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"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
Strategically Relevant, Effective and Efficient
"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
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The stats are alarming. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (as of 2016), nearly 1 in 5 adults in America battle some sort of mental illness in their lives.1 That’s not a statistic to be taken lightly. I’m one of that 20%. Growing up, did I ever think I would someday be writing about any type of mental illness that I was battling? Not in a thousand years! As far as I knew, I was a happy child with a positive outlook on life. Never could I have imagined what I would face down the road of life. As an adult, and as life began to become a bit overwhelming, I started to struggle with negativity. From there it was a slow decline. While I was in the Word, I wasn’t applying many of its truths to my own life. I had been listening to the lies of the enemy my whole life, but only now was I truly taking these lies upon myself as a part of my identity. The self-talk in my mind was ugly. Wounds from my childhood (and one traumatic incident which occurred 2 months prior to my breakdown) that I didn’t even know the depths of began to open and infect my soul. Have you ever tried to be absolutely perfect on all fronts because inside you feel lost, empty, unlovable, never good enough, and always fear the worst? I have. For 33 years. I just didn’t see it for equally as long. It took the darkest week of my life, which landed me in the ER believing I was dying, for me to begin to see what damage had been done in my mind. That whole summer was really a blur for me. The darkness, the torment, the crying out to God, the fear that took over my every move, the burden that became physical pain, the inability to leave my house, the plans I made for my family in case I should die… it was as if I was living someone else’s life. Surely this wasn’t what had become of me. I’ll admit that prior to my own battles, I didn’t take seriously the battles others faced. Anxious? Stop worrying! Depressed? Get out of bed! Suicidal? How dare you not consider those around you! My entire experience opened my heart to a type of compassion I’d never known before. I knew I wasn’t the only one struggling, and yet I never heard anyone talk about it- especially within the Church. Why wasn’t this talked about? I was determined to be open about my story. But in doing so, people didn’t know what to do with me. By being open and honest with my journey, I may as well have posted a “fragile: breaks easily” sign on my forehead. Yes, I had some who were abundantly kind, prayerful, and supportive, but others, may I be blunt, were clueless and quickly distanced themselves. The world is waking up to the reality of the grim situation we’re finding ourselves in, but is the Church? I know this is finally becoming something that is talked about on talk shows, news specials, in our schools, and even now amongst pro athletes… but where are the people of God? At least in my life experience, the topic of mental health has been kept at arm’s length (or further) within the Church. But why is that when God cares about all parts of who we are: body, mind, and spirit? The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts and minds, yet we tend to brush right by those parts as if they don’t apply to us or wouldn’t actually make a difference in our mental health. Dr. Caroline Leaf, a Christian Cognitive Neuroscientist, in her book Switch On Your Brain states, “Research shows that 75 to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one’s thought life.”2 Let’s take that seriously and apply God’s Word as He intended! Dr. Leaf goes on to say, “Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.”2 We can’t afford to keep pretending this isn’t present in our ministries and in those we’re trying to reach. If it truly is affecting 1 in 5, then it is much more prevalent in our circles than we could ever imagine. Questions to Consider:
How can we do all of that? Challenge/action step: First and foremost, we must take Scripture to heart:
Help get them professional Christian counseling if you see a need. Finally, make sure to create a culture where there is no shame. We don’t distance ourselves from those who develop diabetes, do we? Cancer? Heart disease? So, why do we see a mental “illness” as any different than any other illness? Treat people with known mental struggles just as you would anyone else. Allow them to talk freely about their journey without any shame or embarrassment. Ask them to share their victories and then celebrate with them! The harvest is great but the workers are few. If we don’t care for our mental health, just as we do our physical health, we won’t be able to serve the kingdom as much and as long. Let us do all we can to help leaders within our own ministries, as well as those whom we serve daily, become stronger in body, mind, and spirit. Later this year, I’ll be back to talk about one more specific area we should be covering as we teach others (and learn for ourselves!) about wholistic health and what that might look like as a component of your ministry. In the meantime, feel free to join me over at http://fixyoureyesonhim.com for other wholistic health tips, resources, and more! ------------------------------------------------- Live whole, Amber Lauren of Fix Your Eyes on Him Biblical Health and Wholeness Amber is a regular contributor to CSRM's Blog Page; Wife of a Lead Pastor; Mother of three school aged children; a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. ========================== Link to free printable version for distribution (unaltered) to those in your ministry: https://fixyoureyesonhim.com/download/3533/ Additional resources: http://hope4mentalhealth.com/ https://www.aacc.net/ https://drleaf.com/ Sources: 1https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml 2https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/26928437-switch-on-your-brain-the-key-to-peak-happiness-thinking-and-health Mental Health- The Missing Link (In case you missed them, you can check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Wholistic Health here: http://www.csrm.org/apps/search?q=Amber) Mental Health- The Missing Link
The stats are alarming. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (as of 2016), nearly 1 in 5 adults in America battle some sort of mental illness in their lives.1 That’s not a statistic to be taken lightly. I’m one of that 20%. Growing up, did I ever think I would someday be writing about any type of mental illness that I was battling? Not in a thousand years! As far as I knew, I was a happy child with a positive outlook on life. Never could I have imagined what I would face down the road of life. As an adult, and as life began to become a bit overwhelming, I started to struggle with negativity. From there it was a slow decline. While I was in the Word, I wasn’t applying many of its truths to my own life. I had been listening to the lies of the enemy my whole life, but only now was I truly taking these lies upon myself as a part of my identity. The self-talk in my mind was ugly. Wounds from my childhood (and one traumatic incident which occurred 2 months prior to my breakdown) that I didn’t even know the depths of began to open and infect my soul. Have you ever tried to be absolutely perfect on all fronts because inside you feel lost, empty, unlovable, never good enough, and always fear the worst? I have. For 33 years. I just didn’t see it for equally as long. It took the darkest week of my life, which landed me in the ER believing I was dying, for me to begin to see what damage had been done in my mind. That whole summer was really a blur for me. The darkness, the torment, the crying out to God, the fear that took over my every move, the burden that became physical pain, the inability to leave my house, the plans I made for my family in case I should die… it was as if I was living someone else’s life. Surely this wasn’t what had become of me. I’ll admit that prior to my own battles, I didn’t take seriously the battles others faced. Anxious? Stop worrying! Depressed? Get out of bed! Suicidal? How dare you not consider those around you! My entire experience opened my heart to a type of compassion I’d never known before. I knew I wasn’t the only one struggling, and yet I never heard anyone talk about it- especially within the Church. Why wasn’t this talked about? I was determined to be open about my story. But in doing so, people didn’t know what to do with me. By being open and honest with my journey, I may as well have posted a “fragile: breaks easily” sign on my forehead. Yes, I had some who were abundantly kind, prayerful, and supportive, but others, may I be blunt, were clueless and quickly distanced themselves. The world is waking up to the reality of the grim situation we’re finding ourselves in, but is the Church? I know this is finally becoming something that is talked about on talk shows, news specials, in our schools, and even now amongst pro athletes… but where are the people of God? At least in my life experience, the topic of mental health has been kept at arm’s length (or further) within the Church. But why is that when God cares about all parts of who we are: body, mind, and spirit? The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts and minds, yet we tend to brush right by those parts as if they don’t apply to us or wouldn’t actually make a difference in our mental health. Dr. Caroline Leaf, a Christian Cognitive Neuroscientist, in her book Switch On Your Brain states, “Research shows that 75 to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one’s thought life.”2 Let’s take that seriously and apply God’s Word as He intended! Dr. Leaf goes on to say, “Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.”2 We can’t afford to keep pretending this isn’t present in our ministries and in those we’re trying to reach. If it truly is affecting 1 in 5, then it is much more prevalent in our circles than we could ever imagine. Questions to Consider:
Challenge/action step: First and foremost, we must take Scripture to heart:
Help get them professional Christian counseling if you see a need. Finally, make sure to create a culture where there is no shame. We don’t distance ourselves from those who develop diabetes, do we? Cancer? Heart disease? So, why do we see a mental “illness” as any different than any other illness? Treat people with known mental struggles just as you would anyone else. Allow them to talk freely about their journey without any shame or embarrassment. Ask them to share their victories and then celebrate with them! The harvest is great but the workers are few. If we don’t care for our mental health, just as we do our physical health, we won’t be able to serve the kingdom as much and as long. Let us do all we can to help leaders within our own ministries, as well as those whom we serve daily, become stronger in body, mind, and spirit. Later this year, I’ll be back to talk about one more specific area we should be covering as we teach others (and learn for ourselves!) about wholistic health and what that might look like as a component of your ministry. In the meantime, feel free to join me over at http://fixyoureyesonhim.com for other wholistic health tips, resources, and more! --------------------------------------------- Live whole, Amber Lauren of Fix Your Eyes on Him Biblical Health and Wholeness Amber is a regular contributor to the CSRM Blog; wife of a Lead Pastor; Mother of three; and a passionate follower of Jesus. -------------------------------- Link to free printable version for distribution (unaltered) to those in your ministry: https://fixyoureyesonhim.com/download/3533/ Additional resources: http://hope4mentalhealth.com/ https://www.aacc.net/ https://drleaf.com/ Sources: 1https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml 2https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/26928437-switch-on-your-brain-the-key-to-peak-happiness-thinking-and-health (In case you missed them, you can check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Wholistic Health here: http://www.csrm.org/apps/search?q=Amber)  Well Vs. Whole
In the world of Sports, Recreation and Fitness (SR&F) Outreach Ministry, we quite obviously tend to focus primarily on the physical fitness component of both ourselves and those we serve. But as a Certified Health and Wellness Coach who specializes in Biblical Health and Wholeness, I see a bigger, more complex picture. It all started when my family had to call an ambulance for me one day while out running errands. See, I had taken on too much. Like many of us, and many of those we serve, it was hard for me to say no. I did everything anyone asked of me… in addition to my God-given responsibilities. I didn’t want to let anyone down and wanted to look like I had it all together. After all, if I said no, they would think I couldn’t handle it, right? But where it got me was somewhere I never expected to end up. I landed in the ER. In the process of trying to not fail others, I had failed to care for myself well. I had fallen for the enemy’s lies that whispers, Christians sacrifice. Others come first. You don’t have time to slow down. Maybe you’ve heard those same whispers? But you didn’t know it was from an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy? He has a way of twisting truth and turning it into a lie. Sacrifice? Caring for others? Great things! And obviously a part of the foundation of our faith in action, but God cares about YOU, too. He cares about those we partner with in our ministries who are running on empty. We all know that the greatest commandment Jesus gave us was to love our Father in heaven with everything we are. But the second has a component we often leave out. We are told to love others as we love ourselves, but often simplify restate it as: “love others”. Yet, in order to love others as we love ourselves, we must first actually love (and thus care for) ourselves! We aren’t much good to the expansion of the Kingdom, if we aren’t well enough to serve. I like to teach that in those 2 commandments, there are actually 3. And if we put them in their proper order, it looks like this: We are to love God, love (and care for) ourselves (so that we can), love (and care for) others. God not only gave us the command to rest (Exodus 20:8-11), He also modeled it at creation (Genesis 2:2). However, I’m willing to bet most Christians don’t take it seriously. Jesus also modeled stepping away for times of prayer (Matthew 14:22-23, Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12… you get the idea), encouraging others to rest (Mark 6:31), clarifying His priorities in ministry (Matthew 15:24), even catching a nap (Mark 4:38)! I’m sure you’ve seen it. I know I’m not alone in having been there. You may have been down that road also, or know others who have. We live in a culture, even a church culture, that neglects to care for ourselves well. We want good health, but we’d prefer the quick fix offered by the world than look at true wholeness. While I have been blessed to find the path to healing, many are left to navigate those waters alone. Medical doctors often just want to prescribe a pill to reduce symptoms in the body, psychologists often only look at worldly theories on the brain and mental health, and pastors often only offer prayer. While each of these professionals may have the patient’s best at heart, each may be missing that bigger picture. There are 3 areas of the whole person that we must address in order to guide people toward true wholeness. God made us with 3 parts: body, mind, and spirit. We must address physical health including diet as well as exercise, we must address mental health and what the Bible says about it, and we must address spiritual health and not simply assume it’s healthy. Many of us, or those we serve, have become experts at masking the real issues. We may look fit, seem sane, and appear spiritual, but under the surface we are a mess. For most, it is a definite struggle to be real in front of others and open up about what’s going on underneath the façade. But by creating a new culture within your church or ministry that is a safe space to talk about these things, people WILL begin to open up about what they’re facing. By hearing you discuss your own internal or unseen battles, people will be encouraged to do the same and begin to walk toward healing those areas. Remember, leaders must lead by example! You cannot expect your people to be transparent with you if you are not being transparent with them. We must start addressing health more wholistically- the whole person: body, mind, and spirit, if we want to lead people toward true wellness…toward true wholeness. Begin the conversation with your leaders. Challenge your people to examine their own wholistic health and be willing to work through it with them. (I’ve got a fantastic new resource for this in my shop!) Checking in on their physical, mental, and spiritual health is not only a component of discipleship, but will keep your ministry strong and healthy as well. Burnout benefits no one. The rest of this year, I’ll be periodically offering new blogs to talk about the specific areas we should be covering as we teach others (and learn for ourselves!) about wholistic health and what that might look like as a component of your ministry. In the meantime, feel free to join me over at http://fixyoureyesonhim.com for other wholistic health tips, resources, and more! ________________________________________________________________ Amber Lauren of Fix Your Eyes on Him Biblical Health and Wholeness is the wife of a Senior Pastor of an energetic, growing local church, mother of 3 school-aged children and has a passion to empower people to become whole in Christ. Link to free printable version for distribution (unaltered) to those in your ministry: https://fixyoureyesonhim.com/download/2657/ |