Pastoral
Resources About Chronic Illness and
Pain, Dealing with Depression and More
It's
not easy being a pastor and trying
to counsel the sick who need both
hope and care for their body and spirit.
We understand that there are a lot
of people in your congregation with
special needs and that you don't have
the time to be able to counsel and
encourage everyone as often as you
would like.
Through
our web site you can find resources
and ministries to help one who is
living with a chronic illness, as
well as resources for yourself that
may help your understanding of what
a chronically ill person may experience.
What
if you are the one coping with illness
or depression?
The
questions abound. In a simple search on
the internet we found people asking a
variety of questions from "Why did
Jesus heal the paralyzed man but He won't
heal me?" to "How to heal candida
in the blood?" to "Will Jesus
heal cystic acne?" it seems regardless
of your affliction, many people do seek
healing.
When
it doesn't come there are even more questions.
Too often, however, even pastors don't
always know how to answer the "whys?"
And
what happens when people want to minister
to others but they have not yet been healed?
Believe it or not, a lot of people come
to us and say their pastor has told them,
"Why don't you focus on your healing
first, and if you are healed, then
you can start a HopeKeepers ministry."
They
are broken-hearted and confused. If they
feel God is calling them to share in the
sufferings of others, do they really need
to wait until they are healed before offering
that comfort to others?
Please
Tell Other Pastors About the Resources They
Can Find @ RM
Please
feel free to share any information with
the people that you visit who live with
chronic illness or physical pain who
would like encouraged. You've probably
noticed that there are very few resources
that are easy to find at your local
Christian bookstore that discuss the
"daily-ness" of living with
physical pain. Pastoral care of the
sick is one of the most vital areas
your understanding and empathy will
mean the most.
We
hope that we can assist you in meeting
some of the emotional and spiritual
outreach that you desire to do.
Illness
is not a condition of just the elderly.
Illness is extremely difficult to live with.
Those who are Christians still feel alone,
misunderstood and hurt by the reactions
or lack of acknowledge of those they love,
especially people in the church body.
Nearly
1 in 2 people have an illness; 96% of illnesses
are invisible. 75% of marriages with illness
end in divorce;
Depression
is 15-20% higher for the chronically ill than
for the average person;
Various
studies have reported that physical illness
or uncontrollable physical pain are major
factors in up to 70% of suicides; and more
than 50% of these suicidal patients were under
35 years of age.
However, the significance of one's faith has
shown to lower one's risk of depressive symptoms
and aid one in better handling a stressful
medical event. *Sources
There
aren't that many chronically
ill people in my church, right?
According
to theChronic
Care in American study nearly
1 in 2 people in the USA live
with chronic illness or long-term
pain.
How
much does a HopeKeepers group
cost?
Our
web site has a lot of free materials.
You a buy a HopeKeepers
Start Up Kit to completely
provide your HopeKeepers leader
with a tool chest of items to
prepare with and use in handling
not only those tough small group
personal questions, but the
difficult ones about "Why
am I not healed yet?" It
is $295 or
items can be purchased separately.
Why
do we need a HopeKeepers ministry?
Nearly
1 in 2 people have an illness;
96% of illnesses are invisible.
75% of marriages with illness
end in divorce;
Depression
is 15-20% higher for the
chronically ill than for
the average person;
Various
studies have reported that
physical illness or uncontrollable
physical pain are major
factors in up to 70% of
suicides; and more than
50% of these suicidal patients
were under 35 years of age.
However, the significance
of one's faith has shown
to lower one's risk of depressive
symptoms and aid one in
better handling a stressful
medical event. *
Sources
Illness
is not a condition of just
the elderly. Illness is extremely
difficult to live with. Those
who are Christians still feel
alone, misunderstood and hurt
by the reactions or lack of
acknowledge of those they
love, especially people in
the church body.
Who
should run our group?
Rest
Ministries only requirement
of HopeKeepers groups is that
someone reside in some form
of leadership that lives with
illness. We want to make sure
those who are ill can sill use
their gifts, as well as keep
the content authentic.
Where
do I start?
Discover
who may have this calling and
present HopeKeepers
to them. If someone is coming
to you with the idea, be open-minded,
listen, empathetic, and see
how God can use one's pain to
design their ministry. One doesn't
have to be healed in order to
serve the Lord.
Are
you a pastor coping with illness
or depression?
"According
to Focus on the Family,
80 percent of pastors
and 84 percent of their
spouses are discouraged
or are dealing with depression."
What
is pastoral leadership and
practice? In our opinion it's
being able to admit when you
are experiencing that "dark
night of the soul."
Despite
intellectually understandings
it a part of your journey
in ministry, it's hard to
be in a position of leadership
and feel like you are coping
with an understanding of why
you have an illness or are
dealing with depression. Here
are some resources we recommend,
but we also encourage you
to seek out a Christian counselor
that specializes in counseling
pastors.
The
Parsonage
The listing of organizations
provided by Focus on the
Family offer specific
ministries and programs
for pastors and their
families, and may provide
any encouragement, renewal
or restoration you might
need.
90
Minutes in Heaven (book)
Author Don Piper is a
pastor in a lot of physical
pain, as well as spiritual
questions about his death
and heaven experience
-- and he let's it all
out, the questions, the
ugly feelings, and the
emotions of it all. Truly
authentic!
Seeing
in the Dark: Getting the
Facts on Depression &
Finding Hope Again
An amazon reviewer says,
"Authored by a pastor
with depression and a
medical doctor whose wife
suffers from depression,
along with a foreword
by Dr. John Trent, it
is quite possibly the
definitive Christian book
about depression."
PastorsNet's
CareGiver Directory
is provided by The INJOY
Group and is intended
for use by members of
the clergy and their families.
All information contained
in this Directory, including
the descriptions of the
ministries and/or services
of the listed organizations,
is provided by the respective
organization.
Illness
Descriptions: 34 pages of illness descriptions,
what to expect when someone is diagnosed,
the professional organization that serves
those with that illness, etc.
The
American Association of Pastoral
Counselors (AAPC) represents
and sets professional standards
for over 3,000 Pastoral Counselors
and 100 pastoral counseling
centers in North American
and around the world.
See
the Interfaith
Directory of Religious Leaders
with Disabilities, a directory
that provides contact information
for over 130 religious leaders
with disabilities who wish to
foster communication with others
in the religious community and
the disability community.
Facebook
for Pastors
Learn how to build
relationships and connect with people using
the most popular social network on the Internet.
This 31 page e-book will help pastors and other
ministry leaders make the most of this great
networking tool.
How to make
the most of your profile information
Tips for Networking
with People in Facebook
All about groups,
messages, poking, etc
Brand Your
Ministry
Meet prospects
for your church
Learn more
about the members in your church
Fine tune your
communication skills
Testimonies
from Pastors who use Facebook
and much more!
Chris
Forbes is the founder of Ministry Marketing Coach.
He speaks and writes on the subjects of ministry
marketing, faith-based nonprofit marketing, social
marketing, and Guerrilla Marketing for nonprofits.
Many of our
programs are "Sunroom
Enhanced" meaning you can find additional social network communities
in the Sunroom, as well as the regular program itself. For example there
is an email men's group and also men's groups in the Sunroom for additional
interaction.
