Monthly Archives: June 2015

Can we do disability ministry across a theological chasm?

Have we reached the point where the distrust in the church for ministries and ministry leaders who routinely serve the “other side” is such that we in disability ministry will be forced to choose one side of the theological chasm or the other at the risk of losing the opportunity to minister altogether? Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Controversies, Inclusion, Key Ministry | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mobilize the people…

Most of your attendees will know at least one person impacted by mental illness lacking a meaningful connection to a local church. Empowering them to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” can have a powerful impact in your local community. Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Online community…component of a mental health inclusion strategy?

We’re convinced that online ministry offers the potential for contributing to an effective mental health ministry strategy where very few strategies exist. Here’s why… Continue reading

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Promoting mental health inclusion at church? Respond to the family’s most immediate needs

If we’re to have an impact as the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are outside the church, we first have to get better at addressing the practical needs of families impacted by mental illness who are already part of the church or those who have some connection to the church. Continue reading

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Psych meds don’t turn kids into mass murderers

Charleston isn’t about a mental health problem…it’s about an problem with evil. Evil may have won the battle on Wednesday but the Bible is very clear that evil will not win the war. Continue reading

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#CharlestonShooting… Evil or mental illness?

What mental illness does is that it makes it harder for some to continue to hide from the world the evil that exists within their hearts. Continue reading

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Leading a spiritually disciplined life as a person with ADHD…

If God wanted cookie-cutter Christians, that’s what He would have made. We have a palette of spiritual disciplines because we won’t all grow closer to God in exactly the same way. Continue reading

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Mitzi VanCleve…Help My Unbelief: “Religious OCD”

John Bunyan in describing how this form of OCD impacted him said: “Of all the temptations that ever I met with in my life, to question the being of God, and the truth of His gospel, is the worst, and the worst to be borne; when this temptation comes, it takes away my girdle from me, and removeth the foundation from under me.” Continue reading

Posted in Anxiety Disorders, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The front door of your church…

Websites increasingly serve as the front door to our churches…a tool for introducing the church to first-time visitors and a strategy for communicating information about ministry opportunities and events to a population more likely to attend to their smartphones and tablets than to a traditional church bulletin. Continue reading

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What parents are most afraid to hear…

There may be parents who are trying their best visiting your church with kids who have bad genes, kids who experienced trauma or abuse, or kids who haven’t yet developed the skills to effectively self-regulate their emotions and behavior. How do we welcome them and share with them the unconditional love Christ has for them? How do we as the church best communicate so we build the relationships necessary to cast influence in their family? Continue reading

Posted in Families, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments