Earlier this week, we shared the first part of an interview with Jen Pollock Michel, author of Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition, and the Life of Faith. There she talked a bit about the nature of desire and evaluating the need for change. Below we explore with her the idea of contentment. We also share some practical approaches for pastors as they seek to help others … [Read more...]
Counseling the perfectionist
Chances are that you will rarely, if ever, have someone ask for your help in overcoming perfectionism. Yet perfectionism may be very common in those who seek out your help. If perfectionists rarely ask for help overcoming perfectionism, what might motivate a perfectionist to come to you for help? Perfectionists may approach you seeking help for: their marriage … [Read more...]
How to help people avoid regrets
Preventing regret: Alice’s dilemma Robert and Alice met through an online dating service. He lives in Minnesota, and she lives in Alabama. Alice’s husband divorced her seven years ago, saying they had grown apart and their lives were on two different paths (he was not a Christian). Robert’s wife was killed in a traffic accident two years ago. Both are committed Christians, … [Read more...]
5 things pastors can learn from my anorexia
The summer before my junior year of college, I developed anorexia. In the course of about eight months, I dropped more than thirty pounds, to less than 75 percent of the weight that is considered normal for my height. Ultimately, I was admitted to a treatment center and refed with the help of a feeding tube. But the first place I turned for help was my church. At the time, I … [Read more...]
FREE ebook: Caring for the Depressed
Sign up for the CareLeader Weekly newsletter to download your free copy Already a subscriber? Just submit your email and download your free copy. About the book Depression is a complex experience for people to understand and talk about. In this book, Dr. Jeff Forrey explains how we might understand the experience of depression in terms of what the Bible says … [Read more...]