Have you ever mourned a falling star? From PARSE regular A.J. Swoboda, comes an honest, powerful relection on dealing with the tainted histories of spiritual heroes and personal influences. - Paul

“I was burned.”

It would be impossible to count the number of times a new member to our church community has entered our fellowship with that line. Countless, indeed. And, in most cases, the pain is still throbbing. In many conversations, I hear them talk about leaving ministries with wonderful leaders, inspiring histories, and profound impact. Of course, I’ve learned to be quick to press into that pain—there’s always an important story there. Healing, after all, was (and is) a central aspect of Jesus’ ministry. I am always careful.

So, how do we learn and grow after churches, pastors, spiritual authorities, or organizations have hurt or deeply disappointed us? How do we eat the meat and spit out the bones? In search of an answer, I like pointing out ...