There is no hurt like church hurt. Moral failures, abuse scandals, doctrinal disputes, financial indiscretions, leadership failures, relational strife- these things threaten (and often succeed) at splitting churches right down the middle and leaving countless Christians wounded, confused, and frustrated. To many, the amount of pain church often delves out makes it seem not worth staying in. Church is messy. It’s broken.

But at the same time, if we love Jesus, we have to continually ask what Jesus loves. In his book, “Broken but Beautiful”, J.P. Conway writes about the “resilient beauty” and powerful, yet often untapped means towards human flourishing the church gives us. Yes the church is broken, but there’s more. She’s beautiful.

How do we show grace in the church towards those who hurt us? How do we pursue unity and love in the midst of brokenness and pain? What do we do when we feel like giving up on church altogether?