Fractured Faith: Finding God After Church Culture Harms You

https://youtu.be/rmpsB-RVyjA Guest Bios Show Transcript What do you do when Christianity hasn’t lived up to your expectations? And the church, which is supposed to be a place of healing, instead has left deep and permanent wounds? In this edition of The Roys Report, Lina Abujamra, Bible teacher and author of Fractured Faith, shares a very personal account of how her faith was nearly deconstructed. On staff at a multi-site megachurch in the Chicago area, Lina was in the inside circle and friends with the well-known pastor and his wife. People were getting saved. Her Bible teaching ministry was taking off. Then, she saw corruption at the top. Rather than look away and stay, Lina left. Slowly, over the next few months, the pain set in. And her faith began to falter. Where is God in the middle of our pain? How can Christians act in such cruel and callous ways? And what do you do when your story turns out the opposite of what you wanted or expected? As many today consider what it means to deconstruct faith, together Lina Abujamra and Julie explore these important questions. This Weeks Guests Lina Abujamra Lina Abujamra is a pediatric ER doctor, now practicing telemedicine, and founder of Living With Power Ministries. Her vision is to bring hope to the world by connecting biblical answers to everyday life. A popular Bible teacher, podcaster, and conference speaker, she is the author of several books including Thrive, Stripped, Resolved and her most recent book, Fractured Faith. Lina ministers to singles through her Moody Radio show, Today's Single Christian, and is engaged in providing medical care and humanitarian help to Syrian refugees and others in disaster areas in the Middle East. Her ministry also provides spiritual retreats for women at The Hope Ranch. Learn more about her at www.livingwithpower.org. Show Transcript SPEAKERS JULIE ROYS, LINA ABUJAMRA MD JULIE ROYS 00:04 What do you do when Christianity hasn’t lived up to your expectations, and the church, which is supposed to be a place of healing, instead has left deep and permanent wounds? Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys, and joining me today is Lina Abujamra, author of Fractured Faith, a very personal account of Lina’s near deconstruction of her faith. As you’ll hear, Lina was on staff at a multi-site mega church in the Chicago area. Everything was going right. She was in the inside circle and friends with a well-known pastor and his wife. People were getting saved. Her Bible teaching ministry was taking off. And then she saw corruption at the top. And rather than look the other way and stay Lena left, and slowly over the next few months and years, the pain set in, and her faith began to falter. Where’s God in the middle of our pain? How can Christians act in such cruel and callous ways? And what do you do when your story turns out the opposite of what you wanted or expected? I’m going to explore these questions with Lena. But first, I’d like to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University and Marquardt of Barrington. Judson University is a top ranked Christian university providing a caring community and an excellent college experience. Plus, the school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities and strong financial aid. Judson University is shaping lives that shape the world. For more information just go to Judsonu.edu. Also, if you’re looking for a quality new or used car, I highly recommend my friends at Marquardt of Barrington. Marquardt is a Buick GMC dealership where you can expect honesty, integrity and transparency. That’s because the owners there Dan and Kurt Marquardt are men of character. To check them out. Just go to buyacar123.com. Well again, joining me today is Lina Abujamra, a pediatric ER doctor who’s now practicing telemedicine. She’s also the founder of Living with Power Ministries, and She’s the author of several books,