Weekly Devotional: Church Hurt

Church hurt is real and personal. This devotional explores biblical examples, Christ’s response to hurt and offers hope and healing through faith and forgiveness.

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Read time 5 minutes

Riley Parsons

Published on Jul 18, 2025

Church hurt is real. And for many of us, it’s not just a story — it’s personal.

Maybe you were part of a church that taught truth well but practiced love poorly. Maybe you’ve seen churches that share the same theology criticize each other publicly or in private, or encourage their members not to pray together because of denominational differences. Perhaps you were told you couldn’t serve, speak or belong because of your past, doubts or questions. Maybe the very leaders who preached God’s Word refused to show up when you needed them most. Or maybe the hurt came when theology was used to protect power rather than pointing people to the cross.

Whatever form it takes, church hurt can be painful. It doesn’t just wound our feelings; it can also shake our faith and make us wonder: If this is what God’s people are like, what does that say about God?

And then we read this:

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

– John 1:11, NIV

Jesus was rejected by the Church — not by strangers, but by the very people meant to prepare the way for Him. Whatever your story is, if you’ve felt hurt, abandoned or even betrayed by the Church, you’re not alone.

And you’re not the first.

What Is Church Hurt?

Church hurt happens when those entrusted with the Gospel withhold grace, misuse the Law or act in ways that obscure Christ.

It’s painful because it distorts the very place we expect to find mercy. When the Church becomes a place of favoritism, hypocrisy or shame, it doesn’t just hurt our feelings; it confuses our understanding of God’s character. Especially when that hurt comes after we’ve already repented and trusted in the forgiveness Christ freely gives.

Sometimes the hurt is truly sinful. For example:

Leaders who protect their status and reputation instead of their congregation
People who weaponize someone’s past to keep them from serving or belonging
Communities that call out certain sins publicly while quietly tolerating others

But other times, what we call “church hurt” might simply be the result of God’s Law doing its proper work — exposing sin not to condemn, but to drive us to the cross.

There’s a real difference.

God's Law, rightly applied, doesn’t leave us crushed under guilt; it leads us to repentance, where the Gospel speaks a better word: ‘You are forgiven.’ Entirely. Freely. For Christ’s sake alone. But when the Law is applied without the Gospel — when it becomes a tool for control, shame or fear — it wounds. And it’s not how Jesus led.

Jesus didn’t excuse sin, but He didn’t reject sinners either. He spoke the truth, not to elevate Himself, but to point the wounded to the one place where sin is actually dealt with — the cross.

Church hurt happens when that message is lost.

Examples of Church Hurt in the Bible

This isn't a modern problem. Scripture is full of it.

While praying for God to give her a son, Hannah’s priest, Eli, misunderstood her as drunk. David was betrayed and hunted down by Saul, a leader appointed by God. Countless prophets were mocked and ignored by the people to whom they were sent. Even the earliest churches wrestled with pride, division and favoritism.

Let’s be honest — if Paul were still on his missionary journey writing letters today, most of our churches would probably be getting mail. And yet, God didn’t give up on His people then — and He won’t now.

Hurt by Church Leadership

Spiritual leadership is sacred, and when leaders use their position to elevate themselves, protect their image or unrighteously control the people they’re called to serve, the damage can be catastrophic — and so is the sin.

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!”

– Jeremiah 23:1, NIV

Some leaders know exactly what they’re doing. Others convince themselves it’s for the good of their congregation(s). But when the wounded are told to stay silent for the sake of “unity,” — it doesn’t just injure the body of Christ.

It grieves the heart of God.

He sees. And it hurts Him too.

Because God is omniscient, He knows when authority is used to manipulate instead of shepherd, even if words don’t explicitly reveal it. He sees the silence that follows trauma, gossip passed off as concern and the discipline applied without compassion or care. But God is not indifferent. These things are not overlooked.

And here is something harder:

Even the leaders who have caused hurt — even the ones who acted in arrogance, selfishness and fear — are still God’s children. He made them. He knows them. He sent His Son to die for them, too. And that breaks His heart.

Because when His children hurt one another, especially in His name, it is a betrayal of everything the Gospel stands for.

And yet, it is exactly why Christ came.

Christ Was Hurt by the Church

Of all the people ever hurt by the Church, no one was hurt more than Jesus.

He wasn’t rejected by people outside the faith. He was crucified by the very ones entrusted with God’s Word — the priests, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law. The ones who were supposed to prepare the people to recognize the Savior were the same ones who plotted His death and nailed Him to a cross.

Jesus knows church hurt. Deeply and intimately. He lived it.

And still — still — He gave Himself up for it.

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
– Ephesians 5:25, NIV

Why? Because, despite all her flaws, the Church — all believers, across generations and denominations — is His Bride. Not because she’s spotless, but because He has made her so.

We often think of “church” as a building, a group of people or a label. But Scripture calls the Church the Body of Christ — made up of all who trust in Him. It is not just a local congregation or a particular movement, but a global family held together by one faith and one Savior.

The Church, like any human institution, faces challenges and imperfections because of sin. But Christ has not given up on her. And He hasn’t given up on you.

Finding Healing and Hope

So, where do we go when we’ve been wounded by God’s people?

We go to Christ.

Not to perfect leaders or perfect systems — but to the perfect Shepherd who was wounded for us. We take our pain to the cross, where grace is not just offered but finished.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

– Psalm 34:18, NIV

Healing takes time, but it also takes truth — the truth that your identity isn’t in how others have treated you, but in how Christ has redeemed you.

You may carry scars, but you’re not carrying them alone.

The Church may fail — but Christ will not.

Amen.

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Riley Parsons