March 8, 2024
LeRoy Lawson writes that his book about his son's suicide "contains both sides of a conversation three decades long; [Lane] talks first in his final communication to us. Then I answer him. He writes with confidence, at peace with his decision and comfortable with his reasons for it. I am not so sure of myself, either as father or as minister . . ."
January 1, 2024
A church, a school system, a community, and a production company joined forces to expose the lies that lead to teen suicide.
September 10, 2023
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 48,183 Americans ended their lives by suicide in 2021, a figure that has increased by about 35 percent since 2000. . . . Here are seven ways to help those grieving a suicide death. . . .
July 1, 2022
By Ben Cachiaras We have a problem. Emotional well-being is in serious decline. It’s a palpable crisis that was bad before the pandemic. The isolation, social upheaval, polarization, and massive changes with work, school, and life have exacerbated the crisis, creating an extended ambiguity and heightened stress that’s a perfect cocktail for burnout and emotional struggle. (I first heard it put that way by Paul Alexander, president of Hope International University.) No wonder the World Health Organization’s recent scientific brief states that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased 25 percent since the pandemic’s arrival in early 2020.
March 15, 2020
By Rick Chromey Sometimes an entire life boils down to a single moment. For me it was a solitary night of divine deliverance and holy intervention that changed everything. It happened in the spring of 1982, about the time of Resurrection Sunday. I was a freshman in Bible college. I was also clinically depressed, struggling with sin, school, finances, family, and friends. I wallowed in selfishness, loneliness, pity, and apathy. I was a thousand miles from home, living alone in a dorm room that increasingly felt like a prison cell. For weeks I contemplated my life. Who am I? Why
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 16, 2016
By Jim Tune Back in 1966 the folk-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel released an album called Sounds of Silence. The album was a best-selling collection of reflective songs with contemplative lyrics. It has been preserved by the Library of Congress as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” work of art. For that album, Paul Simon penned the words to a song about a much-admired philanthropist who was envied by all. “Richard Cory,” a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, was adapted by Simon into a song that ends with the startling news of the philanthropist committing suicide. My grandmother used to
August 8, 2015
Psychologists, sociologists, and experts on the family weigh-in on the damage caused by absent fathers. Compiled by Becky Ahlberg “NEIGHBORHOOD STANDARD may be set by mothers but they are enforced by fathers, or at least by adult males. Neighborhoods without fathers are neighborhoods without men able and willing to confront errant youth, chase threatening gangs, and reproach delinquent fathers. The absence of fathers deprives the community of those little platoons that informally but effectively control the boys on the street.” “”James Q. Wilson, “The Family Values Debate,” posted at www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-family-values-debate/ “THE INEQUALITIES that stem from the workplace are
July 17, 2005
A pastor’s mental illness can’t be ignored or handled with shame. This article shares Fosdick’s story and offers clear dos and don’ts, warning signs to watch for, and practical ways leaders can provide steady, hopeful support.
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