In my 23 years as a former sr. pastor and 24 years as a licensed mental health professional, I’ve not seen such an onslaught of emotional dysfunction within church leadership as I have today, in particular, within younger church leaders.
We've got to get it ... we struggle, all of us! The question isn't, do we struggle in life as believers? We do, and that's a fact. However, the real question is, why do we struggle? And through the struggle, is it possible to struggle well in the eyes of God and God be ok with that?
On Friday, June 26th a scud missile hit the traditionally valued Evangelical churches with such a blast that it's just now getting up from it's knees because of the shell shock!
Now you know that things have got to be crazy out of balance regarding the Deen controversy when she ends up being defended by the likes of former President Jimmy Carter who said, "She has been punished, perhaps overly severely," and the Rev. Jesse Jackson saying, "Deen is a "sacrificial lamb" who "should be reclaimed rather than destroyed." So, Ms. Deen made a mistake, ok, who hasn't? She is regretful, disappointed in herself, repentant and does not want to repeat her wrong. Hello…Anybody out t
But believe it or not, I think temptation can actually be our friend if we use it to our advantage. It can be very effective in our lives because it shows us the cracks in our armor. It exposes our real selves, our propensities toward certain sins and brings to light the sins that we're blinded to.