Where Do You Go To Church?

This is the number one question I am asked since returning to Birmingham. Honestly, I get sick of this question. The truth is, most people don’t understand (or want to understand) the spiritual abuse that I have suffered from the church as an institution so the idea of attending church still is not terribly appealing to me. There is this predominate feeling, especially in the south, that you must be in a church so that you can get right again. It is hard when the place you hoped to find solace is the very place devastation occurred.

I haven’t attended church regularly for almost 2 years. Yes, that is right – 2 years. I have, however, attended a recovery group for almost a year that has had a tremendous impact on my life.

What do you do if you have been through spiritual abuse? Where do you go? Early in my recovery process, my counselor gave me permission to NOT attend church. That blew my mind! Not attend church, how can that be? However, that was the most freeing piece of advice given. If you have been through spiritual abuse, I give you permission to take your time getting back into church. It is ok. When you start back (if you decide to), it is ok to ask questions.   Where did I go for help? I found a great counselor and I attended a great recovery group. If you are in the Birmingham area, I would recommend Mark. If you are in the Dallas area looking for a support group, then check out this site.