The Greatest Thing

Over the past three decades of "Equipping God's people to minister Wholeness to others I have trained Pastors and Lay Leaders all over the planet. Our students have come from every denomination, faith group and theological persuasion. However, they are all eager and impatient to learn how to change people. The feel a great urgency to " get going" and set people free.

I remember some of my young, eager students in Asia who wanted to hurry up and learn how to "Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free" as Isaiah 61 instructs us. Their engines of mercy and "Get Er done" had no time to waste on learning about themselves or learning to listen to others. They wanted to immediately get to power prayers and magical words of change. As one Bible teacher asked, "When do we get to 'Sock it to them time?'"

I teach in a systematic, sequential manner. My approach is to early on try to facilitate each student to better understand his/ her own heart. We call that being Genuine, so "Each student first understands her own heart, her own mind and her own feelings." The process of 'self knowledge' and 'self control' is the very opposite of impatience, hurry up syndrome and "Sock it to them" because the Holy Spirit nearly always socks it to us first so we quit wanting to sock it to others.

I recently had a student that dropped put of my class when we got to listening to others. It was,shoe said, " Too shallow!" He wanted something deeper so he could immediately heal and deliver wounded people. I laughed out loud. Listening is too shallow?! Showing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit to others is too easy. It reminds me of the pop tune from long ago, "What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love". The text goes, "Lord, we don't need another mountain..."

In Christianity we do not need another person who is impatient, hurried, grim, anxious and pushy. We need people with "Faith, hope and love" because they are the greatest characteristics needed for the Care of Souls. Faith, hope and love are foundational for Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. These fruit are always built on self understanding, self management and self control. We call that Genuineness.

An overview of developing these traits can be found in Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty and Power Christian Thinking which can be downloaded from our bookstore at www.sweetenlife.com

Healing Center

A Woman in Pain

Way back in the Dark Ages of my life a group of us at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati started to train Lay Helpers how to listen and care for each other. I had just completed a Doctoral Dissertation on the topic of Counselor Education and learned that Lay or Peer Helpers if well trained, can be as effective as Professionals in many instances.

I also learned from my mentor, Dr. Richard Walters, that those people who went through a training program in learning the skills of healthy interpersonal

relationships would often find as much or more healing as those who saw a Professional or Peer Helper. (Helpers are anyone who cares for others in need.)

As a result I gathered a group of interested people and started teaching them how to interact with Genuineness, Respect, Empathy and Warmth. That grew into a program and process that sponsored classes for parents, couples, pastors, small group leaders, lay pastors, deacons, elders, etc. the results were very positive.

After a bit the Elders asked me to set up an entire Equipping Center to develop a systematic equipping process for our very large church. We called it The Teleios Center or Wholeness Center. Then we recruited several mature members to serve as Peer Helpers, teachers, healing team members, small group leaders, etc.

I left CHPC to establish The Life Way Counseling Center. Life Way continues to minister with love, grace and Professional insights to people in pain. You can find Life Way here.

That meant we needed materials and a separate ministry which developed into what is now Equipping Ministries International. EMI is still equipping Peer Helpers. I just learned they are going to start a Peer Helping Center in Mariemont. Contact EMI to see how you might take their training.

If you are not close to Cincinnati, you can simply go to my Sweeten Life web and download one of my books on how to help yourself to healing and growth. I am also doing four eight week classes for the ministry of Randy Clark who has a wonderful international prayer ministry.

Thankfully, some Christians are continuing to practice the activities that Jesus quoted when He received the call to action in Luke 4 and originates in Isaiah 61: to Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.

And a reminder. We at Sweeten Life Systems are focusing a lot of attention on working to support families with a member who has a chronic disability. The number of kids born with with a disability who survive has tripled over the last 50 years! Despite this enormous growth in families facing such a stressful life, our churches have not caught on to the increasing need for Pastoral and spiritual as well as emotional and relational ministry. Sweeten Life is dedicated to using the skills and knowledge gained over the last 35 years to "Equip God's people with what they need to minister to the parents and children." Go to our web to see the materials we have developed for families under pressure.

Joni Erickson Tada,an internationally famous leader in the area of disability, has a strong ministry in Ohio. We are working with the Ohio team to train Peer Helpers in the churches where they are involved. Thankfully, Joni and Friends in Ohio has happily joined our network to cooperate in multiplying ministries and ministers who can bless parents and the people they love who have a disability.

Our impact as Christians is growing. Would you prayerfully consider supporting us in prayer and finances? We are expanding rapidly and our finances also need to expand.

Send a donation monthly to:

Sweeten Life Systems, Inc
P.O. Box 498455
Cincinnati, Ohio 45249

Or see our online giving link at sweetenlife.com

Why Controversy about Healing and Prayer?

I have been involved in prayer and healing activities for several decades. I did not ask God to do that to me, but He did not ask my permission so here we are.

It started in a big way in 1968 when my Father had a bad accident and was near death. My older brother and I were in his hospital room at Good Samaritan in Mt. Vernon, Illinois where dad was thrashing around trying to remove the tubes from his mouth.

I started praying for the Lord to touch Dad and all of a sudden, the room became brighter and Dad relaxed. I just knew he was better. Dad, despite the pessimism of Dr. Alexander and others, lived another ten years. I was stunned.

When Karen and I returned to Cincinnati, I happily related the story to my Pastor and friends. My enthusiasm shocked and confused many of them. Since they disbelieved in healing prayers, this new information was difficult to process. Some looked at me and said things like, "Uh, good. I am glad to hear it." There was not the same kind of excitement that they would have shown if Dad's healing had occurred with surgery. It was confusing.

Then the sermons attacking prayer for healing came along. Some were downright hostile as though I had intentionally done something wrong. Despite my innocence I was seen as guilty of disrupting the anti prayer position of the church.

Perhaps that is unfair but at least the anti healing prayer positions. We prayed for the sick but we never prayed for them to get well. My new position was not well received.

Then I shared my faith with colleagues and teachers at U. C. where I was getting a Doctorate.
I was attacked again for being too religious/ mystical/spiritual/etc. One prof told me in class that "Faith healing was not real healing but just healing by convincing people they were better. It is nothing but a mind game."

I replied, "I am in a Doctoral program trying to learn from psychology and sociology how to help change pessimistic minds to optimistic minds so the will get better. If you had a way through psychology to help people get better you would sell it for millions. So, why do you criticize us for doing the same."

So, my church and my profession both rejected my new found faith, little as it was. It is 2012 today and many decades after 1968 when God's healing touch and my spiritual/mental/faith touch occurred. I still believe in healing prayer. Faith in God is on every page of the Bible. God's love and power and truth still reign today as they did 2,000 years ago.

It makes no sense to me that any Christian would disagree. Why turn down easy, free treatment with no bad side effects? Why refuse to glorify God? Personal experience plus most research shows prayer helps people get better. Why would anyone resist getting better?

Discipleship Fallen Nature

Several people have asked me recently about my connection with Crossroads Community Church InCincinnati. The reason they are asking is due to a series of sermons at Crossroads that focus on Identity in Christ. Since that is a topic I have taught on and written about, they want to know if the leaders at Crossroads have read my materials or attended my training.

My answer i, "I have not been in touch with Crossroads but I know several of the Pastors there have read and or attended the Listening, Rational Christian Thinking or Breaking Free training from College Hill or EMI.

I have rewritten some of my materials and posted them on www.sweetenlife.com one book is brand new, Healing Release of the Holy Spirit. I updated renewing the mind and call it, Power Christian Thinking.

If you want to really understand how to leave guilt and shame behind and grow out of depression, get those books.

Preventing and Treating Depression

One of the greatest and most painful issues facing our country and the western world is the huge rise of Mood Disorders (Anxiety and Depression). If you have read my blog before you know that since the Korean Conflict the number, percentage and frequency of people, especially females who suffer from these painful mental and emotional problems has risen dramatically.

People are having emotional struggles earlier in life, later in life and more in-between. This also brings terrible consequences for those who care and love the suffering seeker. The financial costs are high but the costs in stress and lost involvement may be even higher.

A recent study published in December 2011 examines the trends in depression care for Medicaid clients over the past 10 years. Claims data for 56,805 Medicaid recipients who had been hospitalized for depression at least once or who had received out patient care at least two times for depression between 1996 and 2006 were examined.

Costs went up by 30%, but outcomes did not improve.

Hospitalizations went down, but costs increased anyway.

The increase in cost was related to increased use of medication.

Much of the cost increase was due to the use of anti-psychotics for treating depression.

However, despite the huge increase in using anti-psychotics, none of the participants were diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia as well as depression. (Psychosis)

The percentage of people who received out patient psychotherapy decreased from 57% to 38%

The percentage who used medications went up from 81% to 87%.

This is striking and troubling. The costs are skyrocketing but people are not getting better. Is the change in treatment because they want better outcomes, namely a decrease in symptoms? Or, is it because those prescribing these ineffective drugs are forced to do so by Medicaid who pays for the treatment?

It is well known among Therapists that drug treatment alone is not effective. In fact, as 60 Minutes reported two weekends ago, anti-depressant drugs are little more effective, if at all, than the client's faith in them (The placebo).

Talk therapy is much more effective than drugs, if it is used together with family and community support.

If you or someone you love is depressed or anxious, insist upon getting talk therapy (C0unseling). Many Doctors who write prescriptions for drugs are Internists and Family Doctors. Insist upon seeing a Counselor or Psychiatrist before you take a drug from them.

Go to our Sweetenlife.com web page and take the Depression Check List found in the free downloads section for a quick and simple assessment of how you are doing.

Growth and Healing as Basic Church Functions

As you looked at this heading you may have questions. Growth and Healing are rarely a focus in sermons, web pages, blogs and books. I look for those kinds of articles and books because I want to sharpen my knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, I am usually frustrated by a lack of success.

Not long ago I was reading a blog by a wonderfully insightful Pastor/Missionary and saw that he had a list of "Important Books" on the blog. I know his ministry believes in and prays for healing so I though, "Great, I can find some good materials here. I was disappointed and sad because he reaches thousands of believer and leaders so he could be a great resource for them.

In my frustration I wrote a comment on his blog asking for him to add some good resources for education, training, pastoral care, soul care, inner healing, discipleship and so forth. He wrote back that he knew none and asked me to send him the titles of a few good books.

It hit me hard that there must be only a few people who are writing on these topics because they are not seen as important in the church. When I mention this issue I am focusing more on the positives of Christian growth than healing. I believe it is important for churches to sponsor classes, personal discipleship, materials, sermons and guest speakers on the topics of Prevention, Personal Growth, Peer Support and Ministry first and foremost. Healing can follow later but can only be carried out in a congregation with a high percentage of Mature Christians.

So far I have not taken up his request but I may now that I am writing about Growth and Healing in regards to Soul Care. We are upgrading our Sweeten Life web site so it is time to list the books I think are valuable in this regard. Randy Clark, who has a very powerful international healing ministry, asked me to write four eight week classes on Inner Healing or Soul Care. The first two are finished and stated with Level I. Courses in January. You can go to his web page and sign up.

The books and materials for my courses as well as those for general interest are also on sale in the online Sweeten Life book store. In the future we will focus on e books and e materials exclusively. They are less expensive than paper and available to download world wide. I recently updated my Monograph on the theology of healing and growth called, "The Healing Release of the Holy Spirit". It is available for $5.00 at Sweeten Life. It will challenge you to the core of your understanding of basic theology of sin, sanctification and psychopathology as well as how to reconcile Calvin with Wesley, Roman Catholics and Robert Schuller. You will also learn why Justification is not enough for salvation.

If you have any books or papers you think are good for teaching about Christian Growth send the name to me and I will check it out.

Is Europe Dead?

Take a look at the enclosed video and see what you think of France and other European nations.

For 25 years I have worked in Europe and seen the transformation of those nations from open, free and socially liberal to being ruled by other elements. One of the major issues is the lack of babies in European families because of Zero Population Growth Movements, that were very popular on campuses in the USA in the Seventies. These ideas led to abortion and extensive use of birth control as well as a movement of anger toward the “high cost” of having children. Thus, hardly any country in Europe has enough babies per couple to replace the elderly. (2.1 per couple is necessary.)

In Russia, the average woman had 8 to 10 abortions each and the population reduction is a severe crisis. The government offers a cash bonus for having over two kids, but it may be too late for Russia since they have lost 4,000,000 people in the last decade. Only immigration will keep Europe going but the Muslims see it as an opportunity to take over those nations. Thankfully, the USA is being repopulated by largely Christian immigrants from South America.

Europe has lost the battle. Just imagine the Iranians ruling in Germany, France, Italy, etc. Banning all abortion and birth control may be the only way to solve this crisis.