Missionary Paul Borthwick and pastor Dave Ripper show how transformation through our personal pain enables us to minister faithfully to a hurting world. They candidly share about their own struggles and how they have seen God's kingdom advance through hardship and suffering. We can become powerful witnesses to Christ as a result of our brokenness.
Schizophrenia is often considered one of the most destructive forms of mental illness. Elahe Hessamfar's personal experience with her daughter's illness has led her to ask some pressing and significant questions about the cause and nature of schizophrenia and the Church's role in its treatment. With a candid and revealing look at the history of mental illness, In the Fellowship of His Suffering describes schizophrenia as a variation of human expression. Hessamfar uses a deeply theological rather than pathological approach to interpret the schizophrenic experience and the effect it has on both the patients and their families. Effectively drawing on the Bible as a source of knowledge for understanding mental illness, she offers a reflective yet innovative view of whether the Church could or should intervene in such encounters and what such an intervention might look like. Hessamfar's comprehensive work will provoke powerful responses from anyone interested in the prominent social issue of mental illness. Her portrayal of the raging debate between treating 'insanity' either pastorally or medically will enthral readers, be they Christians, medical students or those in the field of psychiatry and social sciences.
We live in a wired world where 24/7 digital connectivity is increasingly the norm. Christian megachurch communities often embrace this reality wholeheartedly while more traditional churches often seem hesitant and overwhelmed by the need for an interactive website, a Facebook page and a twitter feed. This book accepts digital connectivity as our reality, but presents a vision of how faith communities can utilize technology to better be the body of Christ to those who are hurting while also helping followers of Christ think critically about the limits of our digital attachments. This book begins with a conversion story of a non-cell phone owning, non-Facebook using religion professor judgmental of the ability of digital tools to enhance relationships. A stage IV cancer diagnosis later, in the midst of being held up by virtual communities of support, a conversion occurs: this religion professor benefits in embodied ways from virtual sources and wants to convert others to the reality that the body of Christ can and does exist virtually and makes embodied difference in the lives of those who are hurting. The book neither uncritically embraces nor rejects the constant digital connectivity present in our lives. Rather it calls on the church to a) recognize ways in which digital social networks already enact the virtual body of Christ; b) tap into and expand how Christ is being experienced virtually; c) embrace thoughtfully the material effects of our new augmented reality, and c) influence utilization of technology that minimizes distraction and maximizes attentiveness toward God and the world God loves.
In the last few years, 9/11, a tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and many other tragedies have shown us that the vision of God in today's churches in relation to evil and suffering is often frivolous. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, many Christians are choosing to become more shallow, more entertainment-oriented, and therefore irrelevant in the face of massive suffering. In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.
"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..."- Philippians 3:10PTSD and other trauma based mental disorders have long been a source of alienation and shame to those who have experienced trauma around the world and throughout human history. It seems that though the source of our trauma might end, the ghosts of our past remain and throughout our life, our past issues continue to haunt us.This can also affect loved ones. While they want desperately to be there for the person who has been hurt, they find themselves at a loss for words and with a lack of understanding of how to comfort and help this person who has become a stranger to them through what they have suffered.But what if our trauma didn't have to create shame and isolation? What if the things that have wounded us could be a source of unity and strength, drawing us into a community of fellow sufferers where our wounds could heal collectively and where we could find that our past pain has provided us with more empathy and compassion than we could have without it?These are the questions that propel the writing of "The Fellowship Of Suffering". Where concepts of psychology and theology coalesce to help show people a way out of isolated suffering to a place of collective healing.Throughout history, and still to this day in more tribal communities, people who go through suffering find that it brings them closer to those who have suffered around them. Far from isolating them, they find a deeper connection to others through what they have been through. That while the sources of trauma might be different, the experience of trauma is universal, and for those who understand this, they enter into what some authors have called, "the brotherhood of pain" or as the apostle Paul put it, "The Fellowship Of Suffering."It is through this understanding that we can begin to heal from our fractured past. While the pain of our past might not ever fully vanish, we can find freedom from the negative side effects and damaging coping mechanisms that we have acquired and even find glorious hope as we discover how our pain can bring about deeper intimacy with God and our fellow man.Written partly from my experience as a combat vet, but also from my experiences as a biblical counselor, this is a book both for those seeking healing from past trauma, but also for those who want to learn how to better help those around them who have been damaged by their past.
Volume five in Piper's acclaimed The Swans Are Not Silent series powerfully illustrates through the lives of Tyndale, Judson, and Paton that the gospel advances through the sacrifices of Christ's ambassadors.
"The question of why God would allow pain and suffering in the world has vexed believers and nonbelievers forever. In Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Timothy Keller takes on this enduring issue and shows that there is meaning and reason behind pain and suffering, making a forceful and groundbreaking case that this essential part of the human experience can be overcome only by understanding our relationship with God. Using biblical wisdom and personal stories of overcoming adversity, Keller brings a much-needed, fresh viewpoint to this important issue."--Back cover
Have you ever felt emotionally wrung out from an ongoing trial? Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in Scripture. Journey in these pages with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness.
