“We are doing great damage to countless people and to God’s church because people destroyed by abuse perpetrated by the powerful cannot use the fullness of their God-given gifts to bless His body. Those perpetrating the abuse are not gifting the church as God intended either.” Diane Langberg, Ph.D @ DianeLangberg on X (Twitter.com) April 22, 2024 Damage
The damage is not limited to the direct targets of abuse. It encompasses those within the church indirectly affected. It severely compromises the witness of the church to the watching world. When God sets all things right, woe to those who abused, to those who enabled, to those who were silent. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!” Matt. 18:7 NASB