The church should be a place of healing and comfort. But for far too many, it’s a place of abuse and harm.
As a child, Ryan George was profoundly hurt in a fundamentalist church, pastored by his abusive father. But years later, Ryan found a loving and gracious church. And through that church, he experienced transformation and healing.
In this edition of The Roys Report, Ryan George, author of Hurt and Healed by the Church, exposes both the worst and the best that the church can be.
He vulnerably shares how his father preached love and forgiveness yet told Ryan he was going to hell and beat Ryan for the smallest transgressions. Then, years later, Ryan discovered a horrible secret—that his father had also sexually molested girls.
These left deep wounds in Ryan, and it profoundly distorted his view of God and the church.
But then Ryan took a chance and he decided to break from his fundamentalist background. He began attending a church that was nothing like the churches he knew before. Ryan shares what he had to release—and hold on to—in this dramatic opening of our two-part podcast.
Ryan’s story is deeply moving. And his honesty about what he’s faced and learned along the way provides insights for anyone who’s been hurt by the church and is seeking healing.
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Ryan George
Ryan George is the author of Scared to Life, Word on the Street, and his latest book, Hurt and Healed by the Church. He’s the blogger behind Explorience.org, where he tells stories at the intersection of physical adventures and spiritual discoveries on all seven continents. He co-founded and co-leads Dude Group, a parachurch outdoor Bible study and prayer group in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he lives with his wife, Crystal, and daughter, Deonnie.
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One Response
That was a very interesting talk. One comment that caught my attention was when Mr. George said that he let his wife choose the church they would attend because he wanted a wife who would have sex with him and cook the meals he wanted. “Happy wife, happy life.” Ha ha.
He seems like quite a nice man, so I was surprised. It’s “funny” how these “jokes” are so persistent and culturally ingrained that it seemed as if Ms. Roys didn’t even notice it. Or perhaps she was simply being polite to the guest.