Hurting in the Church


Book Description

“Hurting in the Church provides a psychologically wise and spiritually profound path forward for Catholics who have been abused, traumatized, or wounded by other Catholics — especially those in leadership. Chapter 10 on how to recover one’s belief in and love for the Church is worth the price of the book alone!” -- Sherry Weddell, Best-selling author of Forming Intentional Disciples “An honest and much-needed book that addresses ... the many Catholics who feel marginalized, ignored, hurt, insulted and even abused by the Church.”—Fr. James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage “It took courage for Father Berg to write with such honesty and transparency, and his courage will give you courage—not only to confront sin and weakness within the Church, but also to give God another chance to help you rediscover him within the embrace of the Church despite the failings of her members.”—Fr. Jonathan Morris, author of New York Times Bestseller, The Way of Serenity “Here is an unflinching examination of the Church’s brokenness ... along with practical advice and the promise of hope for the challenging path forward. Fearless in his assessment, Father Berg is equally confident that in Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can move toward healing and wholeness.”—Cardinal Timothy Dolan ABOUT THE AUTHOR Father Berg is professor of moral theology and vice-rector at St Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY. He earned his doctorate in philosophy at Rome’s Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. In addition to scholarly work in bioethics, he has also been published or quoted in Homiletic & Pastoral Review, Crisis Magazine, First Things, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. An avid runner, hiker, and cigar aficionado, he escapes as often as he can to Cape May, New Jersey.




Healing Your Church Hurt


Book Description

If you’ve been part of a church, you have probably suffered a “church hurt”—or know someone who has. Maybe the pastor had an affair or the congregation fought over money or the leaders were disguising gossip as “prayer.” Stephen Mansfield knows how it feels. Though he is now a New York Times bestselling author, he was a pastor for more than 20 years, and he loved it—until he learned how much a church can hurt. Yet he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he ought to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to choose the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with brotherly love, showing you how you can be better than ever on the other side of this mess—if you’re willing to start Healing Your Church Hurt. Previously published as ReChurch.




Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence


Book Description

When a low-income person asks your church for help, what do you do next? God is extraordinarily generous, and our churches should be, too. Because poverty is complex, however, helping low-income people often requires going beyond meeting their material needs to holistically addressing the roots of their poverty. But on a practical level, how do you move forward in walking with someone who approaches your church for financial help? From the authors of When Helping Hurts comes Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence, a guidebook for church staff, deacons, or volunteers who work with low-income people. Short and to the point, this tool provides foundational principles for poverty alleviation and then addresses practical matters, like: How to structure and focus your benevolence work How to respond to immediate needs while pursuing long-term solutions How to mobilize your church to walk with low-income people With practical stories, forms, and tools for churches to use, Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence is an all-in-one guide for church leaders and laypeople who want to help the poor in ways that lead to lasting change.




Church Hurt


Book Description

The body of Christ is full of people who have been wounded by Christians or the church. Author Dr. Angela Corprew-Boyd helps the hurting recognize they are not alone and provides them with wisdom and knowledge to reach out to Christ and receive deliverance from wounds that have made them bitter, resentful, and less effective in ministry. Church leaders and laypeople will benefit from Dr. Corprew-Boyd’s testimony and teaching. Once crippled by wounds inflicted by her pastor and trusted members of her church family, the author describes how she found healing and offers words of comfort and practical advice for readers grappling with their own church hurt. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledgement, reaching out to God, and, finally, forgiveness of others and oneself. Her message serves as a crucial reminder that there is hope for the future in spite of what our adversaries have said and done. Topics covered include the many possible sources of church hurt, how to recognize when a wound is still open, how woundedness can be transferred to church members, and the process of healing.




Where Is God When It Hurts?


Book Description

Gold Medallion Book Award Winner. Over a million copies sold. An inspirational classic for more than thirty years,?Where Is God When It Hurts??honestly explores pain—from physical wounds to emotional and spiritual pain—and sheds new light on God's presence in our suffering. "How can a loving God allow this to happen? God is either all-loving or all-powerful, but he can't be both." You've heard that question, and perhaps you've even asked it yourself. When a loved one dies, we receive a terminal diagnosis, or natural disasters strike, people often wonder whether God is the?cause?of suffering and why he doesn't immediately take away the pain or fix the situation. As a result, we become angry at the once-beloved God who betrayed us. Bestselling author Philip Yancey uses examples from the Bible and from his own experiences to show us how we can learn to accept—without blame, anger, or fear—what we don't understand. Along the way, he answers questions such as: Why is there such a thing as pain? Is pain a message from God? How should we respond to suffering? How can we learn to cope with pain? Where Is God When It Hurts??speaks to everyone who thinks that suffering doesn't make sense. With compassion and clarity, Yancey brings us one step closer to finding an answer when our pain, or the pain of those we love, is real and we are left wondering,?where is God when it hurts? "One of the most helpful treatments of the problem of evil that I've ever read. If I were looking around for something to give to individuals who are going through travail or difficulty, this is the book I'd recommend." —Dr. Vernon Grounds, former Chancellor of Denver Seminar




When Home Hurts


Book Description

Dealing wisely with domestic abuse in the church




Wounded by God's People


Book Description

'I believe there are many of us who have been wounded by God's people. And I believe there are those of you who have been so wounded, that you have confused God's people with God, and so have run from Him. The purpose of this book is to help you get past your wounds...to move forward into the joy and fellowship of God's presence, claiming the fullness of the blessings He has for you. God loves the wounded. I know.' In her most personal book to date, much loved author Anne Graham Lotz looks at a deeply painful question: what to do when we suffer rejection and hardship at the hands of other believers. Drawing on the story of Hagar, Abraham's mistreated servant, Anne shares the good news of healing and hope, offered by a God who loves us all - especially those on the periphery. An inspiring blend of Old Testament narrative with the author's own experience, this is a book that will show you that, just like Hagar found, 'you can't outrun God'.




Wounded in the Church


Book Description

Church should be a safe place, right? Then why do so many get hurt there? Ray Beeson and Chris Hayward combine their years of ministry experience to address head-on the elephant in the room: church members and church leaders hurt Christians. All the time. And the long-lasting effects—rejection, shame, despair, loneliness, fear—can be devastating. The authors have witnessed the rise of the “dones,” those who are just done with God thanks to scars from church. With first-person stories of hurt and loss, this book is a wake-up call for any who deny woundedness in the church but is also a redemptive message for any who hurt from church wounds. Leaders and laypeople alike will learn how to grieve over abuse, to leave unhealthy attitudes and patterns that cause pain, and to trust in God’s real, delivering work through churches that build up, not tear down. Thanks to the grace of God, there is always hope beyond the pain.




When Helping Hurts


Book Description

With more than 450,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out.




Where Is God in All the Suffering?


Book Description

Suffering and evil affect us all, both at a general level, as we look at a world filled with injustice, natural disasters and poverty, and at a personal level, as we experience grief, pain and unfairness. And how we think about and process the reality of pain is at the heart of why many people reject God. Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing is no stranger to pain and gives a heartfelt yet academically rigorous examination of how different belief systems deal with the problem of pain. She explains the unique answer that is found in Christ and how he can give us hope in the reality of suffering. This empathetic, easy-to-read and powerful evangelistic book is good for both unbelievers and believers alike. It will help those hoping to answer one of life’s biggest questions as well as those who are either suffering personally or comforting others.