YET HOLDING ON
Surviving Church Hurt
By Lawrence Eric Austin, Sr.
For more than 2,000 years, the Lord’s (global) Church has stood, and it has taught me that nothing in this world remains standing for that long without its share of ups and downs—including in the local church. This book details the joys and sorrows of my experience in the local church and the lessons that I have learned along the way. No, the Church is not perfect, but neither am I. And in sharing my story with you, I only seek to share the truth and to enlighten and encourage those who are willing to read it. Even though I have moved on from the experience detailed in this book, I pray that God will shine on His church, and keep His promise to restore her to the fullest. As the restoration continues, I’m yet holding on to the only One who can complete that work in her and in me. – Lawrence Eric Austin, Sr.
Lawrence Eric Austin, Sr. was born and reared in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a proud graduate of Waggener High School of the Jefferson County Public School System. Son of Freda Austin, and father of one son, Lawrence Eric Austin II. Eric chose to give his life to God at an early age. He was baptized as a preteen at Shiloh Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. H. M. Humphrey, Jr. Later in his adult life along with Freda, he opened a Dare to Care Food Pantry as well as performed van driving duties. He also became an ordained Deacon during this time period.
In 2007, Eric co-founded “THE PEARL IN YOU! OUTREACH”. The vision of this ministry is: to educate, inspire, and strengthen self-worth of individuals in need; to develop self-sufficiency along with strong family values for a better and close-knit community. This outreach is centered around women. The outreach has successfully hosted one women’s conference, one outdoor street revival, and multiple trips to Kentucky and Tennessee Correction Institutions for Women. One of the most gratifying missions of outreach is organizing what is called pop-up feeding. Food is cooked, packaged, and then distributed to homeless camps located in Louisville.
The most important fact to know is that Eric is a work in progress, and he is a child of God. His self made quote is “DREAM BIG, BUT REACH PAST YOUR DREAMS!”
Lawrence Eric Austin, Sr. was born and reared in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a proud graduate of Waggener High School of the Jefferson County Public School System. Son of Freda Austin, and father of one son, Lawrence Eric Austin II. Eric chose to give his life to God at an early age. He was baptized as a preteen at Shiloh Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. H. M. Humphrey, Jr. Later in his adult life along with Freda, he opened a Dare to Care Food Pantry as well as performed van driving duties. He also became an ordained Deacon during this time period.
In 2007, Eric co-founded “THE PEARL IN YOU! OUTREACH”. The vision of this ministry is: to educate, inspire, and strengthen self-worth of individuals in need; to develop self-sufficiency along with strong family values for a better and close-knit community. This outreach is centered around women. The outreach has successfully hosted one women’s conference, one outdoor street revival, and multiple trips to Kentucky and Tennessee Correction Institutions for Women. One of the most gratifying missions of outreach is organizing what is called pop-up feeding. Food is cooked, packaged, and then distributed to homeless camps located in Louisville.
The most important fact to know is that Eric is a work in progress, and he is a child of God. His self made quote is “DREAM BIG, BUT REACH PAST YOUR DREAMS!”
TESTIMONIAL
Those of us who were privileged to grow up in church often look back upon those wonderful days of our spiritual innocence in wonder and appreciation. We can recall the “Mother Beasleys” and other godly women who nurtured us, taught us the Word in Sunday School and Junior Mission; who drummed in us our Christmas and Easter speeches, and disciplined us in love when the occasion demanded it. There yet reverberates in our spirits the celestial sound of the choirs as they sang the great hymns of the church and the roar of the deacons’ voices as they called on the name of the Lord. Those were our formative years when we were awakening to the Spirit of God coming alive in us. But as we matured and became more active and involved in the affairs of the church, we discovered that church through the week is not the bliss of Sunday morning. There are emergencies that demand our attention. There are the sick who have to be visited. There are funerals that break our hearts. Sometime the pastor has his own personal problems that interfere with his pastoral duties. And our awakening to this larger dimension of church life can sometimes cause us to feel lost. In these pages, Mr. Eric Austin shares with us his own journey to spiritual maturity growing up in the Shiloh Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. Though he faced his own challenges that shook him from the days of innocence to the demands of becoming a mature disciple, he lets us know that no matter what we go through, God is with us on the journey. Like the disciples in the boat caught up in a storm (St. Mark 4:35=41), the Church often finds itself in a storm. But Austin reminds us that no matter how tempestuous, Jesus is on board and will calm the situation and steer us safely to the other side. I highly recommend this book to growing disciples and those who refuse to let church issues stunt our growth in our relationship with God.Thank you, Brother Austin, for being so transparent in sharing your journey. May God continue to bless, grow and prosper you.
– Dr. James C. Perkins
YET Holding On: Surviving Church Hurt is a must read for anyone who has ever experienced the pain of confusion, betrayal, division, being controlled, witnessing hypocrisy and so much more within the pews of the “house of God.” Through the transparency of his own experience of being reared in church from early childhood, Eric Austin chronicles his painful journey in powerful detail that brings to life the issues why many Christians have expressed a dissatisfaction with church today. YET Holding On: Surviving Church Hurt also reveals insight into how being exposed to the negative “dark side” of church often gives birth to unhealed and unresolved issues such as anger, resentment, apathy and disconnect toward others, including God. As a therapist for nearly 20 years, I have counseled many clients who have experienced the church hurt discussed in YET Holding On: Surviving Church Hurt. This book sheds light on the great deception and plot of Satan to use church hurt to turn hearts away from God by blaming him for the hurt experienced at the hands of “fallen, fickle, finite flesh.” YET Holding On: Surviving Church Hurt is a great book that reminds us as followers of Christ to stay focused on the Cross, not on the frailty of human beings, whether they are church goers or church leaders. I highly recommend this book to help with the healing journey from church hurt to a healed heart with eyes focused on the faithfulness of God.
– Brenda Caldwell