Ministering to Those Who Mourn, Part 2
by James Saxman
Republished from Baptist Bulletin April/May 2017 with permission. © Regular Baptist Press, all rights reserved. Read part 1.
Tasks for Mourners
J. William Worden, Harvard professor, identifies four tasks for mourners in his book Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy. Gently helping a mourner to recognize these tasks is beneficial to the mourner’s good health in the days that follow loss.
1. Accept the reality of the loss. It sounds ridiculously obvious, but facing the stark fact that the loved one has died is necessary for the mourner to move on from denial. To experience irreversibility is a shock. Children know that Daddy and Mommy fix everything. When our childish imaginations are confronted with reality, we must change what we are accustomed to. Like it or not, we must begin the awful task of accepting the finality of death.
Discussion
Ministering to Those Who Mourn, Part 1
Republished from Baptist Bulletin March/April 2017 with permission. © Regular Baptist Press, all rights reserved.
by James Saxman
Lonely is the home without you,
Life to us is not the same,
All the world would be like heaven,
If we could have you back again. – Anonymous
And she said unto them, “Do not call me Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20).
Grief/Mourning
The Bible has a great deal to say regarding the topics of grief and mourning. About 20 Hebrew words translated into our English Bibles are some form of the word grieve. Though the occurrences in the New Testament are less frequent than in the Old, Christians are certainly not excluded from grief. They cannot but feel sorrow and be moved by grief. In both the Old and New Testaments, God Himself is said to be susceptible to grief (Isa. 63:10 Heb. 4:15). In the Garden of Gethsemane, the “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3) told His disciples that His soul was deeply grieved, to the point of death (Matt. 26:38).
Discussion
Tweets & Peeps: When Social Media & Friends Collide
Republished from Baptist Bulletin April/May 2017 with permission. © Regular Baptist Press, all rights reserved.
by Daryl A. Neipp
In 2013, researchers conducted an online survey and discovered that 78 percent of users have experienced a rise in arguments and hostility within social media platforms.
Specific findings include these:
- 3 in 4 have witnessed an argument on social media;
- 4 in 5 report rising incivility online;
- 2 in 5 have blocked, unsubscribed, or unfriended someone as a result;
- 1 in 5 have reduced in-person contact with someone over a cyber argument;
- 88 percent believe that people are less polite on social media than in person;
- 81 percent say emotional conversations held on social media are most often unresolved.
Discussion
Logic is More Important than Ever – So Why Don’t Schools Teach it Anymore?
Body
“In her essay, Sayers said the disrepute into which logic has fallen is ‘entirely unjustified.’ But she offers two explanations for why it happened.”
Discussion
Finding girls?
My church has no options for me. I’ve been striking out at other churches in the area (I’m not able to attend most places because they’re not conducive to one of my disabilities.)
I’ve had no luck on dating sites.
How do I find a mate?
Discussion
Neuroscience of blame
Listen to this podcast (probably don’t listen with your little children).
Discussion