Guidance for the Journey

When we are Facing Great Waves

Thy sea, O God, so great,

My boat so small.

It cannot be that any happy fate

Will me befall

Save as Thy goodness opens paths for me

Through the consuming vastness of the sea.

 

Thy winds, O God, so strong,

So slight my sail.

How could I curb and bit them on the long

And saltry trail,

Unless Thy love were mightier than the wrath

Of all the tempests that beset my path?

 

Thy world, O God, so fierce,

And I so frail.

Yet, though its arrows threaten oft to pierce

My fragile mail,

Cities of refuge rise where dangers cease,

Sweet silences abound, and all is peace.

~Winfred Ernest Garrison

 

Does Our Helping Hurt?

Do not rush into trying to minister to hurting people. Trying too hard to help people can be harmful. By trying to force people to change we can cause a push back. 

Push Back Can Cause a Person to: 

1. Quit trying
2. Think like a victim
3. Feel angry
4. Feel shame
5. Put us on a pedestal
6. Trust in us to heal, rescue, or save them 
7. Feel guilty

It is harmful. First, do no harm. 

Every book and class we do focuses on helping people grow and prosper. We want to see people get stronger and more independent. We do not want them to be dependent on us. 

So, we try to plan everything we do to support positive growth.

Isolated as Christians?

                                         
                          Connected to the World but not to Our Neighbor

If we need a wake up call to mobilize Christians into action, this article in the Wall Street Journal could be it Deaths of Despair The article interviews a married couple that both teach at Princeton University. Ann Case and Angus Deaton write a report that reveals the very disturbing statistics about suicide and death by addiction.

One of their telling arguments has to do with the rise of Evangelical Churches and the demise of traditional churches. Evangelicals, they say, focus on an individualistic faith that tends to isolate us from each other. Traditional churches are more community oriented and do a better job of building relationships and deeper communities.

In my view, one of the culprits in the Evangelical movement has to do with the fact that they often attract people who drive to church from a far distance. These people may see each other at worship but attend different schools, shop at different sores, and rarely work with each other. Their children attend different schools and getting together to hang out during the week is difficult.

The result is ----- Isolation.

Isolation is harmful. Caring relationships are healing.

Just being with people that smile, listen, hug, interact together. improves my health.

What can we do?

I want your input as well as suggestions about other stories you want me to write about.

Go to Sweeten Life Systems for great materials on life together. 
www.sweetenlife.com

Great Churches Yung Nak Presbyterian

Do you wonder what he most influential in church history in the past 100 years were, and 

what trends did they set and how they expressed their influence?  Can those past churches’ successes help us today?  

Yung Nak Presbyterian Church, Seoul, South Korea

When the Korean War was on the front pages of every newspaper, it was a struggle between North Korean and South Korea. Freedom versus Communism.  This church did more to protect freedom and democracy, and was partly responsible for stopping the spread of Communism in the Far East.

When North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, the Communists overran the capital Seoul, Korea, and steadily captured town after town on the peninsula.  Pastor Kyung-chik Han was instructed by the military to evacuate the southern tip of the peninsula so he could speak to the nation.  Constantly Pastor Han preached over radio 24/7 encouraging South Koreans all over the peninsula to stand against Communism and to pray. 

The Communists burned thousands of churches in every city that they captured.  When they invaded Seoul, a military detail was sent to burn down Yung Nak Presbyterian Church.  That church was a hot bed for freedom and anti-communism throughout the entire nation, hence it became a target for North Korean retaliation. 

Elder Lee was left to protect the church, but was killed on the front steps trying to protect the church.  Today, there is a tombstone and grave to the right of the entrance of the church honoring him. The enemies stacked furniture in the basement of the church and set a roaring fire.  But oddly enough, the flames only scorched the ceiling, and did not burn the rest of the building. Pastor Han walked me into a basement room to show me the scorched ceiling.  He explained, “God in heaven saw the tears and sacrifice of our people who built this church before they built their own homes . . . and God would not let it burn.” 

Then Han told me, during WWII when the Japanese occupied Korea, he compromised his faith.  Every Korean who entered a government building had to bow at a Shinto shrine and he did it.  After the war was over the Korean Presbyterian Church lifted his ordination along with many other ministers who bowed at a Shinto shrine. 

Pastor Han prayed long hours and wept before the Lord begging the Lord for forgiveness.  Then he begged for a church assignment. Finally, the Presbyterians directed him to a group of radical anti-communists who were fleeing North Korea and settling in the Yung Nak Valley on the edge of the city of Seoul.  Han was allowed to begin a church with these people.  The young church became as radical for Jesus Christ as they had been radical against Communism.  The church grew rapidly.  Han talked to American soldiers who provided a tent for church services.  Quickly the tent was filled with 500 worshippers. Two tents were joined together as an auditorium for 1,000 people.  Then four tents for an auditorium for 2,000, and finally another tent for an additional 500 people.

The people made a commitment to construct their church first, before they would build their private homes.  Almost every member was living in a U. S. army discarded tent and faced rain and brutal winters without the comfort and luxury of shelter.

Han said, “When the monsoons came, I saw faithful church members sitting against the tent posts of their homes praying all night while the cold water ran through every part of their tent. Yes, they sacrificed for this church. God would not let this church burn when He remembered their tears and sacrifice.”

When the church was finished in 1950, it was the largest Presbyterian structure in the world seating 4,400.  It was built in the form of a cross with pulpit in the center and the choir seated behind in the top of the cross.  There were balconies on the other three legs of the cross. 

Dr. Han had retired when we met in 1978.  I preached the 9:00 am morning service, Pastor Park translated for me.  At the time the church was averaging over 30,000 in attendance, with the crowds lining up at the front door down a long wide stairs reaching into the street.  Each service was 50 minutes long, and the worshippers left through side entrances as the next congregation moved in and was ready to worship at the top of the hour.  I left just as quickly as the worshippers.  Pastor Park got ready for the next service. 

I will always remember Yung Nak Presbyterian Church as the biggest Presbyterian church in the world because of their sacrificial faith for Jesus Christ and His cause. 

WANT TO READ MORE?

What churches were the most influential in church history in the past 100 years?  What trends did they set?  How did they express their influence?  Can past churches’ successes help you today?  What can the ministry of past successful churches teach us today?  Read, The Ten Most Influential Churches in the Past Century, published by Destiny Image Publishers by Elmer Towns.  Order this book from Amazon.com

Go to Sweeten Life Systems to learn more. 

Healing Damage to the Brain

It has become quite clear that damage to our brain can occur when we suffer from two kinds of  adversity. Harmful Interventions and Harmful Neglect. The slides above do correlations between Adverse Childhood Events  Scores (ACE) and later difficulties in life. ACE Scores are drawn from the number of severe losses in a person's life. Key scores arise from the loss of a parent or loved one to death, divorce, drugs, mental illness, chronic illness, etc. 

Look at the slides and see how the issues of drug addiction and suicide are clearly related to the number of Losses in childhood. A ACE Score of Zero has very few incidences of addiction or suicide but a high Ace Score of 4 or more has a large correlation. 

Two points come to mind from these data.
1. Let us do as much as possible to prevent loss, trauma and abuse. It is impossible to prevent deaths but we can provide big brothers and sisters for orphans. Second, we can focus on treating people with addictions and supporting families with a parent in prison or on drugs. 

2. Let us do everything possible to provide inner healing for the brains of those suffering from high ACE Scores. 

Please read about the ACE Score for Nikolas Cruz, the young Hispanic man that begged for help for his panic stricken life and got little if any. 


Harmful Neglect: 

Lack of Housing
Lack of Food
Lack of  Clothing
Lack of Nurture
Lack of Encouragement
Lack of Education
Lack of Morals
Lack of Protection and Safety

Harmful Interventions:

Harmful Physical Punishment
Harmful Verbalization
Harmful Sexual Treatment
Harmful Emotional Rejection

There are Three Levels of Harm:

Shock: Rare or Occasional Occurrences
Symptoms: Interruptions in ability to interact with others. Excessive shyness, anxiety, fear of others, withdrawal, etc.
Hyper interactions with others; ADHD, compulsive talking, hyper extroversion

Trauma: Common Occurrences
Symptoms: Fight reactions, easily angered, bitter, 
Flight: Hides from disharmony, cannot stand conflict

Abuse: Regular and Harsh Occurrences
Mental/Emotional/Physical disconnections 

Send me suggestions about how churches can provide help for people in pain. 

See our web page to get helpful hints about healing.
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Prayer Request is Attacked by Unbelievers

When I read this story I found it hard to believe. Why would people be so hateful they would make harsh comments about a famous actor's prayer requests? Have we ever seen such lack of compassion in our nation before? 

Go to the link and search for Chris Pratt.

Chris Pratt asks for prayer for a friend and gets hammered.

As a Spirit-filled Christian I thoroughly believe that prayer can and often does impact our health and welfare. In fact, the research is clear that faith, prayer, and God's love are life giving.  One study shows, 

STUDY

A new study shows that elderly persons who attended religious services every week were 46 percent less likely to die during the six-year study period than people who attended church less frequently or not at all.

The study, published in the July/August issue of Journal of Gerontology, lends to the growing belief that a connection exists between religious involvement and better health. The lead researcher, psychiatrist Harold Koenig of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., says the effects of regular religious attendance were so strong that he equated it to that of not smoking cigarettes.

"Participating in religious services is associated with significant health benefits in elderly people, even when you take into account the fact that religious people tend to start out with better health practices and more social support," Koenig says.
The findings are based on the study of about 4,000 elderly people living in North Carolina. Of the 1,177 people who died during the six-year study, 22.9 percent were frequent church-goers compared with 37.4 percent who did not attend church regularly.

People who regularly attended church also showed better abilities to cope with life's ups and downs and were less likely to engage in destructive health habits, such as smoking and excessive drinking.

AIDS Relief

Certain psychological factors appear to promote survival in HIV-positive individuals, researchers have found—optimism, life involvement, emotional expression, a collaborative relationship with one’s physician. And now another psychological attribute seems to enhance survival in such persons as well. It is religion.

This finding comes from Gail Ironson, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist and psychologist with the University of Miami, and her colleagues. They reported it at the recent annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Savannah, Ga.


Dr. Ironson and her coworkers explored the religious outlooks of these two groups. First the subjects received an "I Worship" questionnaire that dealt with such issues as view of God, view of others, and belief in the possibility of an afterlife. The subjects also received the COPE test, which explored how the subjects had coped when they had found out that they were HIV positive and whether religion was one of the tools that they had used in their coping with that discovery.

The long-term survivors were more likely to report participating in religious activities such as attending services and praying or meditating; to have a more compassionate, respectful view of others; and to use religion as a strategy to cope with their illness. All results were statistically significant, the researchers reported.

Want more on healing? Go to our web store and download some PDF books.

Unbelievers welcome

Mental Illness and Guns

Many people, including the President and other political leaders are attempting to solve the issue of killings in America. One theme is to deny everyone that is "Mentally Ill" the right to buy a gun. As a result, they could not hunt or protect themselves. 

Such an idea makes sense on its face. The notion that a madman like those in the movies getting machine guns is scary and should not be allowed to get any gun.

The kid that killed all those folks in Florida was not, as far as I have read, been diagnosed as being "Mentally Ill". But he was dangerous and needed to be stopped. 

In America, anyone that seeks Counseling for Anxiety, Depression, Alcohol/Drug Addiction, Down syndrome, Autism, Grief, Post Partum Depression, etc, is categorized as "Mentally Ill". In order to have the Counseling/Psychotherapy paid by insurance, it must be "Diagnosed as a Mental Illness". (Beth Brinsko, correct me here if I am wrong.)  

This is why some of us are concerned about making laws based on categories that can be misunderstood and misused. It is like the HIPPA Law. I visited a man in the hospital that was a member of our church. He was registered in his middle name so they would not give me his room number. A well intended law applied badly.

Plus, I will add one additional thought. I will donate $10.00 to a charity for every person murdered in Cincinnati that was shot by a person with a legally owned and registered gun. 

Let us pray for wisdom for our politicians and educators. 

See our ministry web page for materials on healing people in trauma.

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