Care &amp; Counseling

Suffering

By Stuart Powell Is the fruit of suffering bitter or sweet? How should we approach the anguish we encounter in life? Many times suffering is the exclamation point of wrong decisions. We suffer a broken bone because of our lack of judgment. We suffer from a broken heart because we trusted someone others considered unworthy. But sometimes suffering arrives uninvited. We make one wrong move and pinch a nerve. We undergo a routine physical and soon begin painful treatment for a heretofore unknown physical malady. A cultural shift places our faith squarely in the crosshairs of extremists. In A Place

January 23, 2020

We May Forget, But God Does Not

German psychologist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer is credited with identifying the first case of “presenile dementia”later called Alzheimer’s diseasein 1906. The 1970s and 1980s brought increasing awareness about Alzheimer’s disease in America. This personal reflection about a person with the disease was written by a Kentucky Christian College professor in 1990. _ _ _ A Parable of Meaning By Charles R. GreshamJanuary 21, 1990; p. 12 . . . One reads of what occurs when Alzheimer’s disease affects a person; one may even watch a television movie that presents Alzheimer’s effects in dramatic fashion; but it only “hits home” when

January 2, 2020

Depression and Ministry: How Do We Respond When Our Church Leaders Are Struggling?

“I was sick and you looked after me.” _ _ _ By Paul H. Alexander The pastors’ emotional struggles were widely known. Yet, most people did not know just how real and intense the struggles were day in and day out. Only God knows how much pain these men were in. About 18 months ago, a pastor in Southern California killed himself. In the following months, two more young pastors also tragically took their own lives. In this area everyone knew someone who was impacted, at least indirectly, by these events. Many men and women I know were affected directly

January 2, 2020

'Called to Counsel': How We Are Sharing God's Grace with the Hurting and Lost

“I was sick and you looked after me.“ _ _ _ By Heath Neal Everywhere you look, people are sick and hurting. At our church, we encounter people every week hurting from the sickness of sin. Some of their pain comes from the sin of others, but often it is the devastating result of their own sin. This shouldn’t surprise us. Scripture repeatedly tells us we all are sinners. (See Genesis 3; Romans 3:10, 23; Jeremiah 17:9; and John 3:17-21 as examples.) For years, our church’s response to the sick and hurting was to pray for them and hand them

January 2, 2020

Halee Wood

Care & Counseling Trauma

Eternity with a Child Molester

By Halee Wood Hatred . . . Love. Despair . . . Hope. Rejection . . . Acceptance. Contradictory emotions filled me as I stood face-to-face with a child molester. Despite having been abused by a much older boyresulting in pregnancy and abortion by age 14God had provided me with a story of redemption that sparks emotion and hope, especially among those who share a similar history and for those living with a spouse who shares my experiences. When I share my testimony publicly, it is not uncommon for someone to discreetly wait around until the room is all but

November 22, 2019

Michael C. Mack

How to Celebrate Thanksgiving Well . . . Even if It’s Not Happy

By Michael C. Mack Several years ago as the Thanksgiving holiday approached, I decided to dig a little deeper into how the Bible uses that word, thanksgiving, and I’m very thankful that I did! I discovered three perspectives I had never really considered before. Perhaps they will help you better understand and live with thanksgiving . . . all year long. _ _ _ 1. Thanksgiving Is an Attitude, Not Just a Day Look at the following Bible verses, especially the context for thanksgiving: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident

October 30, 2019

HIU’s Alexander Teaching Church Leaders about Depression and Ministry

By Chris Moon When a prominent pastor committed suicide last year in Southern California, Paul Alexander couldn’t help but take notice. A lot of people he knew had a connection with the young pastor—Andrew Stoecklein—and they were deeply moved by the news. Alexander, a licensed marriage and family therapist who assumed the presidency of Hope International University in August, has spent years studying and teaching about depression and ministry. It only made sense to help. Depression is something many ministers struggle with—even though, Alexander said, it is “not comfortable or common to talk about it.” Alexander contacted Gene Appel of

July 24, 2019

Antioch Christian Continues to Cope with Death of Pastor

By Chris Moon Antioch Christian Church in Marion, Iowa, has spent the past month doing what few churches ever have had to do—grieve the sudden death of its longtime pastor. John Seitz Sr. had served at Antioch for nearly two decades when he began to suffer from poor health following an overseas trip in January 2018. Seitz had been battling an infection, and doctors were looking for a cause. The pastor had not preached a lot this year after his church elders granted him an extended break to rest and heal. But his health continued to deteriorate. He passed away

June 27, 2019

Taking on the Tobacco Habit

Tobacco use was discussed about once a year during Christian Standard’s first century of publication. Smoking evidently has always been controversial. All of the articles reviewed for this piece were anti-smoking and anti-tobacco in nature, but it would truly be surprising if no words supportive of tobacco ever appeared in the magazine. On the whole, most writers going back to 1866 referred to the tobacco habit as dirty, costly, and unhealthy. A “Reader’s Forum” writer from Angola, Ind., in 1931 referred to tobacco as “the Devil’s weed,” and criticized Christians who sold it. Here are a trilogy of editorials and

June 11, 2019

Doug Redford

Disfigured

By Doug Redford Jane Alden Stevens was a professor of fine arts at the University of Cincinnati. During a trip to France several years ago, she noticed a stone obelisk in a small French village that had inscribed on it the names of those who had died during World War I. She later decided to conduct a study of how people in various European countries remembered that war. The result was a book of black and white photos that she entitled Tears of Stone: World War I Remembered. At Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, Stevens photographed a grave with this

May 22, 2019

Tyler McKenzie

The Toilet Paper Ministry

By Tyler McKenzie and Adrienne Feldmann TYLER (11:55 p.m. Saturday): Here I was, a grown man, a pastor nonetheless, about to commit a felony. I coasted quietly down the neighborhood street, lights off, car in neutral, toilet paper in hand. It was essential I not get caught. ADRIENNE: I have always gone through seasons of depression. A few months ago it was especially frightening. I called in all kinds of reinforcements just to survive my day-to-day. I constantly fought off suicidal thoughts. Reaching out was difficult, but it was my last hope. I needed my friends. They were reluctant to

April 30, 2019

Removing Barriers to Community

By Melinda Gividen A story from Newton, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, is spreading joy across the country. Two-year-old Samantha Savitz lives there with her family; they moved to the neighborhood right before Sam was born. From the start, neighbors have loved on Sam and her family, sharing such things as cookies and casseroles with them. But the story grew more interesting when the family, and then the neighbors, learned that Samantha was born deaf. Over the last two years, Sam has become the most popular girl on the block. She takes daily walks with her parents, waving and smiling at

April 9, 2019

Stuart Powell

Faith: From Sorrow to Joy

By Stuart Powell Is there anything more difficult than hearing someone you love say goodbye? We typically react with sadness. That feeling is amplified when the goodbye comes at the threshold of death. Jesus’ disciples experienced that situation on the night of his betrayal. Jesus warned his disciples what was about to happen: I tell you the solemn truth, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she

January 3, 2019

David Roadcup

How to Deal Effectively with Difficult People

By David Roadcup How we react to difficult people and their behavior is a test of how well we’ve implemented Scripture’s relational principles. The Word tells us how to respond when difficult situations present themselves. Effective leaders follow the teachings of patience, forbearance, self-control, careful thought, and action. When called upon to deal with a difficult person, our patience and forbearance will be strengthened as we do the right thing in dealing with those who need help. Dealing with difficult people is always a stretching experience. As James 1:2-4 instructs us, difficult situations, especially those prompted by difficult people, prompt

August 9, 2018

Care & Counseling Trauma

A Massive Movement of Kingdom Workers

By Andy Hansen The shockwave of the mass shooting that killed 14 and injured 17 in February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, rippled through every high school in the United States. Not even small-town Linton, Indiana, was spared from the emotional and psychological trauma. Students felt the effects of the attack and rumors of a walkout circulated. However, a small group of young people who attend a Bible study group during the lunch period at Linton-Stockton High School prayed over and discussed this devastating situation . . . and came up with a unique and very

June 19, 2018

Care & Counseling Trauma

Our Link to Jesus

By Gene Shelburne In a very special way, Jesus is present in our pain. When Jerry Yamamoto was growing up as a Japanese boy in a mostly white neighborhood in California in the 1950s, he absorbed unimaginable abuse. He tried to explain to his playmates that he was innocent of Pearl Harbor, but none of them believed him. At times, he said, when the abuse got really rough, he went home and tried to wash his skin white. In early adulthood, Jerry faced a serious faith decision. Buddhism beckoned him to withdraw from the strife and struggle of this world

June 5, 2018

Blood Relatives

By Gene Shelburne The son born to Robert and Suzanne Massie was a normal baby in most respects. He had the correct number of fingers, toes, eyes, and ears. He was intelligent, probably a brighter-than-usual child. He cried, sucked, yowled, and wet his diaper just like other babies. Only one thing made Bobby Massie different. He was a hemophiliac. A bleeder. Little did Bobby’s parents suspect how crushingly cruel that difference would be—the abuse they would suffer from doctors, the fear that caused schools to refuse to educate Bobby and made the couple’s friends forbid their children to play with

December 9, 2017

You Can Cope with Holiday Stress

(This article originally appeared in the December 19/26, 2010, issue of Christian Standard.) By Larry W. Bailey How”s your holiday going? For many, it”s more stress than celebration. At Christmastime, the laughter of the “Ho, Ho, Ho” may give way to the pressure of the “Go, Go, Go.” Fantasies of a “silent night” turn into the noisy bustle of crowded department stores. For some, the jingling of Christmas bells yields to the jangling of nerves. We may find ourselves moving from holiday dreams to horrible nightmares, from anticipation to aggravation, from sugar plums to sour grapes, from happiness to

April 5, 2017

Feeling Spent?

By Jim Tune I encounter a lot of beat-up people. The general anxiety level in society is high, and it”s easy to feel anxious even in the best of times. Throw in financial, relational, and other stresses, and it”s easy to feel overwhelmed. Whenever I encounter beat-up people, or feel like one myself, I like to remind myself of Isaiah”s picture of Jesus: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3, English Standard Version). The image of a bruised reed and a faintly burning wick may seem strange at first.

March 1, 2017