Wounded Minister: Healing from the Hurts of Ministry The Gathering 2019 Friday, January 11 Chris Bounds

I. The Twofold Problem of Sin and the Church

The Meaning of the Name “Jesus” “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

The Twofold Problem of Sin “And forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive those who have trespassed against us.” Matthew 6:12

The Crucible of the Church “The Church is the way God makes people holy…where else will you learn to love your enemy, forgive the one who spites you…to leave the Church is to leave the very means God has established to make you holy.” Martin Luther Larger Catechism

II. How Does Jesus Save Us From Our Sins?

(A) Jesus Succeeded Where the First Adam Failed “Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18-19 “Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” I Corinthians 15:45

(B) Jesus Assumed Full Human Nature to Redeem All Human Nature “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15 “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” I Corinthians 15:21-22

(C) Jesus In His Humanity is the Pattern and Example for Our Lives “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” I Peter 2:21 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 22:34

III. Healing from the Hurts of Ministry

(A) Facing the Past We Must Be Honest about What Happened (We Don’t Cover it Up, Explain It Away, Blame Ourselves, Make Excuses for the Other) “Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin that is left over without any excuse…and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness and malice…” C.S Lewis’ Essay “Why Forgive?” We Must Embrace the Feelings of Hurt (We Must Walk into and through the Pain, not away from or around It) “The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds deeply than to understand them…” Henri Nouwen The Christian Experience of Forgiveness We Must Confront Our Resentment (We Must Own Our Anger) “Forgiving involves letting go of the hatred or resentment toward the persons who have wounded us…we must admit though that we resent those who wronged us, for a part of us hates them for what they did.” Stephen Seamands Wounds that Heal

(B) Living in the Present We Must Bear the Pain of Injustice (We Need Justice, but Must Bear the Pain of Injustice) “In every great forgiveness, there is enshrined a great agony.” H.R. Macintosh The Christian Experience of Forgiveness We Must Take Responsibility for Our Sinful Attitudes and Responses to the Sin Against Us We Must Release Those Who Wronged Us (We Must “Let Go” and Relinquish Control of What Happens to Them) “The word forgive in the English language is an extended and strengthened form of the verb ‘to give’. By intensifying the verb we speak of giving at its deepest level, of self-giving, of giving forth and giving up deeply held parts of the self.” David Augsburger The Freedom of Forgiveness

(C) Moving Forward to the Future We Must Take Responsibility for Ourselves (If We Let Go, There Is No One to Blame, but Ourselves) We Must Work for Reconciliation (to the Extent It is Possible)

When We Don’t Want to Forgive “If you can’t come to God with a broken heart, come to God for one. So if you can’t come to the cross with a willing heart to forgive, come there for one.” “Then Came a moment when instantly my pleading was interrupted by an amazing awareness of Christ in me, and from that center where He and I were mysteriously one, forgiveness was extended to my enemy. It was as if Christ in and through me forgave the person. I was able to forgive.” Leanne Payne The Healing Presence