Yes, yes, yes. When Bob is allowed to treat the congregation as his personal playground, countless others suffer. That's what we found when our "Bob" (who isn't named Bob) finally left in a huff. Years of saying "oh that's just the way he is" and "we're Universalists, so we must love him no matter what" had resulted in a well-trod back exit, used by all the people he'd hurt, insulted, and belittled over the years. Those folks most assuredly weren't feeling the love.
This piece resonates with something my covenant group was mulling over just last night , about the often difficult work involved in reconciliation. Many of us want to just hug, hug, hug and then everything's good. That kind of papering over just further harms the wronged party.
Yes, yes, yes. When Bob is allowed to treat the congregation as his personal playground, countless others suffer. That's what we found when our "Bob" (who isn't named Bob) finally left in a huff. Years of saying "oh that's just the way he is" and "we're Universalists, so we must love him no matter what" had resulted in a well-trod back exit, used by all the people he'd hurt, insulted, and belittled over the years. Those folks most assuredly weren't feeling the love.
This piece resonates with something my covenant group was mulling over just last night , about the often difficult work involved in reconciliation. Many of us want to just hug, hug, hug and then everything's good. That kind of papering over just further harms the wronged party.
Re: footnote 2: [insert bobbing for apples joke here]