Private Pain in Public Pews: Uncovering the Hidden Secrets of Life in the Pews

By Dr. Elaine A. Brown Spencer

Dr. Elaine Brown Spencers courageous new book breaks the silence and tackles issues in the church weve let ride too long. In a poignant view of church happenings, the book emphasizes that everything in the church is not what it seems. The church is filled with broken people, victims of trauma and unresolved issues that have put a clog in the church engine. The one place a person can find relief from their pain has sadly become a Sunday-morning soap opera where we cannot wait to hear the outcome of a persons indiscretion. The private pain that pew members experience is real, unspoken and devastating. The time has come to break the silence and do real talk, about what we all know is going on.

Private Pain in Public Pews says it all this book is a must read that gives remedy, hope and insight that is sure to give you a new perspective on church and life itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9781449706159

Dr. Elaine A. Brown Spencer

Elaine A Brown Spencer, Ph.D., Speaker, Counsellor, Professor, Founder & President of Kaleo Inc. has written a gutsy new book that is a compelling straight talk reading of life in the church pew. A scholar of spiritual-religious experiences, Dr. Spencer earned her MSW & Doctorate degree at the University of Toronto. Elaine bridges the academic and religious community in her writings to emphasize the need for persons to remain anchored in their faith, particularly in these trying times. Elaine lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband, Floid, and they have three children.

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Copyright © 2010 Dr. Elaine A. Brown Spencer

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-0616-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-0617-3 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-0615-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010938166

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The King James Bible. (1988). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/12/2010

This book is dedicated to my husband, Floid N. Spencer and my three children, Camille, Andrae & Chrystal for their unconditional support, patience and love.

To every person that helped to inspire this book - thank you.

May the peace of God be with you forever.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

A Letter to Rahab

Chapter 2

Real Talk

Chapter 3

Friends, a Gift from God

Chapter 4

Guilty Stains

Chapter 5

Wounds that Won’t Heal

Chapter 6

Anger – It’s Coming!

Chapter 7

Let Honesty Be Your Guide

Chapter 8

When They Know Your Past

About The Author

Notes

Prologue

In April 2010, I received a dictation from the Lord. It came following an intervention with one of God’s children who had been battling past trauma in secret. As I and another minister of the Lord spoke to this person and helped to facilitate healing from the Lord, I left the scene and was unable to sleep for the entire night.

The next morning, I relived the events of the previous evening and on a bus, the Lord began to speak to me. I was told to put pen to paper and write specific things that would help the individual to connect the dots of their life. The words that came from the Lord were words of knowledge that brought clarity to help this person through their deliverance. As the Lord instructed me to write, I literally could not stop. The words He spoke in my spirit that day cascaded out of me like a waterfall.

Chapter 1 is a letter to Rahab as dictated through the Holy Spirit. The story of Rahab can be found in Joshua, chapter 2. This woman, a known prostitute, had provided safe haven for the men sent by Joshua to spy on the land. In her kind deed to help these men she asked them in verse 12:

Now therefore I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house and give me a true token.

These words that Rahab spoke were a prophetic utterance that erased her state of prostitution. Her bloodline could be traced to Jesus, which tells us that regardless of our situation or condition, we can have a future that is bright.

Rahab represents many individuals in the church today, individuals in our church pews who have suffered from childhood abuse, parental abandonment, mental illness, sexual sins and family breakdown. Pain that is experienced in the pew is screaming for attention. Through the intervention for this one life, the Holy Spirit has allowed me to hear the screams of many. These screams have been silent for too long. It is time we not only hear these screams but apply a remedy. Jesus Christ is our only hope. Private Pain in Public Pews is removing the mask from the pews. It is important that you understand that no matter what you have been through or whatever you have done, God can heal your pain.

What follows in this chapter was written through the inspiration of the Lord. What I thought was a one-to-one intervention for one of God’s precious children has become an intervention for the masses. So be it, Lord.

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Chapter 1

A Letter to Rahab

The Lord has found you in your state. It is you. I speak to you to speak through others. I connect you with those where my healing power can be reciprocated. It is you I want to reaffirm who you are by doing so you affirm others. The word that came through my servant was that it can be reciprocated unto you. The scarlet thread is being applied. Be made whole. Apply it in your womb and tell your womb it shall bring forth. Reverse every word you spoke against your womb and speak life. Be Made Whole.

All the abuse of your past is revealed for you to be free of it. No more shame, no more silence. No more. Speak it, expose it, vomit it out. Tell them no more am I hostage of the affliction, distance memories, childhood traumas, parental disconnects, bloodlines sin, no more. I speak it, I acknowledge it, and I am no more a part of it.

You are not who they say you are. You mean well for others. The stigma of your family, your mistakes of the past has been a buffet. Let them go. Check your bloodline again, Rahab. You have connected with your biological bloodline and fulfilled their negative transferences. You are not of that bloodline. Rahab the harlot has been stigmatized. She gave her body away but she was chosen to carry the promised seed the Messiah! Her name is written in the archives of faith, printed in the pages of the heavenly book for all to know despite her earthly identification and what others thought of her – God used her mightily as he will do for you.

The person you went after, the person you gave your body to. The individual who still is lodged in the channels of your mind and emotions, Let them Go. You have repented but you have not forgiven you. Beneath the Outward dressing of clothing, you are not clothed because your shame, low self-worth, lack of desire for life has held you hostage. Cut the negativities out of you – bring understanding to this situation.

Unlock it, speak it renounce it.

The three words you wanted to hear I am sorry. Everyone that has done you wrong, everyone that left you to bleed and die hear these words I Am Sorry. God has forgiven you, He has pulled you out. You will not be exposed. If it is exposed, it will not be you but through an unrepented vessel that refuses to change.

Love yourself because you are beautiful. You have not had your best meal yet. Start eating – order dessert? Practise your smile. Scrape money together and go on vacation. Enjoy life. Ask God what you want. Let your requests be made known unto God. Your appetite for earthly food and heavenly food has returned. Buy books and study the word of God. You will Minister to people you never dreamed of. Sound the alarm. Where you physically cannot go your words and deliverance in life will reach the masses.

He has given you beauty for ashes. Go! Go! Go! You are not silent anymore. You can talk about your experiences with no regret, with no pain, with no bondage. Be Free, Be made Whole, Loose people near and far.

You have found my precious servants, Rahab. Who had similar yet distinct pain. The spiritual authorization has come through you. Mighty (Wo)Man of Valour! Once you are fully made whole you will go distances in God.

You will be exposed to faces you have never known. With boldness will you intercede for others. Your voice will be imprinted in the minds of people. Be Careful! Be Diligent! Be Consecrated! Be Courageous in speaking things and going into the areas where there is silent pain that has never been revealed. Spread the word! Speak into the lives and souls of people. All souls are mine, says the Lord.

Psalms 35:1 Plead my cause oh Lord with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Learn this passage. You will stand your ground when others speak against you. The spirit has revealed that there were people in your life that used information in manipulative ways. They cannot help you. I will help them. I will admonish them. I will teach them. I will heal them. That knife that was put in your back – take the shield of faith. Cover yourself with the armour of God. Wounds are markers for experience and your character to be built. I know you love them and respect them but leave them to my will. They speak to me and they know their flaws. Everyone is learning. Everyone is building. The right individuals are placed nearby to witness the blossoming of your future.

Those individuals of your past that is difficult to let go. What did they really mean to you? Speak to why you can’t sever that relationship. This seems to be a tender area. Why? I know, but do you know? You are higher than the men you’ve known. Pull away, delete numbers, and block numbers as you have been instructed to do.

Read my word in Zechariah 3:1-10: Take away the filthy garments. He has caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and I will cloth you with a change of raiment. Where do you really see yourself professionally? Think this through. Activate both your spiritual and physical ambitions. You must always work with people. Your imprint is long lasting. That is why everyone always wants to be a part of your world. Everyone wants to know what you will say and do.

Work on your critical mind. Use the way you think to be critical of Spirits not People. Because your mind is impressionable due to your gifting it also can be an avenue to re-hash thoughts and feelings that the enemy can use to conjure negativity.

Let those you have associated with repent on their own. I see all, I know all. Esau sought repentance with tears but it was not found. It is a heart condition, a contrition, a roundabout turn. I will know.

The servant who has come to you has been enrolled in my university – my spiritual university. It is a quick work. I have endowed Divine Intelligence. Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, Spirit of Counsel and Might, Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord. I have taught her to wait upon me for instruction. She has asked me what her role is for your life. She seeks for the purity of this spiritual intervention. I ask her to write and echo the words of the servant who delivered this word unto you – not just for you – but for other people. You have never spoken before – there were no safe places to do it. When you went through the hurt and pain of a severed relationship it was part of me schooling you how to be authentic, honest and pruned to do the will of God. The writer had to get her integrity restored, to know how to minister and keep information of people that is private. She will not use information for self-aggrandizement but to be my inspired writer, to put pen on pages to document what life experiences look like and how one can overcome.

She asked me in the heat of a severed relationship to go to those who hurt her, but I restrained her in one instance. She obeyed, prayed through it until I knew she was ready