Thursday, March 31, 2005
Heartbroken...
Jesus Outside The Box writes about her first ever churchless Easter. (HT: SmartChristian) She shares a very personal story about how her struggles with infertility made her feel alien in the church.
My wife and I are infertile without the later blessing that she has received. I understand, at least as well as a husband can understand, what she means when she says:
Instead, I shall chastise the church for not reaching out to her. Right in Rebecca's story I think we see the great problem with the church growth movement. They worry so much about who they are attracting that they roll right over those they have. The church should be a place that we believers go for worship and recharging. Then we go out and be the attractive ones. If we cannot minister to those in already in the church, how can we possibly expect to minister to those outside of it.
Shame on the church she turned to -- I hope there is another in her community that will reach out to her.
My wife and I are infertile without the later blessing that she has received. I understand, at least as well as a husband can understand, what she means when she says:
So when I decided that I needed to connect with someone who could wade with me through the crap and help me understand why God was allowing this, I decided to give church a try. But, when I looked around I felt surrounded by families with children, and I couldn't figure out where in your church would be a safe place for me. I tried my best, but, honestly, my best didn't amount to much. I was too broken. I felt like I was walking around without any skin on - just totally raw - and I was afraid to risk anymore pain, so the last thing I wanted was to go to a Bible study and listen to moms talk about their babies.I would very much like to challenge Rebecca's conclusions about church, but because of how much I share her pain, I know that an argument is not called for in this instance.
Instead, I shall chastise the church for not reaching out to her. Right in Rebecca's story I think we see the great problem with the church growth movement. They worry so much about who they are attracting that they roll right over those they have. The church should be a place that we believers go for worship and recharging. Then we go out and be the attractive ones. If we cannot minister to those in already in the church, how can we possibly expect to minister to those outside of it.
Shame on the church she turned to -- I hope there is another in her community that will reach out to her.
