WHOSOEVER HEALS PASTOR RONI

W H O S O E V E R H E A L S

Whosoever heals means that you can bring your broken pieces to the One who can take them and create wholeness. This month’s Blaque/Out theme reflects the last 2 years’ of a safe space for our community. With that in mind, we need to talk about church hurt. What does it mean? Why are so many of our people walking away from the Church? Well, if we all feel like Zayveon Paster and their editorial from May 2022, then it is that Christianity is the most discriminatory of all world religions. I would have to say that when the rubber meets the road that I respectfully disagree. The church hurt would seem to support Paster’s take. Unfortunately, it is the relationships with people that hurt us, not the time we spend in relationship with God. Psalm 34:22 says, “[t]he Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate”. God’s gives the healing because you are not meant to be in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness. Bishop Malik L. McFarley did an interview with Javannah Davis for “Living in the Light: Church Hurt” in November 2020 and he did an excellent job of sharing his story of maintaining his faith during a time when so many would have probably given up. Bishop says that the closest that he came to slipping into what would have amounted to church hurt was just before he came out because of the concern over being ostracized. This is the moment where so many are unable to see beyond man into the heart of God. Bishop was and his life is the testimony. The accountability of church hurt must be laid at the feet of those who it belongs to which are those that try to stand on tradition rather than relationship. We can no longer allow this to have power over our journey. Church hurt may have left you with scars, but that does not mean you should become callous to a relationship with God. If you have spent time in church, then we must recognize that humans are frail, flawed, and fickle. God is the foundation for a faith relationship. Your hurt is acknowledged and respected, but don’t let someone else’s error in judgment keep you from your blessing. Now is the time for WHOSOEVER to heal from church hurt!

- Pastor Roni

P H O T O B Y : P R E S T I G E P O R T R A I T S

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