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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

No one escapes the grip of personal insecurity. It's part and parcel of life after the Fall. The problem comes when our personal insecurities significantly affect our behavior.
— Louis McBurney

Over twenty years ago, I pulled out of mainstream psychiatry to start a counseling retreat for pastors. I still attend psychiatry seminars, and invariably someone will ask, "What do you do?" When I attempt to describe my present calling, I receive a puzzled look. Then an awkward silence.

"Mmm," the person says. "How nice."

Other psychiatrists' respect shouldn't matter to me. But it does. I yearn for the approval of my peers. Intellectually I know my self-worth is established by God through what Christ did on the cross, that I've been created and redeemed by him. Yet it's difficult resting in God's unconditional love while holding down a job many people I admire don't respect.

In working with pastors, I've learned this is a common feeling among them. There are lots of reasons for this.

The social fragmenting ...

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Posted:
March
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