You Never Know Who Might be Listening

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach on a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, psychoses, anger, suicide assessment, addictions and personality disorders. Sometimes, because I think about these issues quite a bit, I approach them in a detached way. As I plough through my material, I can forget that the people I am teaching and equipping might be strugglers as well as helpers. Imagine that--people in training may be in the process of seeing God’s redeeming work of change in their own lives.

Let me share two examples with you:

Addictions

While teaching a seminary class on addictions, I mentioned the difference between substance addictions and lifestyle addictions. When most people hear the word “addiction” they immediately think alcohol, marijuana, or pain killers; the usual suspects. Yet, some people fail to see that issues like gambling, shopping, spending time on the internet, and pornography qualify as addictions, also. If you look at how either of these types of addictions affect the brain, you will notice clear similarities. Habituation and tolerance both arise as you indulge in the behavior. The person will experience similar withdrawal symptoms, too.

During the break, I was organizing my notes and a young woman approached me. I assumed she had a technical question about the syllabus or some assignment, but that was not why she wanted to talk. She discreetly and helpfully shared about her husband’s addiction to pornography and how it had impacted their marriage. While she was realistic, she was hopeful because of what God had been doing in their relationship. I was heartened and thankful that she was willing to share that with me. It changed the rest of my teaching on addiction that afternoon.

Suicide Assessment

Another startling example happened when I was teaching on suicide and suicide assessment. Once again, I found myself working through the details of suicide statistics. 41,000 people will commit suicide in the United States this year. Most of them will be men even though women will try more often. Men are more “successful” because they use more violent means.

After teaching on helpful ways to assess whether someone is seriously committed to harming themselves, I casually opened it up for some Q & A. A few technical questions were asked, and then another young woman shared her story. She said that one year ago, she had her suicide all planned out. She had written a note, had the means to kill herself and was going to follow through as soon as she returned home from a Christian camp! She then said that God had worked powerfully over the week and she had become a Christian. She returned home a radically different person. I was humbled by her confession. There she was, sitting in the front row, taking notes for about 45 minutes, and then she shared her story.

Once again, I was awakened to the fact that real sufferers are always in my audience. The impact was almost like a reset button for me. When I am teaching, I am more than a “talking head” disseminating information. Rather, I am a servant speaking words of life to people who need grace. You really never know who is listening.

Copyright © 2015 Timothy S. Lane

When Should A Church Seek Outside Help?

Is it Ever Appropriate for a Church to Outsource Counseling?

You have been there. A person who is really struggling with something wants you to help. You meet with them and they begin to tell their story. At some point, you feel overwhelmed. You do what anyone would do. If you are not on staff at the church, you call one of the pastors who might be able to help. You meet with the pastor of care and he feels overwhelmed, too. What do you do? As important as it is for the local church to have a robust discipling and counseling ministry in place, there are times when you need to get help from someone who has much more experience and training. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you reach out beyond your particular local church.

•    Seek Outside Help If Someone’s Life is in Danger

The most obvious time to refer is when someone is threatening their own life or the life of another person. Suicide, domestic violence, and situations like this require immediate intervention by professionals. Allowing the civil authorities to intervene in the midst of a crisis can be a very loving thing to do. Because of God’s common grace, these organizations are an appropriate place to turn for help in times of crisis. 

Even then, your care of the person is just beginning. Eventually they will be released from the hospital or care facility and your work with them begins anew. Depending on how long they have been under the oversight of the institution, the likelihood of them being persuaded by a diagnosis and cure that are not fully and robustly rooted in a Christian vision of change increases.

•    Seek Outside Help When it Involves Potential Criminal Activity

It should go without saying, but whenever you suspect that a law has been broken, you should involve the civil authorities. In the event that you have an alleged case of sexual abuse, the local civil authorities should be notified. If someone confesses to you that they have committed a crime, you should assist that person tp report themselves to the proper authorities.

Every church should have all of this contact information available in the event of a crisis. You may want to consider having a representative from the police, local hospital, domestic violence shelter, someone who is equipped to assess suicidal behavior and any other professional to train the staff and officers of a church. Whatever you do, have a plan in place to handle these intense opportunities for ministry.

When a church shows that they are prepared to handle these kinds of situations, it is communicating that they are willing and able to wisely engage human sin and suffering at every level. The church truly is for everyone. At least, it should be.

Copyright © 2014 Timothy S. Lane. All rights reserved.