Lord, You are Sovereign.
You are Head of the Church.
We belong to You.
You are the Chief Cornerstone.
You are the Rock.
We, the Church are your bride.
You love Your Church.
We confess, Lord, that we have taken our eyes off of You as the Head of the Church.
We have put men and women on pedestals.
We have worshiped leaders and ministries.
We have put pastors between You and us.
We’ve been lazy.
We don’t study the Word for ourselves sufficiently to test the words of those placed over us as teachers.
We have not corrected leaders who misuse Your Word to control or hurt others.
Lord, some of our leaders have used their power to hurt others.
We confess we have not been discerning and watchful and we have let wolves thrive among us and devour the sheep.
We have looked the other way when we should have exposed and expelled these wolves.
We have trusted pastors and leaders instead of You.
We have been afraid that addressing abuse in our churches would hurt Your gospel.
And instead, abuse in our churches and our lack of action has hurt Your Church.
Lord, please forgive us of our apathy, our laziness, our fear and our lack of courage.
Please forgive us for putting humans where only You belong.
Forgive us for failing the weak and the vulnerable brothers and sisters in our body.
Forgive us for failing our children.
Lord, thank You for the good shepherds.
For the pastors and leaders of churches that are humble and love the flock well.
Please bless them and their families.
Please bless their ministries and churches.
Lord, please expose men, women, churches and systems that allow abuse to thrive.
Open our eyes so we see the abuse.
Then give us the wisdom and courage to speak up and deal with the wolves.
Lord, open our hearts so we have compassion and care well for victims.
Lord, in churches where leaders have not had the courage to stand up to abuse
and appropriately handle abusers,
give the congregation the courage to step up and hold those leaders accountable.
Lord, please rescue victims of the wolves in our midst.
Give us wisdom on how to love and care for the abuse victims in our churches.
Lord, help us all as Your children to love You with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
And to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In Jesus Name, Amen
You are Head of the Church.
We belong to You.
You are the Chief Cornerstone.
You are the Rock.
We, the Church are your bride.
You love Your Church.
We confess, Lord, that we have taken our eyes off of You as the Head of the Church.
We have put men and women on pedestals.
We have worshiped leaders and ministries.
We have put pastors between You and us.
We’ve been lazy.
We don’t study the Word for ourselves sufficiently to test the words of those placed over us as teachers.
We have not corrected leaders who misuse Your Word to control or hurt others.
Lord, some of our leaders have used their power to hurt others.
We confess we have not been discerning and watchful and we have let wolves thrive among us and devour the sheep.
We have looked the other way when we should have exposed and expelled these wolves.
We have trusted pastors and leaders instead of You.
We have been afraid that addressing abuse in our churches would hurt Your gospel.
And instead, abuse in our churches and our lack of action has hurt Your Church.
Lord, please forgive us of our apathy, our laziness, our fear and our lack of courage.
Please forgive us for putting humans where only You belong.
Forgive us for failing the weak and the vulnerable brothers and sisters in our body.
Forgive us for failing our children.
Lord, thank You for the good shepherds.
For the pastors and leaders of churches that are humble and love the flock well.
Please bless them and their families.
Please bless their ministries and churches.
Lord, please expose men, women, churches and systems that allow abuse to thrive.
Open our eyes so we see the abuse.
Then give us the wisdom and courage to speak up and deal with the wolves.
Lord, open our hearts so we have compassion and care well for victims.
Lord, in churches where leaders have not had the courage to stand up to abuse
and appropriately handle abusers,
give the congregation the courage to step up and hold those leaders accountable.
Lord, please rescue victims of the wolves in our midst.
Give us wisdom on how to love and care for the abuse victims in our churches.
Lord, help us all as Your children to love You with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
And to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In Jesus Name, Amen