How I Found Hope in a Hopeless Church

I have found myself many times staring into the inner workings of the church only to look back and feel like the whole thing was hopeless.

Over the years I have spoken to so many people, both inside and outside of the church, who feel the same way. They are tired of the same old Sunday rituals and desire change, but have no idea where to start.

The following is an excerpt from my free ebook, “STEPS – 7 Ways I Found Hope In A Church That Appeared Hopeless.” It is my attempt to put a few words to the journey I walked through in rediscovering hope in a church that looked all but hopeless. You can download the ebook by going to www.brandongross.tv/ebook.

In the meantime, here is an excerpt:

STEP 6:

I Had To Admit I Was Just As Broken

I was broken.

Our first step in rediscovering hope in the church is to retrain ourselves to see her the way God sees her. It’s retraining ourselves to see ourselves the way God sees us. When nothing seems to change in the institution, we can celebrate its weakness since we know who is really in control. Out of great weakness, God shows his great strength.

I had to come to the point where I was willing to admit that all the brokenness I saw in the church was no different than the brokenness in my own life. I was part of the church whether I attended a service or not. And that realization meant I could either sit back at a safe distance and judge, or I could become part of the solution, beginning by offering grace.

You will find the journey in rediscovering hope lost in the church is a journey that begins by looking in a mirror. We can easily see the shortcomings of the institution, but also just as easily glance over many of the same shortcomings present in our own lives. For radical change to occur in the institutionalized church, it requires the church body to begin to allow Christ to work in the nooks and crannies of their own hearts. It requires the church to bring herself to the foot of the cross and allow Christ to perform heart surgery.

And just as in real heart surgery, exercise is required afterward. The church body will have to exercise her action and faith. She will have to exercise hope, though much of the time hope may not be easily found. And mostly, she will have to live a life of forgiveness and grace toward others and herself.

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Brandon Gross

Brandon Gross is an author, photographer, and practitioner of the art of rock-paper-scissors. He has written two books: “Steps: 7 Ways I Found Hope in a Church that Appeared Hopeless” and is currently finishing, “I Forgive Church: Rediscovering Hope Lost in the Church.” For most of his life, Brandon grew up as a pastor’s kid, or “PK” for those who are in the club. His childhood consisted of a healthy dose of organ music and fellowship dinners all sandwiched in spit-slinging sermons that made the front row of a Gallagher “Smash-O-Matic” show seem dry. After spending 7 years working in the church management software industry and volunteering heavily in his local church, Brandon lost hope in the church; ultimately leaving, never intending to return. It took years but God helped him see through the brokenness and hurt in the church to rediscover the beauty that had been there all along. Brandon likes to say he was “one of those statistics” you hear about but was rescued from himself. He now spends his time writing and helping others rediscover hope in a broken church. It’s a messy but beautiful process and he wouldn’t like it any other way. You can connect with Brandon by going to www.brandongross.tv and you can download his free ebook “STEPS” by going to www.brandongross.tv/ebook. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_gross.

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