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Is Church a Safe Space? Why We Can’t Let Secularists Redefine Safety
It’s become almost trendy to ask, “Is your church a safe space?” Depending on who’s asking, that word (safe) carries a lot of baggage. To the world, a “safe space” is often defined as a place where no one ever feels uncomfortable, no ones ideas are ever challenged, and everyone must always feel affirmed. If “safe” means never risking discomfort, hearing hard truth, or being called to real change, you won’t find that in any church that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, including ours, and that’s actually a good thing.
Let’s start by being crystal clear: church should never be a place of abuse, manipulation, shaming, or unsafe secrecy. Jesus reserved His harshest words for those who use religion to hurt or exploit. In Matthew 18:6, He warned, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck….” God’s house should be marked by love, kindness, honesty, boundaries, and deep hospitality.
But here’s where we need to push back: there is a kind of “safety” the world offers that is actually deadly. If church becomes a place where no conviction can ever be spoken, no wounds exposed, no idols confronted, and truth is watered down for the sake of comfort, it stops being God’s church. Jesus tells us in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” True safety isn’t just about comfort; it’s about rescue, transformation, and healing.
Think of a hospital: it’s a place where the hurting are welcomed, wounds are cleaned out, and even painful procedures are endured for the sake of ultimate health. If you confuse a hospital for a spa, you might leave feeling relaxed, but never actually healed. The church is a spiritual hospital for sinners, not a lounge for those seeking escape from discomfort.
At The Crossings, we want you to feel safe in the ways that matter eternally. Here, you’ll find confidentiality, acceptance, and a refusal to gossip or shame. You’ll be prayed for and cared for. But you’ll also be challenged to grow, called to repentance, invited to wrestle with hard truths, and expected to be honest. Real danger lurks in churches that care more about being liked than being biblical. Churches that idolize comfort eventually betray the very people they claim to protect.
So is The Crossings a “safe space?” In the only way that ultimately matters, absolutely yes. You can bring your brokenness, your doubts, your questions, and your mess. You will not be shoved to the side or asked to perform. But don’t expect the comfort of never being confronted by the truth. Expect instead the security of being fully known, fully loved, and called to something greater than what the world can offer. Expect Jesus Himself.
In a culture where safety is often just code for “don’t challenge me,” let’s reclaim true biblical safety, the kind where the gospel is both a gentle invitation and a holy fire, loving us as we are but never leaving us unchanged. That’s the only safety worth building a life on.
Pastor Justin |
