The pastor of a small local church is called to come help with a family torn apart by physical abuse.. the family members belong to his church. Yes, it does happen in the church, unfortunately. Where does one start?
There are some basic principles of operation that we must use in order to fulfill our responsibility in Christ to assist in times of crisis.
- First, we must confront the situation head on. We must know the facts as best we can. We must do so with an open mind.
- Second, we must, if possible, talk with the responsible parties. We need to offer comfort and support, motivated by love. Although Jesus never excused sin or the sinner, He was willing to love and pardon. Each individual needs to be heard and offered a clear opportunity for restoration through repentance.
- Third, keep all communication confidential. Where necessary, squelch the rumors and gossip. There is a natural human tendency to want to know all the details.
- Fourth, offer continued ministry from the church so that continued restoration might occur. This could include ministry in areas of victim assistance (church support for needed counseling, etc.) and prison outreach.
Whatever we do, when one of our own is wounded, even if self-inflicted, we must be willing and able to bind up their wounds and allow healing to occur. We must not shoot our wounded. Most of our churches today are ill prepared to handle such emergencies that will inevitably happen within the family, and the family of God.
Few churches have trained laity or pastoral staff who can help in times of real crisis. Yet it is precisely there, between the rock and the hard place, that the love of Christ, carefully and judiciously applied, can most fully and completely “heal the broken hearted and set the captive free.”
This course has been created to assist the first responder; whether pastor, counselor, domestic violence volunteer, or chaplain. There is a critical need for trained staff to care the those suffering in the midst of a crisis.
The crisis may be health related, weather related, or the result of an unhealthy relationship just to name a few. The possible sources of a crisis are numerous. Whatever the crisis may be, help is needed by those walking through the unfortunate circumstances.
