Gospel.com Blog

Ann Dominguez is a doctor at a Community Health Center that serves a poor community of immigrants–and the everyday suffering that surrounds her is almost too much to comprehend. In a recent article at InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries site, she talks about what it means to be a Christian healer in a place where despair is everywhere:

Most of my patients suffer from poverty. A large proportion of my patients suffer from depression, anxiety, alcoholism, or domestic violence…on top of their diabetes, hypertension, chronic pain, and heart disease….

When my patients come to see me, I loathe giving them just a pill. I want them to know the healing that comes from Christ’s presence, from the wholeness that he can give despite diabetes, despite sciatica, despite back pain. But to offer this healing, I need to enter into the garden of their suffering with them.

What does it mean to “enter the garden of suffering,” and how could that be a way to bring hope and healing to the downtrodden? Dominguez found out after one harrowing night at the clinic, when a medical crisis and a miraculous birth showed her what it meant to stand with someone in the “garden.” Read the full story.

Youth leaders: are the parents of your youth group kids an important part of your ministry, or are they strangers to the church youth ministry? Worse yet, are they “the enemy,” always seeming to fight or complain about your ministry?

Jim Burns of the Legacy Youth Ministry Resources site suggests that lack of communication between youth leaders and parents is an extremely common, but entirely unnecessary, problem. Burns talks about how he went about incorporating parents into his own youth ministry, and why increased awareness of kids’ family environments can be a healthy thing, both for your ministry and for the families.

When we think of horror movies and novels, most of us probably picture the ultra-violent and spiritually shallow horror films that have graced movie screens in recent years. But is there any depth beneath the surface of the horror genre, or does it just boil down to gore and nihilism?

In a recent interview with horror author Wrath James Wright, Hollywood Jesus writer Maurice Broaddus raises some of these questions. Wright is an agnostic who nevertheless approaches his stories from a spiritual angle. Read the interview and find out what Wright thinks about horror’s potential as an exploration of human suffering and belief.

How can you tell if you’re burning out? Burnout is one of the biggest challenges a pastor or church leader can face–if it’s not properly recognized, it can drag both you and your ministry down. The Link Care Center has an article about coping with burnout, with a list of burnout symptoms to watch out for and plenty of advice for dealing with burnout once you’ve identified it.

It’s just one of several articles on burnout at the Link Care Center site. So if you or somebody you know is starting to feel ground down by the pressures of ministry or church leadership, take a look at what these essays suggest.

Relationships aren’t static things–they evolve over time, and are affected by our actions and attitudes. The more serious a relationship is, the more “regular maintenance” it needs. So when was the last time you and your spouse sat down to determine the “state of your marriage”?

In an article for MOPS International, Jane Jarrell reminds us that regular check-ups are an important part of marriage. She recommends regularly setting time aside to evaluate where your marriage relationship is at, and lists out ten ways that you and your spouse can work together to keep your relationship thriving.

The Unity Festival is coming! Unity is a multi-day Christian music festival in west Michigan from August 10-12, and there’s just a few weeks left in which to get tickets. The band lineup was recently finalized, so be sure to check out the latest schedule.

Earlier this month, the Middle East Christian Outreach published a series of excellent articles about Lebanon and its future in Crossroads magazine. While much of that information has been turned on its head by the sudden explosion of violence in Lebanon, the articles paint a fascinating picture of how the church has been working in the now-wartorn country.

Since the violence broke out, the MECO has published a short update on the situation, with prayer requests you can keep in mind as the crisis continues to unfold. Take a look through the articles and see how God has been working in Lebanon–and then join MECO in praying that the ministry He planted in Lebanon in recent years will survive the current crisis.

Much of evangelism and ministry work is based on communication–the use of good old-fashioned words to connect with people. So what happens when ministry meets a medium like the internet, which through technologies like email, instant messaging, and podcasting seems to be redefining communication with each passing year?

That’s the question addressed in a recent article at Christian Computing Magazine. Terry Wilhite lists ten ways that the internet is changing ministry communication [PDF format]. If your ministry makes use of the internet–and what ministries don’t use the internet in some fashion?–take a look at Terry’s list and think about how internet trends are transforming the ways that we talk and write.

Divorce is one of the most painful things any family can experience–at its worst, it can hurt as much as a death in the family, and can leave scars that never truly heal. So is it possible to find new life–let alone peace of mind–in the aftermath of a divorce?

In Living Again After Divorce, Dick Innes says that you can live again after divorce–and he lays out thirteen steps to take towards peace of mind. If you’ve been left stunned and bewildered by a divorce, read through Innes’ suggestions and consider applying them to your situation.

The Israel/Hezbollah clash shows no sign of lessening, but Christian ministries are trying to survive and work even amid the violence. Mission Network News is providing regular news updates from the area. Many of their reports focus on how the situation is affecting evangelists and Christian organizations in and near embattled Lebanon. Recent stories have described the fighting’s effect on Operation Mobilization and on the unexpected evangelism opportunities being opened by the violence. Stay tuned to MNN in the coming days as the crisis unfolds!