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Emotionally Healthy Discipleship
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Category Archives: Discipleship/Formation

Silence, Mindfulness, and the Buddhists

I recently attended a seminar on mental health/personality disorders in which the leader taught about the need to teach patients “mindfulness.” She defined it as stillness, openness, and silence, leading to the ability to radically love others. She then proceeded to share how her “profession” has learned this from the Buddhist tradition. While she is an atheist, she commented, a number of mental health professionals have converted to Buddhism as result. Sadly, she didn’t think of Christianity as the originator of silence and solitude (e.g. Ps. 37:11, Ps. 46:10, Luke 10:38-42, Elijah, John the Baptist, Moses, Jesus). She also did not associate Christians with “radical acceptance” and love. We have forgotten that other religions and movements may benefit from God’s truth, but it all belongs to Him! (What is really tragic is when Christians mistakenly say that an emphasis on silence and solitude as spiritual practices is New Age or Buddhist). Research with Buddhists. Read more.

Forgiveness-The Most Difficult Spiritual Discipline

At a Fuller Theological Seminary event I attended last week, a student from the Congo named Patrick asked an Anglican bishop, “How do you forgive those who have killed a member of your family?” The bishop answered, “It is very difficult.” In a private conversation afterwards, I asked Patrick, “Were any of them Christian?”  “Yes,” he answered, “But they were of a different tribe.” This put my forgiveness struggles in perspective. Robert Muholland, a theologian and retired New Testament professor of Asbury Theological Seminary, recently said at our New Life Leadership Conference that forgiveness is the most difficult spiritual discipline. I think he is right. I have not thought of forgiving others as a discipline like prayer, Scripture study, worship, etc. This is a fresh nuance for me. It can take weeks, months, even years to forgive certain hurts done to us. The deeper the relational investment, the deeper the wound. Every leader in God’s church I have. Read more.

Pastoral Burnout and Self-Compassion

A study conducted out of Duke University, published in 2011, looked at the four primary factors of why clergy burnout: Desire to please others. Fear of letting parishioners down or not living up to their expectations can leave clergy depleted….Clergy high in desire to please neglect their hobbies, families, and spirituality, fear letting down congregants, and have a hard time saying no to requests. Clergy low in desire to please reserve time for their personal lives without feeling selfish or anxious about disappointing others. Guilt or shame proneness. Overall, “shame is considered the more painful emotion because one’s core self—not simply one’s behavior—is at stake”. Self-compassion. Self-compassion entails offering kindness, patience, and understanding to oneself during times of failure or disappointment. Individuals high in self-compassion recognize that others go through similar experiences and feel connected rather than isolated during times of pain. (They) neither ignore nor ruminate about their own shortcomings. Differentiation of self from role Beebe (2007) found. Read more.

Pastoral Burnout and Self-Compassion

A study conducted out of Duke University, published in 2011, looked at the four primary factors of why clergy burnout: Desire to please others. Fear of letting parishioners down or not living up to their expectations can leave clergy depleted….Clergy high in desire to please neglect their hobbies, families, and spirituality, fear letting down congregants, and have a hard time saying no to requests. Clergy low in desire to please reserve time for their personal lives without feeling selfish or anxious about disappointing others. Guilt or shame proneness. Overall, “shame is considered the more painful emotion because one’s core self—not simply one’s behavior—is at stake”. Self-compassion. Self-compassion entails offering kindness, patience, and understanding to oneself during times of failure or disappointment. Individuals high in self-compassion recognize that others go through similar experiences and feel connected rather than isolated during times of pain. (They) neither ignore nor ruminate about their own shortcomings. Differentiation of self. Read more.

Listening to the Church in the World

As part of the inauguration of the new President of Fuller Theological Seminary, an afternoon symposium was held called “Windows on the Church in the World.: A U.S. and Global Panel.” There were many things for us in the West to hear from the church around the world, but the following were my take-aways: 1. David Zac Niringiye, a bishop and teacher from Northern Uganda, spoke about the church, power, and the cross. He talked about standing up against corruption in Uganda, his arrest by the government, and the silence of the church. He shared about how many churches in Africa support corrupt dictators like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe in exchange for access to power and perks like free land. He challenged us, “You want to talk about our dictators in Africa. We want to ask you, ‘What about your President Bush who went to war in Iraq on false pretenses and you didn’t say a word?’” He challenged. Read more.

Listening to the Church in the World

As part of the inauguration of the new President of Fuller Theological Seminary, an afternoon symposium was held called “Windows on the Church in the World.: A U.S. and Global Panel.” There were many things for us in the West to hear from the church around the world, but the following were my take-aways: 1. David Zac Niringiye, a bishop and teacher from Northern Uganda, spoke about the church, power, and the cross. He talked about standing up against corruption in Uganda, his arrest by the government, and the silence of the church. He shared about how many churches in Africa support corrupt dictators like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe in exchange for access to power and perks like free land. He challenged us, “You want to talk about our dictators in Africa. We want to ask you, ‘What about your President Bush who went to war in Iraq on false pretenses and you didn’t. Read more.

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