I remember being asked once whether I’d prefer to pastor a church that was weak/confused in its doctrine but seemed on fire with passion for the Lord and loving or a church that seemed to be ticking all the right boxes doctrinally but wasn’t clicking in terms of love, welcome, enthusiasm. After thinking about the… Continue reading Abuse and the fault in our theology
Category: pastoral-care
When your pastor gets depressed (3) Is it sin?
You may remember that a few weeks back I wrote about being offered Biblical Counselling when depressed and the implication behind that approach to counselling that the cause of depression is some buried sin from the past. There is a real danger when dealing with the problem of depression that we immediately assume that the… Continue reading When your pastor gets depressed (3) Is it sin?
When your pastor gets depressed (part 2) -a look at some potential risk factors
In part 1 yesterday, I highlighted 3 causes of depression that pastors might be particularly prone to because they are high risk factors in church and ministry contexts: social isolation, conflict and abuse. However, these are not the only causes of depression. It’s worth observing at this point that depression and anxiety disorders can strike… Continue reading When your pastor gets depressed (part 2) -a look at some potential risk factors
When your pastor gets depressed -what might have caused it?
I recently wrote an article for the Grace in the Depths website outlining the common signs and common causes of depression. I did so because one of the challenges we face when talking about church leaders and depression is identifying that someone has depression. The second and related challenge is that often the subject remains… Continue reading When your pastor gets depressed -what might have caused it?
Hard Pressed (Psalm 3)
I’ve mentioned when talking about my experience of depression that whilst not everyone experiences suicidal thoughts, the same type of feeling can be experienced either as a desire to hit the self-destruct button or to run away and hide. That desire to flee can come of a sense of being overwhelmed, anxious and not knowing… Continue reading Hard Pressed (Psalm 3)
Bullies in the workplace
“I would not be saying that, given the current economic climate if I were you.” The words are etched on my mind. I’d disagreed with one of our directors and he had not taken kindly to it. He was known for his temper and he was known to be one of the Managing Director’s henchmen.… Continue reading Bullies in the workplace
Do you need Biblical Counselling?
I want to expand a little on something that I wrote in one of my Psalm studies. I hope that anyone reading this will pick it up as intended not to shame or accuse because I think those who said it were doing so out of the best intentions. When I was at my lowest… Continue reading Do you need Biblical Counselling?
Joy comes with the morning
The pandemic has been a period of loss for all of us. For some of us, it will be as basic as the loss of a normal way of life, the loss of the freedom to go about our days, getting out of the house and seeing people. Along with that, there will be the… Continue reading Joy comes with the morning
Towards a theology of depression
Over the last few months, I’ve been involved with a few projects and numerous conversations relating to the experience of Christian workers with depression. One thing that has come out so often is the extent to which the sufferers and their churches simply were not ready for it when it hit. At theological college you… Continue reading Towards a theology of depression
Surviving January
A lot of people find January hard, especially those struggling with emotional health. There’s the additional challenge at this time of SAD, dark mornings and evenings, cold weather, the return to work from holiday, high numbers on the weighing scales and the Christmas decorations coming down. This post isn’t intended to be particularly profound, just… Continue reading Surviving January
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