Description: Are you struggling with fully accepting that God loves you? If you or someone you know has suffered abuse, you are not alone. Abuse of women is a global problem. One out of every four Christian women suffers from physical, emotional, spiritual, economic, or sexual abuse. Women who have suffered abuse often find it difficult to experience God's love. Accepted in the Beloved is a Bible study that will help and encourage women who desire to know and experience God's love and acceptance, and will help equip pastors or pastoral caregivers to support and assist survivors of abuse. The six-lesson journey through Accepted in the Beloved will encourage healing, growth, and transformation. Each lesson includes three different sections: Learning God's Truth, to enlighten the mind through a study of the truths in God's word and to accurately illuminate the character of our loving Creator; Experiencing God, to encourage a deeper experience of God's presence through contemplative exercises that develop heart knowledge of God's truth and foster spiritual transformation; and Sharing God's Love, to encourage women to reach out beyond themselves as they apply what they have learned from the study to their lives and relationships. With an encouraging tone and transformative content, Accepted in the Beloved will help women find healing and wholeness in the love of the crucified Lord.
Brief description: Leslie Ann McKinney serves as Pastor of Community at Pilgrim Church of Beverly, Massachusetts, a union church of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. She specializes in women's ministry and is a spiritual director. She is a board member of Life Together International, a nonprofit ministry encouraging biblical justice, unity, and reconciliation.