webcasting at Joni and Friends

Joni and Friends is one of the oldest ministries in America whose focus is entirely on supporting people with disabilities and those who love them. Joni Ericson Tada was paralyzed at age 17 in a diving accident. After wrestling with God for several years she finally accepted His call to work with churches, families and individuals who care about reaching out to the disabled.

Today they have an international center that touches millions through radio, written materials and the distribution of wheelchairs. They also sponsor seminars and events training Christians how to love all God's people. That is where I am this week and I will speak twice tomorrow about the research we did with these families and how we propose to train Lay Helpers to support the families and the person with a disability.

You can tune in to hear my talks live at 1:30 and 2:30 tomorrow or later because it will be taped
for watching anywhere and anytime. Go to our web to connect.

By the way, consider taking a look at Box Cast the company making this possible to us free. Thanks to Gordon Daily.

Do You Believe in Climate Change?

"Pointing to the devastating weekend Indian Ocean tsunami that left over 24,000 dead, an international blue ribbon committee of climatologists and ecoscientists today issued a stark warning that man-made pollutants have increasingly 'make water spirits angry.' The blunt conclusion prefaced a 2300 page meta-analysis of hundreds of scientific studies and computer models detailing links between human industrial activity and wrathful eco-deities. Entitled 'Fire Bad: Fire Very Bad,' the report warns that the planet faces additional catastrophes unless drastic regulatory action is taken to appease Earthen-furies."--David Burge, IowaHawk blog, Dec. 27, 2004

What do you think these folks believe about God? Or, asked another way, "Who is god" to these Ecoscientists"

Another question: "What the fat is an 'Ecoscientist'"?

I am a scientist in Human Relations. I have a Masters Degree and a Doctoral Degree with statistical training in both of them. I was taught to look at science as the use of math and statistics to test whether some act had positive or negative impact.

I am also a Christian who believes in God's intervention into our world. However, my statements about God's will would not be labeled as "science" but as my "Faith in God".

By using the term "Ecoscientists" along with what is essentially statements of faith by religious men and women not by scientists. Unfortunately, people like Al Gore seem to be worshiping some kind of "water spirits" and hearing them speak about their anger at us humans.

What do you think?

Relapse into Stinking Thinking

A few minutes ago I was tempted to relapse back into "Stinking Thinking" and start to beat myself up. I heard the still small voice of, "You Dumkoff! You left out an entire phrase and that sentence made NO sense. Now everybody who reads the Blog and Facebook will also see how stupid you really are."

Wow! It certainly does not take long to fall back into old habits of the fallen, broken brain. But, thankfully, I remembered my pledge to never, ever disrespect God's word and His promises again and treat myself like a no good, dirty, stupid worm that deserves a good beating! (I made that pledge way back when I was struggling mightily against anxiety and fear and workaholism.) I am still tempted to sin but today I do not usually relapse very long before I catch myself and stop the madness! (Thanks to Scott for that last bit of advice.)

I try to remember that Relapse is nearly always a part of Recovery! Alcoholics are known to relapse. Smokers are known to Relapse. Over-eaters are known to Relapse. Chocoholics are known to Relapse and so are those Addicted to Stinking Thinking.

By Relapse I don't mean a full blown binge, although if we don't handle the false Guilt and False Shame well a small Relapse can turn really ugly and push us into an in-depth binge. In fact, when I was deeply engaged in Addictive Self Pity and Self Destruction it could take only one small slip of the tongue to send me reeling into a roller coaster of self-hatred and mental, emotional,spiritual Depression.

One time I came home from preaching and was deeply disturbed. Karen, my ever loving and up building wife, was wonderfully affirming about the sermon and how it was delivered. But I was Eyore and fell into a funk of self-pity and self immolation that left her with grunts and grumbles as responses. She asked, "What is wrong with you?" I replied, "That sermon was terrible." She said, "What was wrong with it?"

My answer was a classic for those of us who are into perfectionist of self behavior analysis. "I said uh three times!"

If saying "Uh" or "You know" sends people to hell for failing God not many preachers will be in heaven. Yet, those small mistakes of anxiety led me to a deep sense of failure and anger at myself.

So, a Relapse is not falling back into a permanent state of being an Eyore, but even a temporary state of allowing the Pre-Christian part of my brain take over for a few minutes of Ruminating on some self perceived lack of perfection. But, don't worry about me. I can resist anything but temptation.

Recovering From My Stinking Thinking

For as long as I can remember I was addicted to Stinking Thinking. That is until I learned I could be healed and set free from the ravages of those Irrational and Self Destructive Thinking Habits. Here is a short history of my getting healed.

I developed a very important but destructive way of motivating myself to achieve more and better results in life especially when dealing with failures. Each time I messed up I would beat myself mentally and emotionally until I was enraged at me for failing. It "worked" to motivate me to do better but it left me an intellectual and emotional and relational cripple.

A couple of years after I finished a Doctorate in Counselor Education at University of Cincinnati I was called the the Holy Spirit through the Elders at College Hill Presbyterian Church to establish an "Equipping Center at the Church. Our focus was to be on Family Life, Small Groups, The Healing Service, Training Lay Helpers and Christian Discipleship. It was a grand vision.

We started by implementing a program to train our members in Genuineness, Respect, Empathy and Warmth, or what researchers call, "The Core Conditions of healthy relationships". On my dissertation I also discovered that they are highly correlated with what scripture calls, "The fruit of the Holy Spirit". We used the newly discovered ideas to produce my first student manual, "Apples of Gold". I still meet people who say they use the "Apples of Gold" skills in daily life.

Alice Petersen came to us from Fuller Seminary as an Intern and Margaret Josephson was a volunteer for us because I was on her Doctoral Committee at UC. They both attended a seminar led by Dr. Maxie Maultsby on Cognitive Therapy. Upon their return, both exclaimed how wonderful it was and how it fit perfectly with scripture.

I read their books and notes and agreed. I immediately saw how the principles of Dr. Maultsby were very close to what the Bible teaches about controlling our moods, feelings and behavior by "Taking every thought captive to Christ".

As I studied those books and studied the Bible I asked Alice and Meg to write up a simple way to bring the two together. Meg was too busy so Alice and Dorothy Geverdt teamed up with me to write a manual that later became Rational Christian Thinking. As I studied scripture and Cognitive Therapy I saw I needed to renew my own mind first.

I am still working on breaking those life long habits of Stinking Thinking but I am much better now than I was in 1982 when we began. Thanks Alice and Meg.

Encouraging God's Gifted People

I have had a very busy week. One of the highs was yesterday when we celebrated the 80th birthday of a friend with whom I worked for many years. Lois Dunn was a fine artist who was well known in our community for drawing a wonderful portrait of "The Head of Jesus". Almost everyone had it in their homes.

Just after I finished a Doctorate and was trying to implement its findings by teaching the skills I had discovered at College Hill Presbyterian Church I needed someone to illustrate my writings. Lois had no experience in commercial illustrations. To make matters worse, we were just moving from fine art to computer art and Lois had never touched a computer let alone one that had drawing software.

The church bought her a computer and software and paid for her to attend classes. The rest can be found in books, articles and all sorts of graphics. She was a tremendous support for us when we developed what is now ministering and training in some 75 nations as Equipping Ministries International (EMI). Thanks Lois.

I am a visual learner and wanted to use good illustrations to enhance my teaching. Lois enabled me to do that as we wrote and published Apples of Gold and Rational Christian Thinking. She designed the art work and took us to a new level of self publishing and communication.

It takes the talents, gifts and love of many good people to take an idea and launch it into an international ministry that touches thousands. Most of them are behind the scenes and are largely unknown to the general public. However, the words of I Corinthians 12 about the need for every part of the body to work together are absolutely true and amazing. They are especially remarkable when one considers they were written in an era of complete dictatorship.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^{[b] 11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

We established EMI in 1978 to "Equip God's people to do His work" and this passage was a basic reason and answer to the vision. My Doctoral studies about Counseling effectiveness confirmed God's Word as written here about ministry. All people can minister and use their gifts. Neither the Church or Clinic ought to be restricted to Professionals. To restrict Ministry to the Clergy is heresy and contrary to the effective work of God. To restrict Counseling, Healing and Caring to Professional Clinicians is arrogant and contrary to outcome research from the past 50 years.

Both limit the enormous good that would come from unleashing all God's people to care, pray, preach and love. We did that and taught how it can be done at EMI and Lois was a very important part of the leadership team.

Prayer and Meditation are Selfish

The last few months I have been speaking and writing as well as coaching people how to enter into deeper life of prayer and intimacy with God. It has been a wonderful journey for me. Thankfully, it is also a journey in which I have been learning and changing a lot.

I did not want to preach about prayer and not be practicing some prayer myself. I wanted to increase my intimacy with God too. Why? because I am selfish. Increased intimacy with God is good for me.

• It is good for my brain and I need help for my brain.
• It is good for my body and I need help for my body.
• It is good for my heart and I need help for my heart.
• It is good for my health and I need help for my health.
• It is good for my emotions and I need help for my emotions.
• It is good for my relationships and I need help for my relationships.
• It is good for my spiritual life and I need help for my spiritual life.

My book Healing Souls, Touching Hearts by going to my web.

Great Time for Spiritual Growth

My friends Judy Haag, Linda Holmes and others are sponsoring times of refreshment throughout the year. The next one is coming up soon so read the brochure and pray about meting God with the rest of the seekers.

If you cannot attend this one ask about the future schedule.

Remember the old song, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee? Here is an opportunity to develop it.