Having started in full-time ministry at the age of 22 and pioneering a local congregation at the age of 25, much of this article comes from the “school of hard knocks.” Either I have made each of the following mistakes or I have observed them made by other pastors in my 30+ years of full-time ministry.
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An entire discipline related to trauma-related disorders and syndromes now exists in the mental health realm. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) is perhaps the most known among non-professionals. The ramifications and tenacles of trauma, mental health scientists and professionals are continuously learning, is extremely far-reaching in the psychological make-up of individuals who have suffered it. Moreover, the numbers and demographics of those suffering from various forms and degrees of trauma-related mental health problems are staggering and astounding. The number one result of trauma to the human psyche, simply stated, is an inner “hurt” or “pain.” And the most common result of that hurt or pain is that “hurt people hurt people.” While mental health practitioners are worthy of great respect and recognition for their labor to recognize and attempts to help people suffering from trauma-related maladies, those of us who serve the Champion of our Salvation, the Great Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ, know that the only real “CURE” comes from the Lord! “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, SHALL BE DELIVERED!” the Word of God states categorically! This article Joseph Mattera delineates some very insightful common traits of those operating out of hurt and pain.
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WARNING! God’s putting His prophetic finger on a major problem plaguing the Church Jesus is building! Celebrity cult-status leaders — who act like spiritual divas and present themselves as demigods, based in arrogance, ascendancy, supremacy, and narcissism that has convinced them they are better and above everyone else — are on the rise in the American Church. You’ve seen them…they’re so important that, like “gangsta” subculture “homies” or mob mafiosos, they must be accompanied by an entourage of sycophants and bodyguards wherever they go to enforce their inaccessibility—even to peers, staff, and collegues—and to reinforce their self-proclaimed status and public image. Unaccountable islands to themselves who can’t be bothered with the mere plebian masses. “Wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever,” Jude called their ilk.
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