Is the church a safe place to lay bare your soul?
That is the question posed by my friend Tanya Marlow in a recent article on the PremierChristianity blog. You can read it here: http://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Can-you-wear-a-bikini-to-church.
She asks a number of uncomfortable questions: can I show my whole self here and still be loved? Which would you find more vulnerable - turning up to church dressed in swimwear or admitting to your home group that you have a problem with alcohol; would I still be welcome if people knew my faults?
Tanya concludes with a plea for pastors and leaders not to communicate or model that we have to be perfect. Surely if they are prepared to model vulnerability it becomes so much easier for everyone else: “ If a pastor can lay bare her or his soul, with all its cellulite and sin, then the church may feel they can also be honest.”
I think that’s a crucial question.
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What makes a good team-building leader? The characteristics of a good team-developing leader are a corollary of the characteristics of a good team. In our case it is a corollary of the purpose of the church and the reason God acts. We are building teams for building a biblical church, we need to have a clear view about what a biblical, God-glorifying church is
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Helpful questions on why you choose to belong to the church you do
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