I am pleased to have Author Sarah Hanks on my blog for a guest post!
Sarah Hanks is a multi-award-winning author of split-time Christian fiction. Her background in teaching and children’s ministry prepared her for exercising her creativity as a writer, now her full-time job. She and her husband have ten children, a couple of whom seem to have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family lives jammed together in beautiful chaos near St. Louis, Missouri. She buys earplugs in bulk.
The Story Behind For the Love of Truth
How should Christians react when other believers break their trust or cause them pain?
The Brave Authors (a group of 12 Christian fiction authors who write about gritty topics) are coming out with three novella collections this Fall. Every Life Treasured released today (October 1st) and contains 3 novellas highlighting the value of life. Every Captive Freed releases in November and contains 3 novellas about human trafficking. And Every Voice Heard releases in December and contains 3 novellas about church hurt and abuse. My novella For the Love of Truth is part of this 3rd collection.
While D.T. Powell’s and N.Y. Dunlap’s novella in this collection focuses on church hurt, mine dives into to the hard topic of spiritual abuse. The real-life inspiration for my novella came out of the implosion at the International House of Prayer Kansas City, where my husband and I served for two years in 2004-2005. A couple of years ago, a group of former IHOP-KC leaders came out with a statement that sent thousands of people reeling. Mike Bickle, beloved leader of the organization, had been accused of sexual misconduct and spiritual abuse. Several women came forward claiming atrocities spanning decades.
Perhaps the scariest thing about the situation is that most people, even those who worked closely with him, had no idea. Bickle seemed like the most humble and godly man around. Down to earth and a gifted teacher, he was the last person many would suspect of such conduct. How could so many people have not suspected something? Many rallied to his side, trumpeting the narrative that this was an attack to bring down a pillar in the prayer movement. The women accusing Bickle faced an uphill battle to get the public to believe them.
As more information surfaced, the exposed truth deeply affected many people. How are believers supposed to navigate such massive betrayal?
For the Love of Truth explores this subject. In it, Candi experiences spiritual manipulation by her pastor and mentor without realizing it. Justice, a new almost-church-member, seeks to reveal the truth and help her find freedom. And yes, a romance develops between them.
Unfortunately, when abuses like what happened at IHOP-KC are exposed, some people walk away from their faith. Others remain committed to Jesus but disavow all church activity and Christian community. As understandable as that response may be, it’s tragic.
Church hurt is inevitable. If you hang out around people in general, you will eventually get hurt. Just because the people are Christian doesn’t negate that. We’ll all imperfect people bumbling around. But healing is also found through Jesus in healthy Christian community. Isolating oneself for protection causes wounds to fester.
The women who came forward with their stories of abuse at Mike Bickle’s hand are incredibly brave. They stepped into public scrutiny, facing threats and slander. One woman speaking out gave others the courage to do so. But the bravest thing, in my opinion, was that they didn’t give up on God. And they didn’t give up on the body of Christ.
I believe most pastors are full of integrity and a desire to care well for their flock. Most believers are well-intentioned. After someone violates your trust, it’s hard to trust again. For sure, we should practice discretion and discernment. Jesus said we are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves (Matthew 10:16). Naivete is not a fruit of the Spirit. But neither is cynicism. If you’ve been manipulated or abused by spiritual leaders, please know that Jesus is not okay with what happened to you. He wants to hold your hand and walk you into healing and freedom. There is a future hope for you (Prov. 23:18.)
My prayer is that For the Love of Truth might give those who have been hurt or abused by the church courage to move forward into freedom.
Here's about her book!
Candi loves her role as personal assistant to megachurch pastor Richard Blake. But when she meets Justice, he exposes the flaws of her "perfect" church family and she discovers her pastor isn't who he seems to be. Freedom lies on the other side of truth, if only she'll allow Justice and the Lord to lead her there.
Make sure to follow Sarah on Social Media:
Website: www.sarah-hanks.com
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