From Church Hurt to Healing
A Virtual Listening Table for Pastors and Church Leaders
A conversation the church cannot afford to avoid
What if the Church listened before more people decided to leave?
People are speaking openly about their experiences with the Church. Many describe feeling hurt, unheard, dismissed, controlled, or unsupported during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
The question is no longer whether church hurt exists.
The question is, how will we respond?
ABOUT THE LISTENING TABLE
From Church Hurt to Healing will be a facilitated virtual conversation for pastors, ministry leaders, helping professionals, and concerned believers who recognize that responding to church hurt requires more than another strategy for increasing attendance. It requires the courage to listen.
Together, we will begin exploring:
• What people may mean when they describe experiencing church hurt
• Why pain is sometimes minimized, spiritualized, or overlooked
• What church leaders may be missing when people quietly withdraw
• How defensiveness can prevent necessary understanding
• What a proactive, compassionate, and accountable response could look like
• How churches can create healthier cultures without compromising biblical truth
This will not be a counseling session, an attack on pastors, or a forum for publicly naming churches and leaders. It will be a respectful, faith-centered conversation about listening, learning, and considering a healthier way forward.
WHY THIS CONVERSATION MATTERS
We cannot address what we refuse to acknowledge.
We cannot learn from people whose experiences we are unwilling to hear.
And we cannot continue asking, “How do we get people to stay?” without also being willing to ask, “What happened to them while they were here?”
God has not called the Church merely to react after people leave. We must be willing to recognize pain, respond with wisdom, and address harmful patterns before another person concludes that leaving is the only way to be heard.
BE AMONG THE FIRST TO KNOW
The date for this virtual gathering will be announced soon.
Join the interest list to:
• Receive the date and registration information
• Receive priority access when registration opens
• Help identify the issues this conversation should address
• Receive related information and resources from Dr. Lisa Marie Harris
Your information will be kept private. Joining the interest list does not obligate you to attend.
Listening can be the beginning of healing.
Dr. Lisa Marie Harris, PhD, ND, LPC-S, CSAC-S, CWC
Taking Mental Health Beyond the Couch and Into the Community