Tag: life

How can the Preacher be depressed? I thought he was a man of God!

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Church & Ministry, Faith & Discipleship, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

What is depression

PicsArt_01-18-07.11.09
God sometimes answers prayer with medication!

Spiritual depression has everything to do with where a person is in their spiritual journey. Many times, a spiritual depression leads to doubts about God and His faithfulness. This kind of depression is often dealt with by a heavy prescription of prayer and fasting along with time spent in scripture.

 

Mental depression on the other hand, is of a physical nature. There are many different causes of mental illnesses and emotional instability. Some are side effects of other illnesses or medications. Sometimes there can be some chemical imbalance. It is even a possibility that some of those can be hereditary. Regardless of the source, many times the answer to mental depression is medication which is prescribed by a Family Medical Doctor or Psychiatrist.

I want to talk about the mental depression and its effects on the Preacher.

Depression has the same effects on the preacher as it does on any other person. The struggle to get motivated. The low self-esteem. The frustration of wanting to be productive but just cannot force it to happen. All the negative thoughts and feelings are there. All of this creates somewhat of a spiritual battle within the heart of the preacher. The pressure the expectations, on and on week after week, day after day.

There are felt expectations from the congregation and others in the community that add-on pressure. Some of those expectations are there and some are simply by products of the depression. Many church goers and community members look at the preacher and hold him to a standard. In some ways that standard is appropriate and other ways it is way too much of an expectation. It is true, preachers need to practice what they preach. It is also true that preachers are just men.

Oh, and let us not forget about the expectations from God. Yes, we all have expectations from God. If we truly believe what we say we believe then we should be living according to it. However, this creates a major problem in the mind and heart of a preacher who is dealing with depression, especially if there is a need to take medication. He will begin to question if he trusts God and at the same time remind himself that the medication is God’s answer to his prayer for relief. The battle in his mind and heart continues to go back and forth like some never-ending game of tug-o-war. Soon, the expectations that God has for the preacher seem overwhelming.

Ultimately these things are thrown in to the slow cooker known as his life. These variables mingling together battling for position in the heart of the preacher. He then begins to feel discouragement and failure at times and other times is praising God for giving him the strength to overcome and succeed each day. Sermon after sermon written and preached, all a product of the battle in the darkness. The battle between his faith and defeat. All the while doing his best to serve God and the people to which he has been given charge to care for spiritually.

Preachers are simply human beings assigned by God to a task

It is true that preachers and church leaders are held to a higher expectation by God and even the people in the church as well as the community. However, that in no way means that the preacher is better than anyone else or somehow should be more spiritual than anyone else. The fact is simply this; the man who is preaching in your church is no more than a man. A human being. That man has emotions, struggles, problems, temptations, and short comings just like the rest of the world. Mental depression is one of those things that many preachers struggle with daily. It does not mean that the call on their life should change. It does not necessarily disqualify the man from being a preacher. It just means that he is human. After all, it is God working through the man, He is the one who called him to preach.

Because the preacher is simply a human being, he has the same needs as anyone else. People who deal with depression are prescribed medication and sometimes go to counseling sessions. There are many people who can manage this kind of depression from day-to-day. Some good and some bad days. If your preacher is dealing with depression, this struggle is real for him. So just because he may be on medication for depression, or maybe in counseling, does not mean that he is incapable of preaching and doing what preachers do. After all, it is God who is working in him and through him, and it is God who called him to preach.

What if your Preacher struggles with depression? What will you think of him? Will it change your opinion of his Ministry?

Many times, when people find out or hear that their preacher deals with depression, they seem shocked. At first, most people would never have known. Usually, because many preachers have become experts at putting on a good front. Sometimes, it is because some have already place the preacher in the category of not being a good preacher. Everyone, once knowing that the preacher deals with depression, has a need to process. After the processing moment, then what? Some lose faith in that preacher. They see him as spiritually weak and maybe sometimes even a hypocrite. They may not leave the church or ask for the preacher’s resignation, although they might, but they have less of an opinion about him as a faith filled man of God. Also, there are some who see the preacher as a man. Those are the ones who will surround the preacher with love and prayers. Those are the ones who God will use to minister to the preacher.

What you should do if your preacher is dealing with depression?

First, you should know this; the preacher who struggles with depression and continues to stay in the fight, he is the one who is like Job. He is the one who is fighting to be faithful, he is the one who, beside the fact that there is a massive daily battle going on, continues to press on. He is the one who is just like anyone else in the world who is living life trying to honor God with his life.

Second, think about being that person who prays daily for that preacher. Ask God what you can do to support him and help him in the ministries of the church. Make sure you are not using his struggles as an indicator that he lacks faith in God.

Finally, be on his side. After all, he is your preacher, he is on your side. Do not allow others to bring him down because of his struggles. Build him up and help him overcome so that he can serve the lord as the preacher, and do it well.

Do all of this for the glory of God!

Karma and Christianity- Oil and Water- Just Words

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Culture & Conviction, Faith & Discipleship, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

Every now and again something will continue to catch my attention. Not really button pushers for me, just something that I cannot let stand.

 

In our culture and society, people have been building up common phrases and figures of speech since speech began I assume. I too have been one to use a figure of speech from time to time. However, I often wonder how much thought goes into the words that come out of our mouths. I mean, are we really thinking about what we are saying with the words that we are using?

 

Many times certain words or figures of speech may seem harmless or even simply something silly to say, when if researched, one might find the origin a bit offensive and the original meaning rude or even vulgar. Let’s take for example the seemingly popular style of men’s pants for example. The particular style I have in mind are most of the time really nice clean pants. The problem is that either the fitting room mirrors are broken or the manufacturers are not capable of making a size that covers the rear end of these gentlemen who purchase said pants. Yes I am aware that men and boys who wear their pants this way do so because of some cool factor or style. Not willing to accept the true origin of that particular style as coming from prison inmates making a statement to other inmates that I won’t go into at this time.

 

I digress. Also, I will get to the point. Often I notice on social media or even in person, believers attributing some event that happened to karma. Each time it makes me wonder if the person even understands what karma is and how it works. Do they know that it is a huge part of the belief system of the Hindu and Buddhist religions?

 

karma

ˈkärmə

noun

 (in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

    • informal

      destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.

 

 So on the surface level of these conversations, there seems to be a basic understanding with most people that karma is simply, what comes around goes around. For example; if I do something bad to my neighbor, something bad will be done to me at another time. Sometimes, this idea is even tied to “the golden rule”. You know, treat people the way you want to be treated. Although this seems like a nice thought, and makes sense on the surface, what is really being said?

 

Notice the actual definition from the dictionary. It states that the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. That means that the reality of karma is rooted in the belief in re-incarnation. Meaning basically, the way a person behaves now will dictate what will happen to them in the future and in other existences. Now if a person is a Buddhist or Hindi, well then karma is what it is all about.
However, for the Christian I don’t see how this idea of karma fits into who we are and who God is. After all if we believe in the creator God who is Lord of all and King of all, then how can we put so much faith in a person’s past actions to dictate or even have authority in any part of our lives. Sure, there are consequences and rewards for good and bad behavior and the whole cause and effect theory has some merit. Most of the problem lies in the idea of “previous states of existence.”

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” – James 4:14

” Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,”– Hebrews 9:27

 

Karma is all about getting what is coming to you based on your previous actions. Christianity has something called grace. Grace is escaping what you have coming to you because of the actions of Jesus. We cannot live in the grace of God and accept as truth the ideas of other religions whose beliefs are drastically different from that which is found in the truth of God’s word. God will not be mocked.

 

“yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” – 1 Corinthians 8:6

 

I conclude that irresponsible use of words and phrases, although possibly used in jest but most of the time not, if they do not honor God are in fact sinful. I say that because even in James’ writings we see that the tongue is a double-edged sword. Guard your words that you do not harm yourself.

 

The truth is, words have meaning. None of us have the right to change the meaning of a word. We must accept the meaning of the words we choose and then choose the words we mean. In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say. Especially if you say that you are a Christian.