Emotional Concussions
I had puzzled for years as to why we as Christians find it difficult to invite. There appeared to be in the seminars I conducted something that was being unspoken. It wasn’t just fear but something else. It was when I started to ask the question what is wrong with the word no, that the unspoken started to come out. People say it undermined me, it diminished me, it shook me to the core. These short statements were not about invitation but about profound emotional reactions, almost like a concussion from an incident in their past. These incidents or stories often show how they have been rejected and how it affected their fundamental human yearning to be treated as if they matter. We are born vulnerable and can easily have injuries to our identity. While there are no quick evaluations such as holding up three fingers to see if the person with an emotional concussion is seeing straight, Jesus came to heal our wounds. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ and his church.
