What does the seared conscience of an abuser look like? This person does not feel proper guilt or shame for his abominations as his conscience has been seared, as with a hot iron. After ignoring his conscience repeatedly over and over, his conscience has become calloused and no longer functions to warn him that he is in danger.
In this broken world that awaits redemption, we often find ourselves frustrated by injustice. We see the tears of the oppressed and see that power is on the side of the oppressor. We wonder where God is. Yet there is a godly yearning for justice that is a longing of the righteous.
In spiritual abuse, oppressors inappropriately bind the conscience of others to their own advantage to control them. Learn how a properly calibrated conscience resists spiritual abuse and leads us to true freedom. Who is the Lord of your conscience? How can we be courageous when facing powerful oppressors who can harm and hurt us?
Counterfeits. We need to be able to detect them in order to not be defrauded and victimized. Take counterfeit money for example. It imitates the real thing, but is not real. If you are fooled, you’ll suffer harm. The $100 dollar bill you just handed me to pay for my $10 widget better not be… Read More »
As a Christian, using power the right way is important because it reveals what we value and who we worship. But what is the “right way”?
“A day is coming for us when there will not even be a doubt, … not even a wondering if the love of Jesus for you is more deep and high and wide and long, then you can possibly fathom.” – Alasdair Groves
Ed Welch did a session asking us to consider ways we can be growing as a church in light of what we have been learning this weekend. He asked us to consider how our church can be a place of healing? (How has our church already been a place of healing in the past?) Ed… Read More »
“The wrong hope will inform how you think about your circumstances and it will leave you in pieces. Or Christ your real hope will find you in pieces and move you toward an unmovable peace.” – Julie Lowe
Mike Emlet’s General Session was about trauma’s effect on the body. “Trauma is one of those places where suffering deeply impacts the body.” Dr. Emlet recounted how in his earlier days he butchered a ministry opportunity with a vet, by not being attentive to his bodily suffering. “In helping traumatized individuals, we don’t want to… Read More »
Darby Strickland’s main session included an invitation to vulnerability. Scripture calls us to lean into God and fellow believers in seasons of deep anguish. It is not good for us to be alone. But vulnerability requires opening up oneself to another and that can be scary. For those who have been traumatized, there may be… Read More »