Articles for tag: Depression

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

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Vested in Our Leaders: The Pastor’s Project

Vested in Our Leaders: The Pastor’s Project By Richard Creek In 1975 I was standing in the lobby of the Veteran’s Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming, waiting to see Dr. Bruce Howar. Howar was the chief physician/administrator of the hospital, but he previously had been my family doctor back in Iowa. He had brought me into the world with the help of his nurse, my grandmother. From that time he had cared for all my broken bones, bumps, and bruises. “So, tell me,” he asked after we had greeted each other with hugs and smiles, “What are you doing with your

March 19, 2019

Christian Standard

Benefits of the Family Meal

By Halee Wood Close your eyes and picture a family dinner. A “June Cleaver” mom is in an apron and pearls, “Ward” in a sweater and tie. The children’s hands are washed and their hair combed. The savory aroma of a home-cooked meal fills the air. Everyone, including the family dog, listens intently to what is being said. Is this what dinner looks like at your house? In real-life families dinner can be messy—there might be cooking and dining mishaps, arguing and complaining among family members, and other things competing for our attention. Though a sit-down meal as a family

January 2, 2019

Christian Standard

‘Pastor’s Project’ Offers Help to Struggling Ministers

By Chris Moon Dick Creek has been busy lately—and it’s the result of having knee surgery. A year and a half ago, he launched The Pastor’s Project, an initiative to help struggling pastors. The effort has grown since then to include a “Rapid Response” ministry for pastors who find themselves in crisis and a “Rural Church Initiative” to connect thriving churches with those that might be struggling, in hopes of sparking a revitalization. And all of this emerged from the time Creek was stuck in his chair, healing up from knee replacement surgery. “I had a lot of time on

December 9, 2018

Michael C. Mack

When God Doesn’t Feel Like ‘Immanuel’

By Michael C. Mack What do you do when everyone around you is singing about joy and glad tidings and peace on earth . . . but your life reflects none of it? How do you get through “the most wonderful time of year” when your season is anything but merry and bright? And let me ask leaders, how do you lead others to experience Immanuel, God with us, when God feels far away this Christmas? Let’s face it, we are surrounded by people who are experiencing sadness, depression, sorrow, discouragement, and pain this December. Perhaps you are among them.

December 9, 2017

Christian Standard

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

August 3, 2016

Christian Standard

Ending the Shame of Mental Illness

By Jim Tune In the early years of our church plant in Toronto, one of our staff members preached a message about mental illness and faith. He made himself vulnerable as he shared about a season of significant depression in his life. The story he told was courageous and honest. I remember it as a defining moment in our new church”s development. Mental illness was, and still is, a topic that rarely is discussed head-on in churches. In sharing his story, our speaker brought mental illness out from behind the curtain of shame and exposed it to a liberating light.

February 5, 2016

Christian Standard

Happy New Year?

By Joe Boyd So, a few weeks into 2016, how”s it going? Will it be a happy year or not?  Sometimes happiness is counterintuitive. At 42 years old, I have come to realize I can drift toward unhappiness. There”s a lot that plays into this for me. My personality type (INTP) tends toward melancholy with a chemical propensity to depression. But I”ve also found I can make choices that increase my capacity for happiness. Here are some practical steps I have taken over the last decade that have helped me. Maybe they will help you too. 1. Exercise. I know,

January 8, 2016

Christian Standard

Parenting Resources for Christians and Their Leaders

This list of parenting resources is a sidebar to Peter Buckland’s article, “Parents Are Primary.” ________ By Peter Buckland FOR PARENTS Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality: A Biblical Approach to Prepare Them for Life, by Jim Burns (Bloomington: Bethany House, 2008) This book provides valuable information for Christian parents regarding the sexual information that children need to know and how the biblical sexual ethic may be presented to them. SOS Help for Emotions: Managing Anxiety, Anger, and Depression, by Lynn Clark (Bowling Green: SOS Programs and Parent Press, revised in 2014) Practical steps are provided that enable parents to help

December 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Empty

By Jim Tune Madeline Levine had been practicing psychology for more than 25 years when she began to observe a new category of unhappy teenager. As her book The Price of Privilege relates: “America”s newly identified at-risk group is preteens and teens from affluent, well-educated families.” Social and economic advantages notwithstanding, children of affluence “experience among the highest rates of depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, and unhappiness of any group of children in this country.” Levine admits to being startled when a bright, socially adept, 15-year-old girl from a loving, wealthy family came into the office with the

September 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Just Breathe

  By Jim Tune Breathe on me, Breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure. “”Edwin Hatch, from the hymn “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” Job reaches the limits of his ability to endure. He plunks himself down, ruined, infected, septic. He has lost everything: his children, livestock, livelihood, house, and now his health. He is abandoned on the ash heap, scraping his wounds with the sharp-edged fragments of clay pots. Job is dying: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In the valley of the shadow of death, but

July 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Sweet Sorrow

By Jim Tune One of my favorite books (and I like the movie, too) is the classic The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Czech writer Milan Kundera. In his book, the heroine, Teresa, struggles to be at peace with life when it”s not heavy, when it”s too much lightness, sunshine, and seemingly carefree””when it”s devoid of the anxieties that hint at darkness and mortality. She feels the constant need for gravitas, for some heaviness that says life is more than simply the present flourishing of health and comfort. For her, lightness equals superficiality. Most of us prefer sunshine over shadow,

July 3, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

A Conversation with LeRoy Lawson

Roy Lawson, 2015 North American Christian Convention speaker, spoke with Mark Taylor about how and why the NACC has changed and prospered and how an older Christian can guard against depression, bitterness, or cynicism as he or she experiences advancing years. See our exclusive interview here.  

March 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Life Starts Now

By Jim Tune Most people live their whole lives on either side of now. In her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about a friend who, whenever she sees a beautiful place, exclaims in a near panic, “It”s so beautiful here! I want to come back here someday!” Gilbert writes, “It takes all of my persuasive powers to try to convince her that she is already here.” Often we”re so trapped in thoughts of the future or the past that we forget to experience, let alone enjoy, what”s happening right now. Most negative thoughts concern one”s past. Most anxious

December 3, 2014

Jim Tune

perplexity

Mary, Most Perplexed

Jim Tune, Mary, Luke 1, MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, perplexity, doubt, authenticity, Abraham and Sarah, Elijah, Jezebel,

November 26, 2008

Christian Standard

How Will We React to Economic Slowdown?

By Mark A. Taylor The president of a Christian college commented to me about the staff cutbacks and salary reductions he initiated at his school several weeks ago. “This is difficult,” he admitted. “But I think good can come out of it. In the tough times we have the chance to demonstrate real leadership.” Indeed, throughout history nations, families, and individuals have made surprising accomplishments when the odds against them were the greatest. But we know not everyone rises to the challenge presented to them by difficult circumstances. Some who lost everything in the Great Depression of the last century

November 9, 2008

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Returning from the Dark Side

By LeRoy Lawson Both of these books are written by pastors who have been to the dark side””and came back to tell their stories. Gordon MacDonald, The Life God Blesses (Thomas Nelson, 1994). Gordon MacDonald is one of evangelicalism”s most respected leaders. Chairman of this and editor of that, he frequently speaks for conferences around the globe and, when he has nothing else to do, keeps on cranking out his helpful columns and books. The Life God Blesses is not his latest and may not be rated as his best (Ordering Your Private World usually is), but when Ben Cachiaras

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