The church is often called a hospital for sinners, but maybe it needs to be called a rehabilitation facility. Hospitals, for the most part, are short-term stops that patch people up and send them home to heal on their own. Patients are admitted and cared for primarily by nurses, doctors, and other staff. They do the bulk of the work.

On the other hand, rehabilitation centers have counselors and medical professionals on staff to assist people in their recovery. Assist. The responsibility for recovery is primarily on the patient. How hard a person works has a direct result on the progress that person makes in their recovery. The team of professionals at the rehabilitation center are there to hold people accountable, push them, and provide the resources they need to help themselves. But they are not there to do the work for people.

Jesus came to this lost, broken, and dark world to:

  • save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)
  • bring light to the darkness (John 12:46)
  • destroy the devil (1 John 3:8)
  • preach the Good News (Luke 4:18-19)
  • to serve and give His life as a ransom (Mark 10:45)
  • reveal God’s love for sinners (John 3:16)
  • bind up broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1-3)
  • grant us adoption into God’s family (Galatians 4:6)
  • make us holy (Luke 1:35)
  • satisfy our needs (John 4:13-14)
  • reveal God’s glory (John 1:14)

One of the many things I love about Jesus is that He was a “boat rocker.”

The Pharisees of His day were considered the religious elite and the people that called the shots in the Jewish world. If you were a “somebody” in the Jewish community traveling from one town to the next, the Pharisees would expect you to meet with them upon hitting the city limits. Instead, Jesus skipped the hoity-toity Pharisee meet and greet and made a bee-line for the sick, hurting, and messy. The sick, hurting, and messy was the very group the Pharisees avoided so they didn’t take kindly to this snub. For Jesus to rather spend His time with the people they deemed undesirable was utterly unthinkable to them.

Time and time again the Pharisees tried to catch Jesus in a “goof” but they were no match for the Son of God. Jesus came to hang out with messy people who knew on some level that they needed help and saving.

Jesus healed wounds and met needs…

The New Testament gives us a glimpse of the miracles performed by Jesus and witnessed by His disciples and hundreds of others who were present.

  • Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).
  • He healed the blind (Matthew 9:27-31) and gave hearing to the deaf (Mark 7:27-31).
  • The lame walked (Mark 9:1-8).
  • Storms died down (Luke 8:22-25).
  • The dead came back to life (John 11:1-45).
  • A sack lunch meant for one, fed well over five thousand (Luke 9:10-17).
  • Jesus walked on water (John 6:6-16) and cast out demons (Mark 1:21-27).
  • He gave Peter and Andrew the greatest catch of their fisherman lives (John 5:1-11).
  • Leprosy was healed more than once (Luke 17:11-19, Matthew 8:1-4).
  • He healed a woman with a bleeding issue and called her daughter (Luke 8:42-48).
  • Peter was able to pay the Temple taxes out of the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:24-27).

All-in-all there are thirty-seven documented miracles in the New Testament, but we know that Jesus did more because John tells us that what is in the Bible only scratches the surface (John 21:25).

Jesus was all about rehabilitation…

It might seem like Jesus did all the work in helping these people, but that isn’t the case. In all of these miracle moments, the hurting and/or their families had to do their part. They had to seek Jesus out, ask for His help, believe that He could help, and then do what He told them to do, to get well. This is rehabilitation. Those that received a miracle, got it because they were willing to do their part – no matter how small a part it was.

Hurting people need rehabilitation. Jesus knew that. Working for something that we want always means more to us than getting it for nothing. There is value in that which we obtain from our hard work. Salvation is a 100% free gift – but our inner healing is a partnership with Jesus.

As Christ-followers…

We are to follow Christ’s example – hang out with the messy, wash feet in humility, and love without condition. It’s not an easy follow, but that is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us follow.

For the church…

  • Sharing the Good News is a given.
  • Bible studies are vital.
  • Community giving is essential.
  • Corporate worship is a must.
  • Connection is an unequivocal need.

The church is made up of Christ-followers and therefore, should be seeking out and associating with the messy, washing feet in humility, and loving without condition. Unravel was written for the messy to provide a resource for rehabilitation. Cultivating an Unravel program at your church or organization is an opportunity for your people to “wash feet” by sharing their stories – the highs, the lows, and everything in between. As individual Christ-followers and as a body of believers, an Unravel program has the unique opportunity to love without judgement in a way that will change lives.

Now, more than ever, the church as a whole needs a re-branding.

Too many people see Christians and the church as a bunch of prideful and fake Pharisees that love with condition. It breaks my heart to read about people that have experienced shame at the hands of a church. To know that hurting people have been judged, ignored, and/or discarded by the one place they should have been welcomed, seen, and loved hurts my heart.

Friends, God’s name and character are so distorted in the hearts and minds of the people in this world. Too many people think God doesn’t want or care about them. Countless people think God is judging their every move and waiting for them to mess up. Hurting people are meandering their way through this storm-tossed world, sure that they have messed up too many times to be loved by God.

Unravel may be the most important program that you offer at your church or organization.

Unravel is about healing the wounds of the heart and soul, but equally important, it’s about clearing up the distortion of who God is and how He feels about His sons and daughters. The heart of Unravel is about being the church – really being the church. The size of your church or organization is irrelevant – 30 people or 30,000 people – it doesn’t matter. Changing one life can have a ripple effect in the lives around that person and in the generations that come after.

Heaven rejoices when even one person repents (Luke 15:7).

If you want to start an Unravel program at your church or organization, please know that I am here to help. Comprehensive consultation, leader training, Unravel materials, and the help you need to get your program off the ground is available. The cost is based on the number of people participating and any necessary travel. Putting together a successful, growing, and thriving Unravel program requires planning and preparation.

Once you have your plan in place and the prep work done, the program will be highly manageable and the fruits of your labor will be obvious. People will see the transformation in family and friends. Word will spread about the program that offers healing and the people that love without judgement. As you continue to offer Unravel groups, more and more people will come.

Unravel Consultation & Training…

A few of the issues to consider when developing an Unravel program are:

  • Confidentiality
  • Leader Qualifications
  • Working with volunteers
  • Deciding on a budget
  • Leader Training
  • Scheduling
  • Group Guidelines
  • Holding group members & leaders accountable
  • Deciding how to go through the Unravel book
  • Ongoing Leader Training
  • And more!

If you are interested in starting an Unravel program, click here: UNRAVEL PROGRAM

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Acts 20:28 NIV

Until next time,