This book Shattered & Sanctified: Confronting the Sin of Toxic Christianity, is designed to be a guide for the Christian community to have conversations about some of the negative behavior that we experience in the church.

There is not a book big enough to address all the atrocities that the church has committed throughout history – such as the sexism, racism, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, violence, and so much more. This book does not provide a comprehensive list of every Christian’s bad behavior, nor does it adequately speak to the damage that the church has caused people. Rather, this book highlights seven specific sins that are often associated with Christians.

In Chapter One we will explore the sin of hypocrisy as we look at Jesus’ criticism of the religious elite of his day. Hypocrisy keeps us focused on other people’s sin’s rather than allowing us the opportunity to deal with our own sinfulness.

In Chapter Two we will explore the sin of judgmentalism and how we often point out the flaws of others without recognizing our own flaws. Judgmentalism hinders our ability to see God’s people as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In Chapter Three we will navigate the sin of legalism which can distract us from the actual purpose and mission of the church. Legalism forces us to try to earn our own salvation through following all the right steps and rules, rather than receiving the free gift of God’s grace into our lives.

In Chapter Four we will study the sin of tribalism and the dangers of silencing those who have different opinions than our own. Tribalism keeps us trapped in our own bubbles where we look down on those who don’t agree with us.

In Chapter Five we will look at the sin of cynicism and how our skeptical view of others can negatively impact our own faith. Cynicism keeps us from experiencing God’s promises of hope and healing in our own lives.

In Chapter Six we will look at the sin of stubbornness and how our resistance to change can be detrimental to our growth and mission. Stubbornness keeps us from moving to new and fresh expressions of service to the kingdom.

In Chapter Seven we will examine the sin of pridefulness and how God calls us to embrace humility instead. Pridefulness keeps us focused on our own accomplishments instead of recognizing that we are all equal in God’s eyes.

In the Epilogue we will explore the importance and value of the church despite our flaws. Through the church we are able to partner with what God is doing in the world. The church is not perfect, we humans are not perfect, but we serve a God who is perfect and complete.

My hope is that this book will help us confront some of the ways that we have engaged in bad behavior and contributed to other people’s harm in the past. It is also my hope that this book will provide a path of healing and wholeness as we reflect on the ways that we have been harmed by the church. As we journey together through this time of self-exploration, may we strive to be the people that God has called us to be. May we live up to the name of Christian as we strive to follow the example of Jesus in our own lives.