You're my healer

So something that's been on my mind recently is the whole fiasco with Mike Gugliulmucci.

In case you don't know who he is, Mike Gugliulmucci (interesting name I know) is an Australian Pastor who for the last 2 years was travelling around Christian conferences and churches sharing about his struggle with cancer. He has been encouraging people in their struggles and generally being an inspiration to Christians around the world. One thing he did was that he wrote an amazing song, very moving and powerful, called "Healer". I recommend listening to it:

I saw him during the 24 hours I was at Soul Survivor A this year. He told us about how he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and hadnt expected to still be alive, but here he was. It was like a miracle, as he spoke about the encouraging things that he has seen since being diagnosed and we all sang this song together. It was very inspiring, and, like many other Christians around the world had done so far already, we spent time together, right there praying for him.

However, recently it has been revealed that he lied. He doesn't have cancer and never did. The truth has now come out that he made up the story of cancer to cover up his secret shame - being addicted to pornography since being a young teenager. He became so consumed with guilt that it started manifesting physically - he was violently sick at times, he did find himself needing the oxygen tube for real and he did lose his hair. But he made up the cancer to avoid the truth - to keep others from the truth and to keep himself from it. But it meant that he went around the world and lied to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people.

Unsurprisingly, people have spoken about their shock at discovering this. I felt so weird when I discovered it was a lie - knowing what that meant globally.

But the thing I find amazing about it all is the other response, and this really encourages me. Go and youtube him and watch the clip of him on the TodayTonight show. This covers the story in some more detail and shows responses.

What I am encouraged by is the fact that most of the people who respond, including those from his own church, are supportive! It's great! This could have stirred such an outrage and done a lot of major damage to the church. Now I know that it has caused hurt and damage and I'm not retracting from that, but the response is a truly Christian one. People recognise that he is only human, that he has messed up and that "we've all sinned".

Yes people have spoken out about betrayal and so on, but most of the comments I have come across are forgiving and kind. Christians are urging each other to forgive him and where they prayed for his physical healing they now pray for his emotional healing, spiritual healing, the healing of his marriage and so on.

I love the church that turns are to the person in their midst who has betrayed them and forgives him and prays for him further.

That is the church that Jesus came to make, the Kingdom he called into the world. Let's see more of that!

Bring it on!