Word: churches
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...thing as evangelical royalty, Anne Graham Lotz would be the crown princess. Billy Graham's daughter is an author and preacher who has led revivals for tens of thousands of people around the globe. But having a recognizable last name doesn't mean she always feels comfortable in church. In her new book, The Magnificent Obsession, Graham Lotz writes about feeling alienated at times from "religious people" and pursuing her own religious calling despite the disapproval of her famous parents...
...dedicated the book to everyone who has ever felt disconnected or hurt by organized religion. Given the growing numbers who have switched religions or left a church, that's a lot of people. That's one reason I had to write this book. Even in my own life, I've found that religion can be one of the greatest impediments to finding God. And by "religion," I don't mean "faith." I mean rituals, creeds, traditions, and often leaders - all of our means of trying to connect with God. They can get in the way of developing a relationship with...
...saying that Christians are better off staying away from churches? No, no. As burned as I've been by local churches and by people who call themselves in God's name, Jesus gave us the church. It's supposed to be a community of like-minded people who encourage and strengthen each other. But that's not how it always works. Religious people, often within the organized church, have been the most critical of and even hostile to my relationship with God. (See pictures of John 3:16 in pop culture...
There are several stories in the book about you being hurt by the actions of church members, such as when your husband was removed from a leadership position. How difficult has that been? It's unfortunate. I feel my relationship with God is strong enough that when other Christians have treated me wrongly, I can sort it out and know that's not God. But I think it's more difficult for many people to make that distinction. When they're hurt by the church, they feel hurt by God as well. And so sometimes their tendency is to reject...
...victims often exchange one kind of hell for another. After escaping the violence, they usually end up in ugly, overcrowded city slums. At one of the cramped IDP shelters in Bogotá, run by the Catholic Church, about 30 former farmers were taking classes in breadmaking, a new skill that might come in handy in the capital. When asked about government claims that security has improved, many simply rolled their eyes. "The armed groups are still there," says one woman who abandoned her farm in southern Caqueta state. "They've just changed their names...