Dr Ruth Naomi Segres

Commanded to Live Dr Ruth Naomi Segres

Church trauma is real! Traumatic events that occur in life and Church can cling to us for years, affecting our ability to live our lives as God intends, a life of good and not for disaster, with a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Church trauma causes damage, feelings of rejection, marginalization, and unworthiness. Often when the Church has traumatized us, we blame and project our feelings onto God. In Commanded to Live: Moving Beyond the Pain, Dr. Segres is inviting and encouraging us to reexamine our narrative of intersectionality between God and God's Church. The Church is NOT a synonym for God and at times the Church is NOT a great representation of God. But God should not be penalized for the actions of those who attend God's Church. God's indomitable and redeeming love extends to us even on the trash pile of trauma on which we may find ourselves because of rejection and or abuse (spiritual, physical, emotional or mental). God loves us so much that God comes to us on our trash pile of trauma, sees us in deplorable emotional, physical, mental, and yes, even spiritual conditions, abandoned by life, loved ones, and the Church. Yet, God decides to make a miracle out of our mess and commands us to live and move beyond the pain! Commanded to Live: Moving Beyond the Pain is life-changing!-- Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Browning, Co-Pastor, Ebenezer AME Church, Fort Washington, Maryland