"Emotionally Healthy Church" Review

MIN 5310

Jenn Blackston

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

"Emotionally Healthy Church" is a great read and there are so many principles and applications that really stood out to me. For the sake of this assignment, I will only focus in on two principles that impacted me.

Part three of this book discusses the seven principles of an emotionally healthy church. Principle one deals with looking beyond the surface and becoming emotionally authentic;  principle three focuses on receiving the limits God places on us to make us more effective in our personal walks with him and also our ministry involvement.

In the chapter dealing with principle one, Scazzero starts off by writing, "In emotionally healthy churches, people take a deep, hard look inside their hearts, asking, "What is going on that Jesus Christ is trying to change?" In our churches today, few Christians take the time to reflect on what is going on internally and focus more on the external things of the Christian life. We focus in on the the spiritual disciplines- prayer, reading the Word, fasting, solitude, etc., but we fail to allow the Lord to change us from the inside out. We do not allow the Lord to transform us and set us free from the chains that bind us.. We think that all we need to do is grow and change is by staying busy, going to church, teaching Bible study, having an active prayer life, and spending 15 minutes a day or so in the Word. We are missing a vital component to our walks with Christ when we fail to look beyond what others can see and allow the Lord to meet us in the secret places of our souls. God often uses the pain and trials in our lives to cause us to depend on him so that we can grow in our relationship with him. "The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope because Jesus lived and died in your place." (p. 83) The gospel changes lives and Christ cares most about the condition and attitudes of our hearts. It can be scary to take a deeper look at ourselves, but it is freeing when we surrender to the Lord's working in our lives. If we are not emotionally healthy and honest about our pain and shortcomings, how can we effectively impact those around us with the hope of the gospel? This chapter challenges me to not be afraid to take an honest look at what is going on inside me. I cannot change on my own; I need the power and love of Christ to change me from the inside out. 

Chapter 8, which deals with the principle of limits is the one that stood out to me the most during the reading of this book. I really appreciate how the author shares how limits are actually freeing to us in our ministry and in our persona lives. "While our culture resists the idea of limits, it is critical that we embrace them. They are like a like a fenced-in yard that protects young children. They are the hands of a friend, keeping us grounded so that we don't hurt ourselves, others or God's work." (p. 146) The author writes about how to discern our limitations. We are not called to do everything. We have to be able to discern when to say no when faced with a decision as it relates to both our ministry and our personal lives. At the same time, sometimes we are limited by flaws in our character the Lord desires to change within us. It is dangerous and unproductive for us to compare our pace of life and involvement in ministry to others. We cannot be everything to everyone and we will burn out quickly when we don't set limits on ourselves or surrender to the limits God places on us for our good. "It is so freeing as a leader for me to utter the words, "I can't." When we don't respect God's limits in our lives, we will often find ourselves overextended, stressed, and exhausted." (p. 148) Someone who is married has limits placed on them that a single person may not face. We need to be faithful to our "true selves." I was challenged by one of the questions the author poses in this chapter: "Am I being faithful to my God-given talents, my unique story, my weaknesses?" Or am I spreading myself too thin? Later in the chapter, the author writes about growing through our limitations. "Are there limits that God is asking me to break through because they are a result of my character flaws?" (p. 155) I sometimes prefer taking the easy way out and not doing something because I'm not comfortable or it is something that doesn't play to my strengths.Sometimes it's a result of a flaw in my character that causes me to avoid something so as to avoid pain. God may want me to break through a limitation for my good and his glory even if it's not one of my strengths.

 "Which are the limits God is asking me to break through by faith so that others might know and trust him, that I become the person he intends?  And, which of the limits, external or internal, do I need to receive as a gift, as God's invitation for me to surrender in trust to him"? (p. 157) These last two questions challenge me to seek the Lord and ask him to search my heart. Some limits are a gift from the Lord and I need to trust him in my limitations; other limits are a result of flaws in my character and I need to trust him to change patterns in my life for the sake of those around me having the opportunity to know and trust Christ.