Thread by @tisaiahcho

People aren't looking for a perfect, sinless church. No, they are looking for a humble and repentant church that takes its own sin seriously and has a keen eye for uprooting systems of oppression and abuse within its own pews. They want a church that truly loves Jesus and people.

Especially for those who have experienced any form of spiritual abuse, the remarks "there's no such thing as a perfect church" and "a church is perfect until you join it" seem to make light of real disfunction, abuse, tyranny, and oppression in the visible church.

Wholesale generalizations of people being commitment-phobic, having weak or lacking true faith in Christ, having a disdain for the church, etc. because of a heightened caution in joining a local congregation perpetuates the cycle of empowering unaccountable abusers in the church.

The fact that so many are cautious about the local church may mean that there are real systemic issues that aren't being dealt with. Abusers and tyrants love to stand protected behind the "no church is perfect" excuse that ignores or downplays horrendous sin with a hearty amen.

A church that loves Jesus is also a church that is laser-focused on signs of power grabbing, bullying, shame tactics, and abuse in the guise of Christianity. A church that loves people knows that it is only as healthy as the "least of these" in its midst. It stands...

with and for victims, the abused, the oppressed, and the vulnerable as Christ does. Theirs is the kingdom of God. It roots out wicked leaders no matter how eloquent, theologically astute, influential, and successful they are.

That's the kind of church people long for.