Excerpt from Book – Chapter 1
Posted By Aaron Marcelli on June 23, 2009
I have experienced that many in our emerging communities today, especially those with religious backgrounds, have no problem talking about sin. Many times I have even been around some of my peers when they would begin to openly discuss serious and personal sins they were struggling with. I disagree with those who claim these actions are for attention. I think it is their willingness to be open if that’s what it takes for them to get help. The young adults of today’s society do not have a problem with discussing sin, or even admitting that they are guilty of a lot of it. Such a concept shocks most churches and the religious crowd within them today because we are not used to that kind of transparency, and do not know what to do with a young person who is very open about their struggles. The fact that there are many people in today’s culture who are willing to be open and honest about sin is another reason I feel this book needed to be written.
Because repentance is not spoken of in depth on a regular basis in our culture or our churches, many of those who are open about their sin are seeking what they are to do about it. Until they can receive answers about their sin and shame, they continue to feel impure and un-whole. This in turn will just lead them to continue sinning since they already feel broken and in their minds know no way of being fixed. If they think it can only get worse, most times it only will.
The above is two of the final paragraphs in the first chapter of by book Repentance and Recovery. I had two goals in writing the lead chapter. The first being to share an introduction or overview of my story which led me to study and experience repentance (something I have already done on this blog), and to argue the need for open dialogue within the church and our Christian communities about repentance. My experience has taught me that pretty much everyone fails, and while most feel guilt after a moral mistake or series of poor choices, not all those who seek help are getting any guidance. The Christian church is great at claiming to be a hospital for the hurting but not so good at backing that statement up. We like to admit that we all sin but would never discuss it openly or in detail. We never help people know what to do at 9am because of what they have done at 11pm the night before.
Each chapter of my book discusses a different aspect in the process of making a come back, and sprinkled throughout the entire manuscript is the flow of my personal experience in this area. I can honestly say that any desire I have for this book to be sold and do well on the market is first because I desire to provide something, no matter how great or small, as a resource to those who are hurting and seeking to come back to God. I dealt with a lot of emotions during my time in that season (guilt, shame, loss, condemnation), but I never felt too distant from hope. I knew it may require work, but I could come back, and perhaps even grow stronger as a result of this. That hope is what I long for in the single mothers, disowned drug addicts, late night porn abusers, or closet liars who feel trapped, abandoned, lost, and forgotten, yet somehow long for more. God wants to bring us all back.
More to come……..
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I agree. Actually a post I read today was about the very same subject of people confessing what makes them fall into sin. You may have heard of Stuff Christians Like, but if not, there is a link on my blog.