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Christians, especially church leaders, often think that the best way to attract the unchurched or reconnect with the de-churched is to water down or whitewash our teaching. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
In his book Hurting with God, author Glenn Pemberton recounts a story of a discipleship group he was a part of years earlier that cemented this lesson for him:
Years ago, I was part of a small group in Denver that read one of the harsh imprecatory psalms together, discussed it, and then asked, “Would it be appropriate to read or pray this psalm in church on Sunday?” The group custom was for everyone to answer the final question, no exceptions. Our answers were diverse—some yes, some no, some if the circumstances were right. Then a relative newcomer to our group responded. She had lived through years of a difficult journey, growing up in a faith community, leaving, and only making a return in the past few months. She only said, “I think that if I had grown up in a church like that I would have never left.”
