if we don’t actively pray and push against it. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!

  4. Yes, we are called to be in community and not neglect meeting with one another. Our lives can be messy and we as sinners can hurt one another. But, it’s not about us. We can’t recoil from the mess, but need to press into it. We reflect Jesus to others as we live together in harmony, admonishing and loving each other well.

    • melissa

      Such great points Katie! We are so messy but Jesus loves us through our messes and we are called to do the same for the people around us. Thank you for reading and sharing your insights! God bless!

  5. I am so in agreement with this. We should always have restoration as our heart motive. I would be heartbroken if I ever led someone astray because I would feel like I broke Jesus’ heart first and foremost! Thank you for your tender and honest post! xo Donna

    • melissa

      Yes, I wish more people thought of the potential lasting negative ramifications of confronting people without love in their heart. Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts! God bless!

  6. As a young believer I was one of those people who left the church and wanted nothing to do with it. God brought me back and brought forgiveness to my heart. And while we were missionaries we were able to introduce the girls who came to live with us from prison to our church family.

    I like what you said about doing things out of love. I always caution people to talk with their elders or pastors before attempting to bring church discipline to other members of the church as that should fall to the leaders. Yes by all means we should each love and encourage one another to do what is right according to the Bible but in my experience and the what we experienced with our girls, most of the “discipline” and therefore church hurt that occurred were from well meaning Christians who didn’t know the whole situation and took it upon themselves to discipline myself or our girls.

    • melissa

      I’m so glad that you listened to God when He lead you back to the church! Yes, we first need to seek God’s counsel and then leaders of the church. We also need to ensure that we are assuming situations. Thank you for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts and insights. God bless!

  7. “Yes, we are called to hold each other accountable but this is to be done with their best interest in mind. Not out of our own pride and sense of piousness.”

    So true. We really do have to check our own motives sometimes. Thanks for writing. God bless!

    • melissa

      It can be easy to do something because we think it is ‘right’ but we need to pray for God’s guidance and timing. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. God bless!

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