Traumatized Church is a book worthy of group study and discussion at church and Christian institutions. Why? Therapist Adrienne Gibson and the prolific New Testament scholar Scot McKnight explain and explore symptoms of trauma in the church and how to thrive through it.
The book’s goal is to aid churches in becoming safe spaces.
The book combines strong psychology and theology. Trauma pioneers such as Judith Herman and Bessel van der Kolk define trauma as not only an overwhelming past event, but an “imprint” that alters our current ability to process events and to think. In other words, as the authors say, trauma becomes a “never-ending narrative.” What’s complicated is that trauma is subjective in nature and can appear in different behaviors: the famous flight, fight, freeze, and fawn.
Defining trauma and triggers matters, Gibson and McNight say, when “as much as 40 percent of the congregation has trauma stored in their memories.”
The book’s subtitle alerts readers to its unique angle: “What Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthian Church Teaches Us About Helping Those Who Are Hurting.”
Can we see the famous “flight, fight, freeze, and fawn” exhibited in Paul’s behavior? Gibson and McKnight say yes. McKnight writes, “I hope we can, at the very least, show you that Paul was vulnerable, less than certain about some of his decisions, and, yes, a deeply wounded man.”
McKnight has seen church leaders, when pondering the possibility of trauma in Paul, connect their own pain to Paul’s.
Traumatized Church walks readers through the many ways Paul could have been traumatized by the Corinthians: from his appearance and height to his level of talent. The last chapters of the book discuss ways to regain health despite experiencing trauma. This new title offers a worthy exploration for our day with its post-COVID disruption and its heightened culture wars. (Zondervan)