I came to America over twenty years ago. I’ve been able to vote since 2017 and I initially registered as a Republican, because that’s what everyone around me were. But the American system has always confused me. I came from a system with multiple parties, to one with just two. Only having two parties means a two sided, divided, system where everyone is either “one of us, or one of THEM. No matter which “side” you are on there is always an “enemy”. While I was registered as a Republican I based my voting on the character, skills, and ability of the people who I voted for. That spanned people from each party.

Each Church I’ve been in over my 20 years here has promoted one party, the Republicans, over another. They may have claimed that they didn’t talk about politics, and didn’t promote a party, but they did. Every election cycle they would hand out “voter guides” which compared each party on a set of “values” and hot topics. And the clear winner was always the Republicans.

The majority of people in the Churches I’ve been in have been staunch Republicans and it has, historically, come down to one issue: abortion. And that issue has held precedence over any other issue.

In the last election cycle our Pastor, and others, repeated the phrase “Vote for Christian Values”. As I sat there listening to the words I looked around me. Within a few feet of me were Republicans, Democrats, Independents and extreme right wing folks. All of them listened to the words of the Pastor and took them as an endorsement of their voting decisions.

And that got me to thinking….

I two people who have very different political ideals hear a message of “Vote for Christian principles” and both think that makes them correct….where have we gone wrong? Especially when each have been Christians for decades, how can two people with such differing views, share the values of Christ?

Every time the Pastor asked said “Vote for Christian Values” the far right person sat a row from me heard “Vote against abortion, nothing else matters”. I heard “Vote for candidates that best emulate everything Christ taught. And my question was always “Which Christian values”, because each side shares some.

I’d been led to believe, by Christians, that Democrats were evil. I’d also been told that there weren’t any in town, because this a christian town. But I decided to go to a Democrat meeting, just to see for myself who they really were. Do you know what I found? A group of highly intelligent people who cared more about their neighbors than many Christians I knew. And. Many of them were….Christians. And, aside from abortion, they shared far more of my “Christian Values” than most of the Republicans I know.

So….why are my “Christian Values” so left wing?

Well, it starts with Proverbs 22:6 says, which says: “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”

As a child my Church, and my mother, taught me a lot about the Bible. They taught me that we are to love all people. They taught me what a neighbor was, what a friend was, and what an enemy was, and that I was to love them all.

As a child I was taught about sacrificial love, and selfishness, and which one was important.

I was taught that Jesus words in Matthew 25:35-40 were vital.

I was taught that the words in James 1:27 summed up what our faith should look like.

I’ve attended all kinds of Church, in 5 countries, and heard the same teachings everywhere I’ve gone. That includes my current Church. It’s a universal teaching in Churches, yet for some reason it doesn’t seem to translate into having an effect in the real world for so many people.

And those teachings have shaped who I have become as an adult. A follower of Christ who knows he’s flawed. A man who sees Jesus in the poor, the destitute, the fatherless, the desperate, the outcast.

I’ve learned to look for Jesus in my friends, and my enemies.

My life and my work has been shaped by what I was taught when I was young and by my life experiences.

I call myself a Christian, but today many in America call me “Radical, Leftist, Libtard, Scum”.

And that’s OK, because I’m still clinging to the same Jesus who I was taught about as a child, and who has been with me ever since.

I’ve worked with people who live in poverty we can’t imaging, in the slums of Kenya and Uganda, who far better understand Jesus’s teachings about sacrificial love than we do in America. I’ve seen Jesus in the lives of the poor in America too. I’ve seen Christian Values in Republicans and Democrats. But I have overwhelmingly seen people vote for policies that hurt the most vulnerable in our community just because the people doing the right thing may, or may not, support abortion at a later date. I’ve seen people defend cutting services to people in the same Church as them, and even themselves, because they have been led to believe that they have to defend Republican policies at any cost.

And that is why I am now registered as a Democrat. Sure, I don’t like abortion. But I also don’t like that many Republican policies actually cause more abortions to be sought. I don’t like that abortion has to be a choice, but I also believe that it needs to be a choice between a woman and her doctor. Sure, I don’t like that a life is ended when an abortion happens, but I do believe that sometimes that is the only choice. I also believe that choosing one issue to put above all else is shortsighted.

Once upon a time, in a bright little country full of kind towns and singing churches, there came a man with very shiny shoes.

No one knew where he came from.

No one knew why his smile looked a little too wide.

But he bowed politely, spoke loudly , and said all the words the religious people liked to hear.

“Oh! He must be good,” they whispered to one another.

“He talks like us. He praises the things we praise. He must be on our side.”

And because they wanted him to be good, they believed he was good.

The man with the shiny shoes visited every town. He shook hands, he nodded earnestly, and he promised to protect everyone. The religious people cheered for him louder and louder, until even those who felt unsure felt too nervous to say anything at all.

Soon, the man with the shiny shoes asked for more power.

“Just a little,” he said. “Only so I can keep you safe.”

The religious people clapped. “Give it to him! He’s one of us!”

But as soon as he had a little power, he asked for more.

And more.

And even more.

One morning, the country woke to find posters of the shiny-shoes man on every wall. Soldiers marched through every street. And big, heavy locks appeared on the doors of anyone who dared to disagree with him.

“What is this?” cried the religious people. “We didn’t ask for this!”

But the man with the shiny shoes only smiled his too-wide smile.

“You gave me everything I asked for,” he said gently. “And now, I’m using it.”

The religious people tried to protest, but the man shook his head.

“You told everyone I was good,” he reminded them. “You shouted it from the rooftops. And now… now no one can shout louder than me.”

Only then—only once it was far too late—did the religious people see what had been true from the beginning:

They had been tricked.

The man with the shiny shoes had not wanted to join them.

He had wanted to use them.

And now their voices were gone, locked away behind the same doors that held all the others who had tried to warn them.

So the little country grew quiet…

Quiet enough for everyone, even the children, to learn a lesson whispered from grown-up to grown-up, year after year:

“Be careful who you cheer for. Not everyone who speaks well means well. And once you hand someone your voice…

…you might never get it back.”

This year I feel even more conflicted than usual.

Every year people ask me “Do you celebrate July 4th in England”. My usual response is “No, why would we celebrate a war we lost”. Invariably I get a weird look and the response “What war did England lose”.

This year I've addressed these questions differently. I've started asking:

Me: “What do we celebrate on July 4th?”....

Them: “Freedom”.

Me: “Freedom from who?”.

And again I get blank looks and the response “I really don't know”.

I get that not everyone knows history. And I know that there are historical events that I am not aware of. But this is the most important event in American history. Not just that, but Freedom is something that many Americans base a large part of their identity on.

But how can you build your identity on Freedom, especially on July 4th, without knowing what you gained Freedom from?

I see a lot of people posting about how the changes the current administration are making are making us “more free”, or “restoring our freedoms”. But they don't see the return to tyrannical rule that I see because they have no idea what tyranny was.

America has a number of mottos that feature prominently on July 4th. One is “Liberty and Justice for All”. As an immigrant, and someone who knows some modern history, I always ask “Is that true?”.

Does America really stand for Liberty and Justice for ALL? I ask this because there are people alive today who still remember segregation. There are women alive today who had to get a man's permission to buy a car, or a house.

We live in a time when some prominent Christians are freely suggesting that slavery “wasn’t a bad thing” and are advocating for women to “know their place”. Some are suggesting that women’s rights to vote should be revoked. This is America and freedom of speech means that they are free to have and share those views. BUT those views directly contradict the idea that America stands for Freedom, or that there is Liberty and Justice for ALL.

When I voice these opinions it' is often met with anger. I often get told “If you don’t like it here go home”. That shows a lack of desire to understand anything past their own viewpoint. This IS my home, and I do like it here. What frustrates me is the America they claim to love is not the America they are imposing on others. When they advocate for the very freedoms they claim make America great to be removed for others, that shows that Freedom and Justice for them is important, but that ALL part is just too much for them.

America has never had liberty and justice for ALL, but each generation has inched a little bit closer. Our generation is trying to undo decades of movement in the right direction. Good people would want to keep fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable. But so many have bought into the lie that drove the British Empire, and that America broke free from, that power and might were what made a nation great.

They believe that regressing back to a time when the government had all the power and individual freedoms were worth sacrificing for the good of the empire. They are willing for others to make that sacrifice because they seem to believe that the President and administration know what’s best “For America”. And they will only start to question that willingness to sacrifice if it affects them. Even if that happens they will believe that they will be rewarded in the end for their sacrifice, because it will make their life better. They have failed to see from history that when the powerful demand sacrifice from those they control it only ever benefits the powerful.

Many believe that the government being slow to act is a bad thing. They do not understand that the checks and balances built into our system are for the protection of our freedoms. They have been told that the government needs to work quickly to protect our nation. To do this the bureaucratic process has been cut, giving all the power to one man. They have willingly sold their protections for the promise of a quick fix to a problem they have been convinced exists. They are gleefully witnessing our government system move back to the oppressive, tyrannical one that America fought so hard against 249 years ago.

Despite their anger, despite their shouts of “go home” and despite their belief that they are following “God's will” I will continue to fight for their freedom, their liberty and their justice because they are part of the ALL that America celebrates on July 4th every year.

I am proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I will continue to stand up for those who's freedoms are being stripped away. I am a true American because I believe “If you don't like it here and now stay and be a part of the change”.

So this July 4th I am still conflicted. I will probably not ever stop being conflicted. But I'm using that to drive my passion for helping the marginalized, the downtrodden, the forgotten and the poor stand up to empire because “We The People” are powerful when we stand together.

In a time long before maps were truly trusted, when saints walked the earth with swords as well as scripture, St. Patrick of Ireland and St. George of England found themselves on a most unexpected adventure.

The Welsh Dragon’s Wrath

It began in the misty valleys of Wales, where a great red dragon had plagued the land for centuries. The beast, known as Cadwaladr’s Bane, had grown bold, torching villages and hoarding the sheep meant for honest folk. Hearing of this woe, St. Patrick—fresh from banishing snakes in Ireland—joined forces with St. George, the slayer of another fearsome dragon.

The two saints met on a stormy hilltop where the villagers had gathered. Patrick, draped in green, held his shepherd’s crook; George, clad in his red cross surcoat, leaned on his sword. They devised a plan: Patrick would approach the dragon with a barrel of strong Irish brew, luring it into a stupor, while George would strike the fatal blow.

Under the light of a full moon, the dragon slurped the frothy ale, its wings growing sluggish. Just as it belched a great puff of smoke, George leapt forth, his sword flashing like lightning. One stroke, then another—soon, the dragon was no more, and Wales was free.

The Invention of the Reuben and Guinness

With the dragon vanquished, the saints found themselves hungry. Seeking warmth from the Welsh rain, they stumbled into a humble inn where a weary cook asked, "What would noble saints such as yourselves like to eat?"

Patrick thought of corned beef from his homeland, George suggested a fine English cheese, and the cook, eager to experiment, layered it all with sauerkraut on rye bread, pressing it down with a hot stone. Patrick, always one for innovation, took a sip of his strong Irish brew and declared, "This drink should be dark as the night and thick as a dragon’s blood." Thus, the first Reuben sandwich was made, and Guinness was born.

Sailing to a New World

Satisfied but restless, Patrick and George pondered what was next. “We have defeated monsters, made new food and drink—what more is there?” Patrick mused.

"A land yet unseen," George replied.

Thus, they set sail in a sturdy ship, guided by Patrick’s prayers and George’s steady hand. After weeks on the water, they landed upon vast new shores, teeming with forests and rivers unlike any they had seen before. The locals welcomed them, and in return, the saints shared their newfound sandwich and drink. Stories were exchanged, laughter was had, and history was quietly rewritten.

And so it was that St. Patrick and St. George, dragon slayers and culinary pioneers, became the true first discoverers of America—centuries before Columbus ever set sail.

In today's Substack I want to talk to you about identity, what defines our identity AND what to do when we lose the thing about us that our identity was based on.

Before I start I have a question for you. 

How do you introduce yourself to a stranger? If we were to meet in person and I asked you to tell me about yourself…what would be the first thing you told me? “Hi, my name is… and I’m….”

It is not a trick question. For just a second I want you to pause, and think. Write it down if you need to.

I will come back to that question later a little later.

God called me to work for a mission organization at the age of 5. At that age most people have an idea what they want to be…but very few people follow through on it because, for most people, that future desire is based on a 5 year old’s knowledge of the world and themselves. 

But I neve have been “normal”. I spent my childhood, schooling and college working towards that goal. I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I "Grew Up". I knew what my identity would be.

Seventeen years later, at the age of 22, that mission organization sent me from the UK to the USA for training. By age 24 I was "in the field" doing exactly what I'd been working towards for my entire life.

I'd given up everything to get to where I was. I'd found my identity as an aircraft mechanic maintaining a fleet of aircraft for a mission organization in East Africa. I had supporters in hundreds of Churches around the UK and in the USA. I was somebody.

By the time I was 27 that had all fallen apart. I was no longer an aircraft mechanic. I was no longer a “missionary”. I was no longer doing the thing I'd been preparing for since I was 5 years old. I'd gone from being “in the field” doing exactly what I had been designed to do…to living in my father-in-laws garage using a bucket as a toilet. And no, that's not a metaphor. We’d lost everything, and were temporarily homeless.

In a matter of a few months everything that made me “me” had disappeared. I had completely lost my identity.

That was 14 years ago.

For the past 14 years I've been struggling with that question “who am I”. And I think I am finally starting to figure it out. 

Well, that isn't quite true. What I’ve figured out is that we, and I mean everyone, have been taught to find our identity in the wrong things. Everyone answers the question: “Who are you?” in the wrong way.

So let's get back to the question I asked at the beginning. What answer did you write down? 

“Hi, my name is John Piper and I am an…”.

What answer did you come up with. Can I suggest that many of you probably completed that statement with your job title somewhere in it? Or maybe it was a ministry title, or maybe you included your marital status, or information about your family?

Over the past 14 years I have had many jobs, in a number of industries. I’ve been a communications specialist (worked in a call center), a customer services specialist (worked for a payday loan company), a salesman, a sales manager, a business owner (with my name in lights on two buildings), a banker, a mortgage loan closer, and currently a Fiscal Administrator.

During my time at each company, in each industry, I would introduce myself with that job title. In many positions I would be looking for connections to aid my work. Even if I didn’t lead with my work it would often come up. When meeting new people, even socially, one of the first questions we ask is “Where do you work?”. 

Some of the jobs I have had came with over inflated job titles. “Communications Specialist” sounds so much better than “Call Center Worker”, and sounds like it should have been paid more than minimum wage. Today I have a job that doesn’t sound very special. I work as a Fiscal Administrator for a county agency. It sounds really boring and like it could be an entry level position. It isn’t. If I told you the work I did, the people who I am responsible for, and the budget I control, you’d be amazed. 

But what does where I work, and how I earn a living, tell you about me? Nothing really. My journey through various industries has been interesting. It tells a lot about the way that many people have to get promotions and advancement in their careers, but not much about me.

I could tell you that I am an author, or that I have a podcast, and in some interactions that is important. But again, in general, it doesn’t tell you who I am.

I could tell you that I grew up in a single parent family, that I’ve known emotional and spiritual abuse as a child. I could tell you about the terrible health issues I had as a child. But that is a weird way to introduce myself to a new person. It may explain, partly, why I am the person I am today…but again it does not tell you who I am.

I could tell you that I am a Christian.

And that is probably where you thought you saw this was going. But you’d be wrong. Because so few people can agree on what it means to be a Christian, and because so many people have been hurt by people who identify as Christians.

So where am I going with these thoughts? Am I going to finally tell you how you should introduce yourself? 

No. No I am not, because I don’t know the answer, and because you are all different.

But I am going to get back to my initial idea of what makes our identity.

Before I do. I want to address the loss of identity. If you, like me, have been a “somebody” in ministry, or in your job, and have lost that identity I want to say something. You have not lost your identity, you have lost a title. That title was given to you by a group, organization, or company. 

The question you need to ask, now that you have lost that title, is how did you get that title. I know that I just said that you were given it. But what I am asking is this: what led to you being given that title?

I am assuming that many of you will have answered that question with God somewhere in the equation.

And why do you no longer have that title? Maybe the organization decided it was time for you to leave, maybe you decided it was time to leave, hopefully God appeared somewhere in that equation as well, although you may still not fully understand his role in you leaving.

So God led you to an organization to do a role for which you were given a title. You served in that role, with that title, for a period of time. Then, probably unexpectedly, you left that role and no longer have that title. 

Does that mean that you’ve lost your identity?

If your identity was your job title, then yes you have lost your identity.

I know that your job title, your role, seemed like the biggest part of you. It defined who you were. But that does not mean that you have lost who you are just because someone has taken away your title.

And no, I’m not suggesting that you insist people still address you as Pastor even if you are not a Pastor any more.

So let's look at a scenario for a minute. Let's say that you were a Pastor. You went to seminary, you completed your training, you were ordained by a denomination. You were then appointed as a Pastor over a church. You served as a Pastor for a period of time. Maybe it was short, maybe it was long, it doesn’t matter. But then something happened. You didn’t do anything wrong, at least nothing that would discredit you as a Pastor, but the relationship with the Church showered and they decided it was time to go. Or maybe you decided it was time to go. Maybe you realized that this just wasn’t right for you anymore, that God was calling you to something different. Maybe the work go you so beat down that it was time to go, or maybe you'd served so long that it was time to retire. Or, maybe, you’d only been doing it a short time and realized that Pastoring was just not what you were supposed to do.

It really doesn’t matter why you stopped being a Pastor, or why that title was taken away. What matters is why you became a Pastor in the first place. 

I hope that God was a big part of that equation. But let’s take God out of the equation for just a minute. Not because I want to be sacrilegious, but because God’s leading should have been the same for any role that you chose.

So why did you become a Pastor? I hope the answer includes some of the following:

1. You have a servant's heart, and want to serve people.

2. You have a compassionate spirit, and want to meet people in their need.

3. You have empathy, and want to engage with people where they are at.

4. You are a loving person, and want to share that love with others.

5. You are humble. Your humility allows you to easily be taught. It makes you approachable by those who have been hurt by others. It makes your guidance and correction acceptable, because it comes across as kindness.

6. You are a good leader. If you exhibit all of the previous qualities you may not think of yourself as a good leader, but people follow.

If you’ve been hurt as a Pastor you may not see all of those qualities in yourself today, but they were there when you made that decision to become a Pastor. Those qualities are a part of your character. Hurt and trauma may have hidden your true character, but healing and restoration will bring your character back. 

Your job title was that of Pastor, and you lost that title when you stopped being a Pastor. But the character that led you to become a Pastor cannot be taken away.

I want to take you back to that list again and ask if it reminds you of anyone else?

Who do you know who has a servants heart, was compassionate, empathetic, loving, humble, and because of all those a good leader?

It isn’t a trick question. The answer is Jesus, who reflects the character of God. And you were made in the image of God.

So, you think you have lost your identity? Think again. Your identity is this:

1. You have a servant's heart, and want to serve people.

2. You have a compassionate spirit, and want to meet people in their need.

3. You have empathy, and want to engage with people where they are at.

4. You are a loving person, and want to share that love with others.

5. You are humble. Your humility allows you to easily be taught. It makes you approachable by those who have been hurt by others. It makes your guidance and correction acceptable, because it comes across as kindness.

6. You are a good leader. If you exhibit all of the previous qualities you may not think of yourself as a good leader, but people follow.

Just because you lost your job as a pastor, and your title, doesn’t change who you are.

So, what if you were in a position other than a pastor?

Well…the same process works for any “title” or role. Maybe you were a worship leader, maybe a sunday school teacher, maybe like me you were an airplane mechanic.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: what characteristics did you have that led you to opting for that role?

I would claim to have many of the same characteristics that I listed earlier, yet I would make a terrible Pastor. I don’t have enough humility, or patience, to deal with people every day. That does not make me a bad person, but it would make me a bad Pastor.

So my list may go something like this:

1. I have a servant’s heart, and want to help people. 

2. I am compassionate and empathetic. I want to engage people where they are at. But I am not a people person and so my way of helping is most fulfilling when it is in a practical way. When someone shares a problem with me my first thought is about how to fix that problem…which is what drew me to aircraft maintenance. I could see a problem, and fix the problem.

3. I am a loving person, and truly do want to love others. Again, not being a people person, I like to show that love in ways that are sometimes from a distance. My level of humility makes me uncomfortable when people thank me, so I like to help others from a distance.

4. I can be a good leader, but only when I’ve earned the respect of others enough for them to follow. I generally lead best in small groups, rather than leading big crowds.

Many of my characteristics made me a good mechanic. When that title was taken away did any of those characteristics change? No. But it has taken me 14 years to realize that.

Think back on those characteristics. I have a servant's heart. I truly want to love people, I am compassionate and empathetic, but I work best at a distance, in small groups, or when the people I am

helping don’t say thank you too much. All of those characteristics make for a good writer, a good podcaster, and also make for a good Fiscal Administrator.

So here is the key. My characteristics make me good at what I do, what I do does not make my characteristics. Take away my title and my characteristics remain. 

The same is true for you. Whatever your title was has been removed. You have lost that title. You are no longer a ….. But you have not lost your identity. Your identity is not your title. Titles come, and Titles go, but your character remains.

As I leave you today I want you to start thinking about what your character is, or what your characteristics are. If you have a title, and have lost that title, do a google search for “Characteristics that make a good…..” and see what it says. Do you have any of those characteristics? Go back and read the list of characteristics for a Pastor, do you have any of those, or a variation of them? It has taken me 14 years to start to work out who I am, and what characteristics I have, so don’t worry if its taking you time. Spend some time today, this week, this month, to really think about the characteristics that make you…you. Because there is where your identity lies, an not in a job title.

Once-upon-a-time there was a group of people who followed God.

They didn't like the direction their country was going and so they begged God for a leader who would "Make their country righteous again". God said "no", because He knew that you can't legislate righteousness.

Instead He wanted a relationship with His people so that they could individually strive after righteousness. But the people kept insisting that they needed a leader to enforce their Godly rules.

So God gave in, and gave them the leader that they asked for. Now there were mixed reviews of that leader. Some say that he was a man dedicated to God, others say he committed some heinous crimes.

God gave the people what they wanted. But God was right. The leader didn't make the people any more righteous than they had been, and the people ended up further from God than they were before, and more divided between themselves than they had been.

So why didn't it work? Well. The people wanted so badly to have a set of rules that everyone had to live bye. But they ended up worshiping the rules more than God. The rules were harsh, and no one could follow them all.

So God sent another leader, a very different leader, who simplified the rules in an attempt to turn the people away from worshiping the rules and back to God.

Some people listened to this new leader, and followed him. They found freedom and a way back to striving for their own righteousness. Some rejected him. Yet others took the new rules and started worshiping them...pushing themselves further and further away from God.

I'm sure you've worked out which two leaders I'm talking about?

Do you see that pattern repeating itself again? 

Today some people have become so focused on the rules, and about mandating righteousness, that they have lost sight of the one who created those rules in the first place.

Some people are so insistent on "getting the 10 commandments back in school" that they've failed to realize that they aren't even keeping the 2 commandments Jesus gave up in their own homes, Churches and lives. 

History has proven that we cannot follow rules. But we've failed to realize that God didn't want us to follow rules in the first place. God wants each of us to love Him, and love others. If we can't do the second, then we haven't got the first right.

We need to stop trying to make America righteous again through more rules that we cannot follow and have God search our hearts and remove our own unrighteousness first. 

I came to the USA in February 2004. On the 20th anniversary of my arrival I've been thinking a lot about the past 20 years. At the time I was only twenty one years old. So I've now lived outside of my homeland nearly as long as I lived there. A lot has happened in the past twenty years and this post is a reflection on one of those things.

In February 2004 I left the UK with everything I owned packed into two suitcases. I arrived in Ohio to start training as an aircraft mechanic at a mission in a tiny town whose name I couldn't pronounce. My plan was to be in Ohio for three and a half years, and then spend the rest of my life in Africa fixing airplanes for a mission there. Those plans did not turn out as I expected, but this post isn't about that.

When I arrived in Ohio I started attending a Church in the town I lived in. At first the people seemed friendly, and I felt welcomed. The Pastor did a great job of persuading me to get involved with the youth, and I spent a lot of time at the Church. But I very quickly became aware that the Church was having “issues”.

I was a member of the Church up until August of 2022, and it took me that long to realize just how deep the issues were. In that time I was more than just a member. I served on the Church Council for over seven years. That council was responsible for the finances of the Church, which is all the more reason why it shouldn’t have taken me that long to realize the extent of the issues. Once I’d realized the extent of the issues it then took me a long time to realize that staying to help “fix” the issues wasn't working, and was killing me spiritually and emotionally. Now I've been away from that Church (and in a much healthier one) I've started to see just how broken the Church is, and have started to understand why change is taking such a long time.

When I joined the Church, in February 2004, the Church had already been having issues for quite some time. The issues centered around the Pastors wife and certain women in the Church not getting on. In its simplest version certain women in the Church had beef with the Pastors wife because they believed that she should be more involved in the Church. She was a teacher, outside the Church, and a mother of three children. When they hired the Pastor they hired him, not his wife, but there was still resentment from some very vocal and powerful women in the Church. When she did get involved there were people who resented the fact that she was involved, and did not like her having any kind of authority over them. It really was a hopeless situation

Some of the people who had beef with the Pastors wife took their frustrations out on the Pastors children. Their daughter, who was the eldest, got the brunt of the abuse. She was a teenager and worked part time at the local grocery store. She worked at the checkouts bagging the groceries that people bought. The antagonists in the Church would purposefully, and very obviously, avoid her as their bagger. It would be extremely obvious when they would join a longer queue just so that they would not have to talk to her, and then refuse to move to the the shorter queue when asked. I know this happened for three reasons. The first was that the antagonists told me they did this. The second was that the Pastors daughter told me they did this. The third was that I witnessed it myself. This behavior made my blood boil. I was only six years older than her, but I knew all to well what it was like to have people hate you simply because they had an issue with your parents. I knew at that age that this was not acceptable…I just didn’t know what to do about it.

The tension between the Pastor’s wife came to a head one Sunday morning. I am still not quite sure about the details of that day. But I arrived at Church and the cops were at the Pastors house. I am still not sure who called the cops, or who the cops were called on. In truth it really does not matter. What matters are the things I heard that day, and the thing that I said.

That Sunday morning I was stood in the Church lobby looking over towards the Pastors house, which was just a little way from the Church. I asked what was going on but I’m not sure that I was even given an accurate answer, so I am not going to share it. What I remember vividly is the next thing that I was told. A woman in the Church who over the years has often been referred to as the “Matriarch” spoke. She said this: “I’ve told the Pastor many times that his daughter is demon possessed. That is why she won’t do what she’s told”. The other people in the lobby nodded their heads and agreed with her.

It is easy to look back on an event and think about what we should have said. But I said nothing. Something which I am ashamed of till this day.

I, surprisingly, have never been a teenage girl. But I’ve known hundreds of them. Some as I was growing up, and some since I’ve grown up. If the signs of being “demon possessed” are a stroppy attitude, sullenness, and a desire to do anything but what your parents tell you then many teenage girls must be possessed. I’ll add in that many teenage boys must be too. Adding in to the “normal” stress of being a teenager this girl was also suffering from the abusive behavior of the Church folk and life for her must have been unbearable.

That day we did not have a real service. After whatever happened up at the house I do not blame the Pastor. But during the attempt we had at a service I, a twenty one year old foreigner, felt compelled to speak. I stood at the front of the Church quivering in fear and said something like this:

“I was part of a Church that had major issues when I was a teenager. The Church ended up splitting because the resentment between the Pastor and the congregation was so bad that there was no change of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Church split and neither of the new Churches ever grew, because the unforgiveness choked them. If you allow this divisiveness to continue then this Church will never grow either”.

It was a bold statement for a twenty one year old foreigner to make. I am not sure who even listened to what I said. And I didn’t think about it much after that, not until recently.

It wasn’t long after that Sunday that the Pastor announced his resignation, and the Church started looking for a new Pastor. It was during that time that I started to realize just how bad the issues were in the Church. I’d always wondered how the Church was not able to afford to pay the Pastor his full wage. They had cut his pay a number of times, forcing his wife to take on more hours teaching. It did not make sense to me because there were plenty of people in the Church making enough money that their tithe should have been sufficient to pay the Pastor his full salary. It turns out that the “Matriarch”, along with a number of other influential people and families, had been withholding their tithe specifically to “Starve the Pastor out”. They had decided it was his time to go, and set about making it impossible for him to stay. At the time I knew this was wrong, very wrong, but I didn’t have the confidence or authority to say anything.

I stayed as a part of that Church for many years. The new Pastor came and was a breath of fresh air. He had completely the opposite personality of the previous Pastor. He was bull headed and did not take crap from anyone, even the antagonists. But many of the same issues continued. New people came to the Church. They came because they liked the Pastors preaching, but then they left again. Some left quickly, some were there a few years. But it became a never ending cycle of people coming, and people leaving. Over the years many people had prophesies of the Church flourishing. Some saw visions of “bus loads of people” coming into the Church. But the number of people attending Church continued to decline.

Sometimes you have to leave a situation before you can truly see what the issues are. I started attending the Church in February of 2004. I left to go to Africa in 2006, and came back again in 2010. But it wasn’t until after we left for good in August 2022 that I started to understand the extent of the issues, and it wasn’t until very recently that I started to have an idea of why the prophesies had not come true, or at least not yet.

Some of the antagonists from 2004 still attend the Church. Some have moved on, and some have died. Some, including the “Matriarch” still heavily support the Church financially and still have some unwritten control over what happens (that happens when they are dependent on your money).

The biggest issue in the Church is that there is no love. There wasn’t in 2004 and there wasn’t in 2022 when we left. Sure there may be some love and support between some people, but in general there is no love. There is an atmosphere of mild anger and resentment. Yes people meet together on a Sunday to praise God but, as small as the Church is, this is not a community of believers doing life together. We tried, for many years, to be a part of the change. But all that happened was we got wore down and spiritually broken. Every time we suggested any kind of change it was met with “we’ve always done it this was” or “that’s not how (insert name of founding member) wants it done”.

Looking back from the outside it would appear that the words I spoke as a twenty one year old in 2004 had come true. People had let their division fester and that had caused the Church not to grow.

But what about the prophesies and visions? Was God wrong, or were the people who had those visions just wishful thinking?

Prophesies and visions can, sometimes, be conditional. Sometimes God says: “I will do B if you do A first”. And that could, possibly, be the answer here. It is possible that the visions have not come true, and the Church has not thrived, because the Church did not remain faithful to Gods command to love each other.

Prophesies and visions are never scheduled to our timing. When the Israelites left Egypt God promised Moses this:

The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. (Exodus 33:1-3 NLT)

God sent Moses and the people out from Egypt to the land that He had promised to their forefathers. It had been a long time between God promising this land to Abraham, and then to Isaac, and then to Jacob, and now to Moses. That promise that God gave to each of them was true. God was going to give their descendants the promised land. Moses believed that he would experience the completion of that long awaited promise. The prophesy and vision was about to come true.

But there was conditions to that promise. For Moses and the people who came out of Egypt to see the promised land they had to remain faithful to God, and follow what He commanded them to do. And they failed to do that.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” (Number 20:12 NLT)

We know that the generation that left Egypt did not get to enter the promised land. God was so upset with their inability to obey his commands, and their constant chasing after other gods, that He kept them walking in the desert until all but three had died. The three left of the original people liberated from Egypt were Moses, Caleb and Joshua. Of the three only Caleb and Joshua entered the promised land. They were spared the fate of the others because they had faith that God could help them destroy the enemies in the promised land.

God’s promise still came true. Abraham, Isaac and Jacobs descendents did enter the promised land. But instead of Moses entering, it became his descendents. Moses saw the visions and prophesies of the promised land, but did not realize that God’s timing would make them continue one more generation.

God’s timing is not our timing. In this instance God waited for an entire generation, minus two people, before the prophesy was fulfilled.

So what does this have to do with the Church I joined in 2004 and left in 2022. The prophesies and visions were received many years ago. It hasn’t been as long as the prophesy Moses waited on and missed, obviously, but it’s still been a long time.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been pondering this question. I think I may have an answer. It may not be the right answer, but it is a possibility. I actually have two possible answers. The first is that the prophesies and visions were conditional. It is possible that God intended to make the Church thrive, but on the condition that the members learned how to love each other. There certainly was enough teaching on love. And that is a possibility. If this is the answer then the next question would be “Is it over, or is there a chance that the Church could still thrive if the members learn to love each other”.

The other possible answer is that God is biding His time. Knowing that some of those antagonists from 2004 still have influence over the Church it is possible that God is waiting for “That Generation” to die before he fulfills His prophesy. The question then would be who is included in “That Generation”. Very few people of my age, who were at the Church at the time, are left attending the Church.

Whatever the right answer is does not really affect me. At least not directly. But it is a reminder that our sins have far reaching consequences, especially if we are in a position where we have any kind of influence. It is also a reminder that we serve a God who has divine patience beyond our capacity to understand. When Jesus left earth He told his disciples that He would return “soon”. They all believed that would be in their lifetime. Over two thousand years later Jesus has still not returned. That does not mean that He wasn’t being truthful. It means that His definition of “soon” and ours is different.

God’s promises are always true. What we often get discouraged by is that His timing is never ours. Our actions have the ability to change the timeline of God’s promises being fulfilled. We serve a God if divine patience and He sometimes waits for entire generations to die before fulfilling His promise.

My prayer today is this:

Back in the days that I was on Twitter my feed was full of two kinds of people. The first was Pastors, Preachers and Sunday School Teachers who had been burned out in, and Wounded by, their ministry. The other half were those who had been hurt in Church. Now that I’ve joined Threads a similar pattern is emerging. Both groups of people are hurting. So what are WE doing about it?

Now you could say: John, I am in one of those groups. I am hurt. What on earth could I do about it? Well, by the time I finish writing this I might have an answer to that question, so keep reading and find out!

The Church is hurting. Covid exasperated that, and highlighted some things we are doing badly in Church, much of which we have been doing badly for a LONG time - decades even.

A survey quoted in Christianity Today said that three quarters of "Church Goers" are satisfied with their congregation and wouldn’t  want it to change. Also:

• 85% are satisfied with the length of the sermon, and service.

• 88% are happy with how often the church asks for money, and…

• 74% like the style of service

So if people are so satisfied with the Church, why are there so many hurting, both leaders and congregants? 

Is the survey wrong? 

No, it is not. At least, the data isn't wrong. Honestly speaking...how many of you have been hurt because the sermon was too long? Or because they asked for money one too many times? Or because the style of worship was not to your liking? All of those may be reasons to find a different Church, one more to your taste, but none of those are reasons in and of themselves that would wound you to the point of walking away from your Church.

So why does a survey say that 75% of people wouldn’t change anything about their Church when we all know that Christians  are hurting in numbers like never before?

It is because they asked the wrong questions. 

I am not here to bash the reporter at Christianity Today, or the people who conducted the survey. Their work has highlighted something important. The mask we show the world is very different to the reality within our congregations. And it is time we got honest with ourselves. Because without brutal honesty we cannot make change.

So what are the right questions to ask? Well, let's start with these:

1. Do you feel welcome in your Church?

2. Do you feel heard in your Church?

3. Do you feel appreciated in your Church?

4. Is your Church "Family" a family, or just a group of strangers who meet once a week for an hour and never get to know each other?

How many of those questions can you answer yes too? If I'm being honest, brutally honest, there have been times when I couldn't say yes to any of them, despite being in a leadership position. 

While most of my wounding came from the mission organization I worked for my healing has been hindered by hurt in the Church. For seven years my wife was the head of the women's ministry in our old Church and was badly wounded. 

Seeing her being hurt, standing bye unable to "fix it" hurt me, left me bitter towards a number of people in Church. We have both shed countless tears over the questions I just asked. 

The problem is this: We are doing Church wrong, and because of that we do not love our fellow Christians. Or, maybe, we do not love our fellow Christians...and therefore we are doing Church wrong.

Who do we blame? Leaders who have been wounded blame their congregation. Congregants that have been hurt blame their Pastor. But, truthfully, we are all to blame, all of us. 

Well those were short answers. The how we fix it is more complicated. 

A Pastor can preach for over a year on the need to love each other and a congregation still not love each other.

Churches seem to harbor the belief that "we've always done it that way" is a valid answer to the question of why we do something.

For seven years my wife tried to change the women's ministry in our Church to minister to the needs she saw the hurting women in the Church needed. But the loudest voices said "We've always done it this way, and we do not want to change". My wife and I both knew that the ministry needed to change to help those who actually needed help. My wife admitted to me one day that, since leaving the leadership role, she has been able to help more hurt women than she did in the 7 as a leader.

Some Churches have top down leadership. The leaders at the top of the denomination make changes, and its transferred down to the local Church. Some Churches give all the power to the Pastor, and he or she decide what changes happen. Some Churches have influential individuals, or groups of individuals, who either make or hinder changes.

Whatever Church structure you are a part of the issue is that we often look to others to make things change. When they don't, and we are hurt, we blame them for whatever they didn't do. 

Covid has highlighted the "issue" that I have seen for a long time that we simply do not love each other in Church. And it has highlighted a large reason why. We spend very little time with each other. If the only time we spend with people at Church is a fleeting few minutes before and after Church then I have 2 questions.

1) How can we love each other if we do not know each other? and

2) What is the point of Church?

There was a time when my wife was so hurt she wasn't going to Church. She'd been the women's leader for 7 years. Women would come up to me and ask "How's Vicky". One even asked "Can I call her". Knowing that these women were part of my wife's hurting, yet they would consider themselves to be her "friends", I was constantly confused as to why they didn't text her, call her, or send her a message on Facebook. Was their concern not genuine...or were they just uncomfortable?

If you've read my book, The Wounded Christian - a Love Letter to a Broken Child of God, then the following words may be familiar to you. As Christians when we see unsaved people struggling we have compassion for them, and want to see them healed. Yet when fellow Christians struggle with being hurt we act differently. We get uncomfortable. And that stops us from being the good friend that we should be. In the book I use the word "failure" but here I have replaced that with "hurt". Not that being hurt is a failing, but many Christians don't understand  the difference.

"Christians are scared of hurt in others because accepting it may reveal the hurt in their own lives. I know this sounds stupid because we serve a God who forgives and a Christ who died to restore us to God. Most Christians are perfectly happy with the concept of a sinner repenting, being saved, and becoming a Christian. They are willing to overlook most of the sins and hurt in someone's life pre-salvation. But those same Christians are very uncomfortable with the thought of a Christian struggling. If they see your hurt and woundedness as a struggle, or even as a result of your sin, then it gets very hard for them to "forgive". In order to accept what they perceive as your hurt they first have to be confident that God isn't condemning them for their own hurt. Jesus told us to remove the plank from our own eye before we take the speck of dust out of our fellow Christian's eye. But from their perspective that means admitting they have a plank in their eye, and that is a very uncomfortable thing to do.

Some people are quick to dismiss those that have been hurt because our hurt reminds them constantly of the plank in their own eye and their own hurt. It's not you, it's them." - The Wounded Christian - a Love Letter to a Broken Child of God.

When you spend so little time with the Church Family that you barely know them, how can you be comfortable enough to be truthful about your hurt, knowing that the people you are sharing with are criticizing and condemning you? And if you feel that way in Church then I guarantee there others feel the same too.

It is time for a revolution in how we do Church. Jesus spent every minute of every day, for three years, with his disciples. When Jesus left them they continued to spend all their time together. They were brothers and sisters in Christ because of the cross, but they loved each other because they knew each other. I've already said that change happens from the top down in most Churches. But obviously has not been working in most Churches. The revolution needs to happen from the bottom up. It starts with us.

If you are still in Church...even if you are thinking of leaving...I want to challenge you with something God challenged my wife and I to do. Find others in your Church, or even ones who have left your Church, who are "outcasts" like you, and be intentional about getting to know them. Despite a survey saying that 75% of Church Goers are happy in Church I would suggest that there are far more than 25% of your Church who feel just as unloved as you do. Be intentional in getting to know them outside of Church. I'm not talking about making a click...but about being the revolution that changes your Church. If God is not telling you to leave your Church I would encourage you to try this before making that decision to leave.

We need to make friends with Church people outside Church on Sunday. We need to be social (and this is coming from an introvert). We need to eat with people, just like Jesus did. We need to do this with the sole agenda of getting to know each other. We need to be intentional on making friends with the other people who say no to the survey questions I asked:

• Do you feel welcome in your Church?

• Do you feel heard in your Church?

• Do you feel appreciated in your Church?

• Is your Church "Family" a family, or just a group of strangers who meet once a week for an hour and never get to know each other?

My Threads Feed is full of two kinds of people. The first is Pastors, Preachers and Sunday School Teachers who have been burned out in, and Wounded by, their ministry. The other half are those who have been hurt in Church. Both groups of people are hurting. So what are WE doing about it?

Change is not going to come from the organization of Church. Its going to come from those of us who are hurt recognizing others who are hurt, and loving them.

I'd love to know how this grassroots revolution goes for you. You can join me on Threads where I am the.JohnPiper or find me on Facebook. For more information about me and The Wounded Christian Project check out my website here: www.woundedchristian.com

On January 6th, 2021, a pastor was in Washington DC for a Christian rally. While there he found himself by the Capitol Building. According to the charges against him he then found himself crossing the barrier, assaulting law enforcement, and entering the Capitol Building. In the process he also, allegedly, encouraged others to join him via use of a megaphone.

The Pastor maintains that he did nothing wrong. The prosecution has used sermons that this pastor preached, both before and after the event, to allege that not only did he do something wrong, but that He planned before hand to be a part of the attack on the Capitol. The Pastor, in his defense, has asked for his sermons not to be allowed as evidence. His claim is that the 1st Amendment, Freedom of Speech, means that he is free to preach whatever he wants. While that is not disputed he also claims that the 1st Amendment means that his sermons, which were live streamed and are available online still, cannot be used against him. The courts have ruled against him in that claim.

This could be seen as a one off error in judgment on the Pastors behalf. And, if he had admitted his mistake, I'd agree. But he is continuing to argue that what he did was not wrong. At first he argued that he did not do what was alleged. But now he has moved on to argue that what he did was not wrong.

And this is not an isolated incident.

The same Pastor has led a long battle between his Church and a local strip club. When I say local…the club is in a town 10 miles from the town the Church is in. The battle included demonstrating outside the strip club, yelling and screaming at the staff and patrons. Now, I get it, Church folks don't want a strip club nearby. But the way they went about it was anything but showing the love of Christ. It went on for years and drew local and national media attention.

According to members of the Church the Pastor also preaches that they shouldn't shop at Walmart, because Walmart supports China. He is of the strong opinion that China is an enemy of the USA. The Pastor is a local business owner who appears not to have much in the way of financial struggles. Some of his congregation, on the other hand, are at or below the poverty line in a rural area. The alternatives to Walmart are much more expensive…and sell the same brands that Walmart does.

But this isn't really about the Pastor, and what he has allegedly done. It's about the type of people that Churches elect to lead them. I recently posted something about this Pastor on Threads and was told that “his congregation will hold him accountable and he will repent and they can move on”. But when a Church is led by this kind of Pastor that rarely happens. I am speaking from experience of a number of Pastors in a number of Churches.

THIS is the danger of electing a spiritual bully as a Pastor.

We've all heard people describe Pastors that they like in this manner: “He preaches truth without holding back”, or “He preaches truth without worrying about what people will say”, or just plain: “He's anti-woke”. While certain people find these statements to be a positive they are a huge red flag. They all describe a man (because it usually is a man) who is arrogant, pig headed, and at least slightly misogynistic. While these may seem, by some, to be signs of a good leader, they are not signs of a good Pastor.

Men like this are good at “rallying the crowd”. They are good at stirring people to action. They are good at getting people to comply with them. And that's the key to the problem. They like the power and control that they have, and they don't like giving it up. The problem is that the same characteristics that may make them a good Preacher are the complete opposite of what is needed for their job…as a Pastor. Inevitably they will hurt the very people they are trying to Pastor.

If they are clever, which many of them are, they will have stacked their Churches “oversight” in their favor. I’ve seen Pastors stack their council with friends, relatives (who are just distant enough to meet their anti-nepotism rules) and “yes men”. You may well have met Pastors like this. They refer to themselves as “senior Pastor” even when they are the sole Pastor. If there is ever a debate over the right thing to do they will quickly remind you that this is “their Church”, or even that they are “the Pastor that God has appointed”. Typically this type of man ends up in a non-denominational Church, or a denomination with little hierarchical accountability.

In everything I’ve said so far it should be very easy to spot these men, and not appoint them as Pastor to your Church in the first place. If only it was that easy! They rarely start off at a new Church exhibiting all the signs. It often starts subtly. They are leading a Bible study and when someone disagrees with them they shut them down right away. They might remind them that they went to seminary, and you didn’t. Those in the Bible study might just chalk that response up to them being “assertive”, but dismissing others opinions isn’t assertive…it's the first sign of a spiritual bully.

They will be at an event and things are going wrong. They, like everyone else, will be getting frustrated. The more frustrated they get the more the anger starts to slowly seep out. As that anger gets to the surface they will lash out at someone that they think is weak. The people around them will be uncomfortable. But they will excuse it as the Pastor being “passionate”. But it isn’t passion, it’s frustration and anger. We all get that way. But a good Pastor should be able to see the frustration building and divert it in a more creative way. A spiritual bully may well tell themselves that the person they are taking out their frustrations on can “take it”. Many times its someone that they do not respect because they see them as “weak”, and sometimes it is even their own wife.

These may seem like insignificant things. So the Pastor is assertive and mildly angry. He is a passionate and assertive preacher who really tells it like it is. And every time an excuse is made it makes it harder and harder to make a change, or make the Pastor accountable.

As time goes bye these incidents become more frequent, and so do the excuses. Some of those who have been hurt leave the Church, and others replace them. Some who have been hurt stay, because they feel pressured to do so. Some who stay start to emulate the Pastor. Their anger and bullying is accepted and excused by the Pastor, and so by the rest of the Church.

Jesus said that we would be known by our love for each other. Love is a gift of the Spirit and something that needs to be encouraged and exercised. When the leader does not exhibit that gift, or encourage it, or exercise it then there should be little surprise when there is little love in the Church.

If you are reading this and crying because your Church is like this I have some encouragement for you. If you’ve spoken up and tried to make change, or if you’re so beat down that you can’t even think about speaking out, read these words. You do not have to stay. If you feel like you are spiritually dying in the Church then, for your own sake, get out and find another Church. Especially if you’ve realized that you are becoming like the Pastor…especially if you hear yourself parating his words and mimicking his abusive nature.

This has all been doom and gloom so far. But there is hope. If you are looking for a new Church here are my recommendations. Don’t just talk to the Pastor, talk to those around him. When visiting a Church go a number of times. Ask the congregation about the Church. If the ONLY thing that they talk about is how good of a sermon the Pastor preaches…this might be a red flag. If they tell you how much the Pastor loves his wife…this may be a good sign. Ask about the Pastors relationships with his children. Go to events and observe the Pastor and people organizing them. When times get stressful how do they handle the stress, and the arguments. Do they handle them well? There is nothing wrong with an argument, it’s how the people involved apologize afterwards that tells you their true character. Go to a Bible study. Find something you disagree with, or that you don’t understand, even if its something small and question the Pastor. Observe and see how many people have input in discussions, is it just the “elect” or is everyone encouraged to participate.

And then ask this question: “When was the last time the Pastor and his family were struggling, and what did the Church do to help them”. The response will tell you a lot about the love in the Church.

Great preaching and good worship are two things that people put high on their criteria when looking for a Church. But great preaching and good worship without love is like a clanging gong.

When we first met the Pastor of our new Church he told me that he didn’t really like preaching. It seemed odd to find a Pastor who was not in love with the sound of his own voice. But that statement has proven to be a good indicator of the type of man, and leader, he is. He is good at preaching, but he is even better at his actual job…being a Pastor.

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If you'd like to read more from John checkout The Wounded Christian Project here: www.woundedchristian.com

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Have scriptures like Psalm 56vs4 been weaponized against you because you have been overwhelmed by fear?

Join John today as he exposes the lie that we've been taught about fear.

I also share a major milestone that we are just about to hit, and an update on how YOU can be a part of the NEXT that God has for our ministry.

I share with you a song by For King and Country that I used to HATE, explain the accounting principle of "Sunk Costs" and, if that wasn't interesting enough, tell you that sometimes you have to cut the ties holding you back.

A Mini Series that exposes the lies you've believed that hinder your healing.

Todays episode looks at the two more lies: That "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" means a Christian life is easy AND that "God can only do good things in our lives.

In todays episode I look at the Old Testament and New Testament and show that we've been lied to about the character of God. By believing those lies we have been hurt and our healing has been hindered. Join me as I examine the truth about God's role in pain and suffering, and how knowing the truth can aid in our healing.

In this episode I reference a poll (now closed) on Twitter. If you don't already follow me on Twitter...why not? I am @notTHEjohnpiper. Sometimes I have deep and meaningful things to say, or share from others who are deeper and more meaningful than I am.

"Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that if you have mildew it is because God caused it. What I am saying is that God does sometimes cause bad things to happen". - John Piper, c. Yesterday. 

Todays episode looks at the first lie: "Fear God". It uncovers the lie and then delves into the truth about God's character.

In todays episode I look at the accounts in the Old Testament that, at first glance, seem to show God as angry. I address the truth that God never changes. And show how a God who some see as being fearful is the same God that I can say this about:

"Every time you turn your back on God He looks at His son, and remembers His mercy." - John Piper, c. Yesterday. 

We have found a Church that is a "Safe Place" for people who are hurt as they move along their healing journey. In 2023 we want to put a "Book in Every Church" as a may to educate Church leadership on the need for their Church to be a "Safe Place" as well.

We need your help, and its a simple as sending us a Facebook Message, and email, or filling out a form on the website.

The website is www.woundedchristian.com and our email is woundedchristianproject@gmail.com

Listen to todays episode to hear how our healing has sped up in the last 6 months, how that ties into our goal for 2023, and how you can help us achieve that goal for your Church. 

I want to look at two instances in the Bible where people looked back and asked “What If” and how it led to them not achieving the “Next” that God had for them. These are cautionary tales and my aim is to encourage you to look ahead with anticipation, rather than back with resentment, so that your suffering will be turned to joy, rather than death and destruction.

It is time to stop looking back, and start looking forward to the "Next" that God has for you.

"You are God’s child. He loved you at your worst. He is proud of the person you are becoming. He already knows the person you will be. And He has no time for the negative lies that you have believed about yourself".

"God has not brought you this far to make you beg him to take you the rest of the way!".

Whatever you have been through the pain, and even the shame, will be temporary. God has a “next” for you and He to complete together. The season of grief and of weeping is over. It is time to stand up straight, dry your eyes, and move forward with God into the next part of your life.

www.woundedchristian.com

Has your pain made you feel worthless? Do you feel unseen?

Are you hiding in the desert waiting to die? Take heart...God sees you!

www.woundedchristian.com