\nA woman whose husband left her (and the ministry) recently began attending\nour church. Shattered, she is casting about for emotional moorings to help\nher regain equilibrium. With a ministry background, she knows how to minister\nto people; she just doesn’t know how to do so in the midst of her pain and\nconfusion.<\/p>\n\n
\nEvery follower of Christ is in a continual process of restoration; everyone\nis messed up and in need of God’s healing. But at certain stages of our\nbrokenness, we’re not able to serve others. How can I help this woman back\ninto leadership? I see the process in four stages.<\/p>\n\n
\nPersonal disasters usually bring a person to the point of asking, “Does anyone\ncare about me?” So I begin by saying, “I care about you, and so does God.”<\/p>\n\n
\nThese don’t call for much emotional fortitude and don’t put people on the\nline. If people can’t finish the job, it won’t be a disaster. The service\nmay be as simple as cutting out paper figures for our children’s program,\nor joining a crew to cut up a tree that fell during a windstorm.<\/p>\n\n
\nIf they’re highly sensitive, I can’t say, “Hey, get over this. It was no\nbig deal.” What registers as 2.0 on someone’s emotional Richter scale may\nbe a 9.0 for sensitive souls. I try to help them accept there’s nothing wrong\nwith feeling deeply-actually, it’s how God created them.<\/p>\n\n
\nSpiritually speaking, I like to see if I can get a person with a broken arm\nto work with someone with a broken leg.<\/p>\n\n
Daniel Brown with Bob Moeller<\/p>\n