Broken Believers Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Mentally Ill Believers with the Uncondition

Time 2020-10-17 12:04:01

Web Name: Broken Believers Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Mentally Ill Believers with the Uncondition

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Disciples,Clumsy,Mentally,

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Broken Believers Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Mentally Ill Believers with the Unconditional Love of Jesus Christ Samantha approached me outside the church on Thanksgiving morning with her hair disheveled and her coat covered with dirt smudges and raindrops. She demanded to borrow my cell phone to find if the Thanksgiving dinner she had requested from a charitable organization would be ready for pick-up in an hour. I was in a hurry. I needed to be inside preparing to lead worship. I begrudgingly let her borrow my phone, but I insisted on dialing the number myself and standing with her in the gentle rain.Samantha issued commands to the person on the other end of the line. When she hung up, the rant continued against our church, our staff, the weather, and this meal that would serve as her Thanksgiving dinner. I had to let her go mid-rant, but not before reminding her that I would keep her in my prayers.My encounters with Samantha have continued over the past few months. She s almost always confused, angry and paranoid. She tells stories about growing up with another member of our staff, who never met her until recently. It s hard to know how to respond to Samantha.A friend called me recently to ask if our church had any resources for helping congregations to welcome those who struggle with mental illness. I pointed her in a few directions, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at www.nami.org. Even as I offered her the information, I felt uneasy. Connecting with those who have mental illnesses is a complex, difficult journey.It was raining again on Monday when I saw Samantha. She was sitting in the front lobby of the church. She shouted at me as I walked out the door, Be careful out there! Two guys tried to kidnap me, and I wouldn t want that to happen to you. Unwilling to believe her, I replied, Samantha, I m sorry you had a rough morning. I ll be thinking of you. Hope your day gets better. I continued out the church doors and opened my umbrella.I later discovered that Samantha was mugged that morning. Thankfully, the police believed her while I had blown her off. They arrested the alleged perpetrators that afternoon.I m embarrassed by my lack of gentleness and compassion toward Samantha, and I know I m not alone. I wonder what it means for the Church to embrace, accept and listen to those who have mental illnesses. I wonder how church leaders like myself can grow and help others to deepen their care for people like Samantha.There are no simple answers, but I think the answer starts in a simple place: We stand with them in the rain.Lisa Schubert is Associate Pastor of Discipleship and Formation of North United Methodist Church, Indianapolis Mental illness doesn t mean exotic or strange but it does mean different. It doesn t make one bizarre, or odd. Coming to faith in Christ really settles this issue for most. While our mental illness is flaring up, yet we are still being changed by the Holy Spirit.We can t really nullify the work of God. It takes as much grace to change a normal man as a mentally challenged one. God does not have to work any harder; there are no lost causes or last chances. All require the same grace.Since I m bipolar I ve become aware of BP throughout history. Many painters and poets, inventors and doctors have come from the ranks of bipolar disorder. Many of those with manic depression and sufferers of depression have excelled; we would not have harnessed electricity if it wasn t because a bipolar/ADHD created the light bulb.But we are different. But we also can bring a giftedness that is necessary. We are not pariahs or leeches, but rather we are unique. Typically we may be passionate and sensitive. We are touched by something creative. Some have called bipolar disorder as those touched by fire. Mental illness should be more of a mental difference than a liability. We are not crazy or lunatics running amok. Sometimes others pity us; often when they do they shut us off and seal us into a weird sense of extreme wariness. This should not be.13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body     and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!     Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:13-14, NLTGod has created each one. We are all knit together by the hand of God. There are no second rates prototypes, not quite His best work. The blood of Christ works in spite of handicaps and personality quirks.Some may hesitate about this. But it is essentially an act of faith. The treasures of the Church are unique. They are the blind and the lame, the ones not always stable. What others consider marginal, or lacking are really the valuable ones. It s these that the Church should glory in.I encourage you to broaden your thinking on this. To stigmatize others is never a healthy or God honoring attitude. It indicates a small heart.Related articlesIt was easier coming out as a lesbian than coming out as bipolar (blackbutchandbipolar.wordpress.com)The Cost of Mental Illness to Employers Employees (psychcentral.com) I Am Mental Illness Vs. I Have Mental Illness (gavin8r.wordpress.com)Share this:TwitterPocketRedditLinkedInTumblrEmailFacebookPrintPinterestLike this:Like Loading... But now, O Jacob, listen to theLordwho created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.2When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:1-2, NLT YARNELL, Ariz. (AP) —July 1, an Arizona forest fire into an out-of-control inferno that trapped and killed 19 firefighters, nearly all of them members of an elite crew of hotshots, authorities said Monday. It was the nation s biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire in 80 years. This is as dark a day as I can remember, Gov. Jan Brewer said in a statement. Firefighters have a dangerous job. They put their lives on the line.The promises here in Isaiah 43 meant to prepare us, and promise us. Fires burn and consume. Floods keep growing and multiplying. Yet in this world full of fires and floods, we have these promises of His presence in the middle of it all. He intends to be right there when things are going very, very wrong.And dear broken believer, trials and tribulations are a fact of life for us. Life is often full of badness, but my God, we learn. (Oh, how we learn.) You may be struggling now, but we are being made into something wonderful. Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12No surprises burning trials something strange? Hardly, it s just the life of a saint, as he travels home to heaven. And isn t heaven is worth just a little temporary pain? (I walk with a cane, so I ll be behind you a bit.)The reality is this, the Isaiah verses declare that there will be floods, and rivers to cross, and fires and flames. These are going to happen. But, the Lord does promise that He will walk with you, as your Companion, and Protector. It is quite useless knocking at the door of heaven for earthly comfort. It s not the sort of comfort they supply there. C.S. LewisWe are looking to be given comfortable things, naturally easy things. Like lots of money in our bank accounts, bills paid off. A redesigned kitchen would be nice. And one of those huge refrigerators (big enough to hang a cow in.) A new VW Jetta, maybe. But this is not the comfort that God is supplying us.You may have to shift things in your thinking. But maybe you have already learned this, and might just need a tiny reminder. There is a definite upside to this the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is standing at your side, and you will know his true comfort and assistance. It is a promise. And it is yours. (But not the VW, most likely).*ybic, BryanKyrie elesion. (Lord, have mercy)Related articles This is the word that was proclaimed to you (1 Pet. 1:25b) (maxbotner.wordpress.com)With You Always (daynalopez.wordpress.com)Isaiah 43:2 (shanallen.wordpress.com)Don t Let a Flood Leave You Underwater (allstate.com)Share this:TwitterPocketRedditLinkedInTumblrEmailFacebookPrintPinterestLike this:Like Loading... They died bravely in the first century. Will we follow Jesus when this happens to us?Believers must reconsider the issues of being salt and light in our flourishing pagan culture. For instance, the Church has tried hundreds of approaches in evangelism, and I know of several first-hand. I m afraid that most of them are rather stale. Sorry.Sometime ago, someone suggested that I see,The Passion of The Christ directed by Mel Gibson. At the time, it was shattering box-office records when it came out in 2004. Personally I found it both compelling and disturbing. We saw Jesus beaten and tortured, but it seems the splattering of blood did not translate well into spiritual change. If perhaps anything, it may have hardened people to God s Spirit. But who knows?We definitelymust use everything that is available to broadcast the gospel. Art both fine and popular, music and theater, movies and sports. I worked with a christian brother who wanted to put billboards up proclaiming Jesus is Lord along the highways. (He might be onto something.)I m personally praying for a street artist like Banksy who would witness for Jesus publicly. We need to squeeze out of every venue, in every medium every gift to share the good news. We must take it to the people. In order to do this must make the choice:To be true. Endure. Continue to pray and witness.To be prayerful.At least working on it. I know prayer is supremely powerful, linking my inadequacy with God s capability.To be joyful. Sing often. Thanksgiving all the time. Our tormentors hate joyful hearts. It seems to disturb them.To be real. Being faithful to Jesus. No lies, no illusions. Every aspect of our lives is to be the truth.To be giving. Time or talent, it s a stringent test of a believer s maturity. Money is secondary.To be convinced. We need to become fully convinced of the message of the gospel, and to be sure of His love.In the time of ancient Rome,the only time Christians were in the limelight were as martyrs, front and center. And the lions of the Coliseum made quick work oftheir witness. But they succeeded in reaching thousands by their witness, and a pagan empire was broughtto Christ, en masse!Die before you die, and your fear of death will die.Perhaps martyrdom will be our path to reach America with the Gospel. The New Testamentword for witness is martyr. It very well may be that our blood will be the seed for a new generation of believers.Itshould come as no surprise.I preached once on theUC Berkeleycampus.It s a challenging place; a condensed stronghold of a godless intellectualism (if you can imagine that). There is always a few people that for the most part bright and engaging. But as I got ready to leave, I met a university professor. He looked at me in his tweed jacket and sweater vest and said something I will never forget. Too bad we can t feed you to the lions . That is all he said. It was a flat-calm statement; terse, cold and frightening, mostly because I knew he meant it. (It was eerie and quite weird.)In this enlightened campus, there was a coldness a hatred that I never encountered in the areas of inner San Francisco Polk Street. or the Tenderloin. The Haight/Ashbury neighborhood in SF can be a little rough at times, where I once was punched in the face while preaching, but nothing like Berzerkeley (that s what we called it.) In three years of full-time evangelism I never met another man that was as hateful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This incident in Berkeleywas a darkly brazen calculationagainst the Gospel. Perhaps persecution by hardcore intellectuals will be the catalyst for the martyrdom to come.We are in God s hands. Period. Our obedience to Jesus should be a decision we must make ahead of time. We can t just hope to make the gospel work, unless we change. Die before you die, and your dyingwon t be death , the somebody once wrote. This could very well be our cue. Get ready. And watch and pray. And prepare to die the death now.Post art from The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer, by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) As we wrestle with our embedded issues, we realize that the battle is in largely inside of us.  The last few days have been very hard, and I have a dark presence pressing on me; there is a subsequent reaction in my heart.As a born-again believer who gets deeply challenged by depression, I simply cannot fathom life outside my faith in Jesus.  How do unbelievers do it?  The Holy Spirit meets me, holds me, and speaks peaceful things to me.  I have been promised things of wonder and of grace.I ve discovered that self-pity and discouragement are main ingredients into my excursions through bleakness and sadness.  In my more profound plummets into the pit, I find myself seeing the physical world around me drained of color.  Everything around me is in black and white.   (I have been told this is one of many symptoms of depression.)Charlie Brown hits the nail on the head.  Often I catch myself smiling, and I immediately stop and say, Wait. I m very depressed.  I can t be seen smiling, or talking with a dear friend.    Often we choose to act in ways that reinforces our illness.  We think we have to be a certain way, stand in another, or even walk like we think a depressive walks.  (After all, we have an image to live up to.)Depression is very real.  Medication is mandated for many.  But truthfully, there is this other element of extending this image to others.  Our self-pity works hand-in-hand with our image and identity.  It seems we have to be somebody, even if we are crazy people. I know this blog has been a challenge at times.  I write these daily blogs out of my attitudes, and issues and problems.  But there is a Charlie Brown Depression, the type where we feel like we are inconsolable all the time.  (Maybe Mr. Brown should be our new patron saint of lost causes? )If while in the pit, and for some reason you think of something that s funny, go ahead and smile, its okay.  I m learning that things are never as sad or grim as I think, nor are they rosy and joy saturated either.  Be real.  Be real to yourself.   Walk in the truth.  And take your meds, lol.Related articlesSelf-Encouragement, Understood (brokenbelievers.com)11 Warning Signs of Depression (brokenbelievers.com)Charlie Brown and Snoopy: A Brief History (neatorama.com)Share this:TwitterPocketRedditLinkedInTumblrEmailFacebookPrintPinterestLike this:Like Loading... A Teaching Ministry of Bryan LoweBroken Believers is dedicated to serving broken Christians through a message of discipleship. Special attention is ministering to mental illnesses and other disabilities. Bryan has a pastor's heart who suffers from clinical depression and chronic pain. Blog Stats 1,448,560 hits Where BB Has Been Today? Translate this SiteSearch: Basic, but Complete Search for:

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