An Army of Wounded Healers

Euan: So I was praying (as all good Christians should) the other day for Germany and I got to start thinking about this idea of 'wounded healers'. Henri Nouwen wrote a book with the title of "Wounded Healer" in which he talks about how Jesus could only heal because He had been wounded; that healing power is bought with woundedness*.

If Nouwen is right, then Berlin won't require spiritual 'hot-shots' who were born praying in tongues and were prophesying as soon as they could talk (or before), but rather people who have been wounded. Whether wounded by the church, by those who we've trusted, or just by life itself but then drawn into the Father's embrace and experienced the healing power of the words of Jesus. Wounded healers are those who carry the scars, the humiliation, and the wounds of Jesus as their own (didn't Paul say something about bearing on his body the marks of Jesus?), so much so that the very power that Jesus bought with His wounds, lives and breathes through them and the lives they live.

John says that Jesus, the Ultimate Missionary, showed up in His mission field "full of truth and grace". Maybe we should do the same? Truth and Grace are two beautiful concomitant notions; both powerfully independent yet inescapably intertwined in the love of God. Apart from unprecendented amounts of humility, I reckon if there are two things that we as a team planting a church need to bring to Berlin it's those divine twins of Truth and Grace. Truth to break the lies that imprison the city and Grace to release forgiveness and to break the shame of the past.

May we bring truth and grace to the city of Berlin. And not just in our theologies and our sermons but in the lives and hearts that we are bound to.

Shalom.**



* This won't suprise some of the team but I haven't actually read all of the book. I own it and read parts when I first got it some years ago. But I've heard it's really good so if you get the chance read it.

** Keen to hear others opinions on these matters, this blog has been decidedly quiet for over 6 months now, maybe we liven things up a little?