I Love My Shepherd

Ministry Talks 12 – Wellness for the Church Work Student   Physical wellness   Intellectual wellness   Spiritual Wellness   Emotional Wellness   Relational Wellness   Vocational Wellness     Wisdom from students Wisdom from professors Wisdom from other church workers   Special thanks to: Julianna Shults, YA Corps - https://www.lcms.org/young-adult-corps Dave Rueter, author and ministry leader Deaconess Kristin Wassilak, Concordia University Chicago Celina Haupt Madalyn Short Irene Swift   Special topic to come: Financial Wellness – understanding student loans, considering alternatives https://lfcu.everfi-next.net/student/dashboard/lfcu/paying-for-college  

ILMS 11 – YA: Glad YA series – ilovemyshepherd.com/ya   Psalm 46:4 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,     the holy habitation of the Most High.   What do you picture the place where God dwells? Where does God live?   We are His habitation! Why this matters… Sometimes life feels like a big ball of Christmas lights   What can God do with that giant ball of Christmas lights?   Psalm 16:8-10 A psalm of David What do you remember about David?   David was secure in God alone even after he made his own mess of life and life messed with him.   What makes our hearts glad? What makes God’s heart glad?     Who holds your ball of lights with you? Challenge: Name one person who you can trust in to help untangle your Christmas lights with you. Name on person who you can be that person for today.   Jesus makes Glad. Jesus makes Joy.

ILMS9 - The Truth about Mental Health: Suicidality Suicide Prevention Hotline - https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/   Special guests: Brandon Hamilton, student, hiphop artist; Joshua Mertz, teacher   Podcast Outline Brandon’s Song The Ocean of Social Media Body Image   John 10:10   Making faith your own   Just be the friend – be there for one person   One Last Breath on YouTube - https://youtu.be/KEV9ZPqKWqw   Koinonia groups Sources of Strength - https://sourcesofstrength.org/     Brandon’s Lyrics –One Last Breath Have you ever been so off track That every breath you wish was your last Wished you could put on a plastic mask that could change the fact that your past Is hurting your present self so bad that you never laugh Unless you’re in the presence of people so they don’t always have to ask   If you’re okay or why your face is red and your eyes always look sad You can’t be mad cause they care but you hate explaining it drags You back to the place you don’t wanna go anymore because of it leading to All o

The struggle and joy of church work and holidaysThe struggle and joy of church work and holidays Applying the ScripturesLoneliness factor:Psalm 68:4-6 Envy factor:1 Corinthians 3:3 1 Corinthians 13:4Proverbs 14:30  1) Keeping it in perspective- The weight of holidays in the US 64% effected by the Holiday blues - https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/November-2015/Tips-for-Managing-the-Holiday-Blues Remember that children are resilient, but sensitive  2) Christ came for you- Take each holiday and apply it to yourself Help family apply it to them 3) Getting Creative- Ideas for getting fun and festive or doing nada

ILMS 8 - The Truth about Mental Health: Emotions + YA: Tremble Psalm 46:3   Internal and external turmoil   HCSB – “though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.”   What in the world feels chaotic, or adds to the turmoil of life?   Goal: We want our emotions  to inform us, rather than lead us. How do you like to let your emotions out, rather than roiling inside?   6 common spectrums of emotion: 1 – Warmth and acceptance Inverse = loneliness and rejection How does acceptance feel?   How is warmth and acceptance associated with happiness for us? Romans 14:1-3   2 – Irritable, Frustrated, and Angry Ephesians 4:26 1 Corinthians 13:5   Getting into the Word to change our mood Asknig self: What’s in this? Why am I (fill in the blank)? Finding someplace to put it   Psalm 37:8-9   3 – Discouragement, Sadness, and Depression Inverse: Joy, Zeal, Engagement Understanding and differences   2 Corinthians 1:3-4   How do you engage in life?   4 – Fear, Anxiety, and Worry Fear and Creation Anxiety

ILMS 7 – The Truth about Mental Health: Depression   Guest: Pastor Gabe Kasper   I Love My Shepherd Mental Health Core Value: Everyone has it. Connections of physical, relational, mental, and emotional health.   Gabe’s story   Symptoms of depression – anxiety, insomnia, spiral thinking, panic attack, loss of focus, loss of motivation, frequent crying, desire to escape, suicidality and suicide ideation     Triggers and life transitions The emotional spiral God’s work in our spiral When life doesn’t make sense He comes to us in our pit   Resources for depression: Beck’s Inventory – ask a primary care provider (https://www.apa.org/pi/about/publications/caregivers/practice-settings/assessment/tools/beck-depression.aspx) Useful at home mood and depression check - https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/depression-quiz/   Depression “comes out” in different ways for different people The relationship of anger and sadness   Finding some help Seeing a doctor and addressing what our body needs Relearning the Gospel for thi

ILMS 6  - YA: Moved Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength,     a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,     though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam,     though the mountains tremble at its swelling.      Fun question: What mountains have you been to? Where? What did you think? What pictures have you seen of mountains? What stood out?   Who controls the mountains? What is scary about the idea of the mountains falling?   What is fear? Fear respect v. fear anxiety   Page through Genesis 1,2, and 3 – God creates, we have no fear, sin brings fear What evidence do you see of no fear and then fear?   What are the what ifs of life? God works good in our messes, even in fear.   Job 9:4-6 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength     —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?— 5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,     when he overturns them in his anger, 6 who shakes the earth out of its plac

ILMS 5 – WII: Divorce, Forgiveness, and New Beginnings Guest: Donna Pyle Young, fresh, and finding Jesus   What does genuine warmth look like for visitors in the church?   Brokenness and Restoration             making some kind of peace with our past those who hurt to see us hurt God is not a puppeteer   Forgiveness anger has its place when life feels like a hurricane the place of counseling walking through forgiveness, rather than obtaining forgiveness   Forgiveness the book - https://amzn.to/2Ij9ulN   Without this Ring book - https://amzn.to/2DyXyO9 every divorce is unique sharing stories, a Christian counselor perspective, working through difficult emotions   Quenched book – https://amzn.to/2MXRuhz What is the well? What are we seeking? What do you need? being new to the church or being worn out in the church   The Myth of Forgetting and Forgiving God forgets The reality of trauma in brokenness He promises to make everything beautiful in its time Honoring sadness   Artiseanministries.org

ILMS 4 - Ministry Talks: Calls, Callings, and the Ministry Family A calling on our lives – purposes, plans, and Jesus   God holds the power, we simply are stewards of that   Over emphasis of any one vocation is a problem.   Family Vocation, Veith and Moerbe - https://www.amazon.com/Family-Vocation-Marriage-Parenting-Childhood/dp/1433524066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535474057&sr=8-1&keywords=family+vocation   What responsibility and accountability is attached to a professional call or calling? What tension is there in this and how does it impact family life?   Calling and the family - Genesis 12:1-5 Hebrews 11:8-12     Joy in Ministry   John 10:10 Galatians 5:1     “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.”  

ILMS 3 – Ministry Moments: Community Prayer Walk Guest – Pastor B.J. Fouts Connection and disconnection in communities   The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 Starting with our neighbors in our backyard Sometimes it’s harder to start a conversation with our actual neighbors   One prayer walk in a small town community: Goal = visible ministry arm praying for our community   The who, what where, when, and why!   Praying for one another Praying for our country and community (2 Chronicles 7) Praying for individuals, workers, businesses and houses   Praying to yourself Praying in twos Praying together Praying the Lord’s Prayer   Stories from the kids, teachers, and community   PDF sample of one prayer walk   St. John Ministries website - https://www.stjohnbc.net/

Show notes: What are your worries or concerns? Your highs and lows? What do you think your friends are going through or your family?When you look around you at school, work, your neighborhood, the world – what concerns do you see? Three segments to today’s study: He is with us when things look bleak.  He is with us when things look better. He is with us when things look best.  Bleak: Is God disinterested? Is God angry or mean? What evidence do you hear of God pursuing us in the Psalm? What evidence of Jesus pursuing do you remember from the Gospels? When we can’t see God’s presence, what does He give us to remind us He is present? Psalm 46:1 – God is our present help. What kind of Help does God bring to us? John 14:25-17 What helps you when it’s hard to believe God is present, that He cares? Better: What does the mediocre feel so blah? How does Satan use the blah to poke at us? What is God doing in the mediocre? Where do you see Him present in the everyday? Why is it so easy to forget about God in the eve

Show notes: When was the last time you held a red party cup? Do we have a celebratory God?   What opportunities did Jesus take at parties? What opportunities do we have at parties or celebratory moments? What kind of grounding do we have or seek to prepare to be in difficult places and situations? Safety and the red party cup ilovemyshepherd.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0fe9BbadMkIZwWx-esd-g Facebook - @ilovemyshepherd Twitter -  @ilovemyshepherd Instagram - @ilovemyshepherdministries ESV Bible translation - Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.All rights reserved.

Ministry Talks 8 - When Ministry Needs a Resurrection: Waiting, Rest, and A Fresh Start   Go through 1 OT account of resurrection, 2 NT account of resurrection, and I’ll give you a few psalms to consider and take with you to contemplate. All have unique insights for when ministry just really needs new, fresh, and something more, a resurrection. 4 sections to today’s study:             Admitting when all is not well             Connecting the pieces of Grace, freedom, and joy             Easter Saturday Ministry             Rest and RESToration                         1) Admitting when all is not well 2 Kings 4:18-37 when “everything is alright” is your mantra - v. 23, 26 admitting it is the hardest part, first step, satan wants to keep you in isolation sometimes admitting just means saying, “this isn’t what I thought it would look like” considering unsafe people v safe people - v. 27     2) Connecting the pieces of Grace, freedom, and joy John 19:38-20:3   grace comes in and with it there is a new fr

Ministry Talks 7 - The Dark Side of the Church 6 realities that can make the church feel a little dark at times…   John 17:13-19 - foundation of light and dark, world and God’s people   Reality #1 - It will always be a challenge to help the world understand the church. not a distraction, part of ministry inherent to being in the world, not of the world In the world is a good thing, from God The Light of Christ and the Lighthouse of the Word Compassion in knowing a world disconnected from God and His love   Reality #2 - The church itself exists in the world not outside of it.             -  junk of the world will be in the church             - we will see both light and dark in the church             - joy (v. 13)   Reality #3 - People will struggle with sin in the church.             - we will see relationship issues, addiction, sexual immorality, gossip, hatefulness all around us             - we are not better people             - we will also see sin at church - need for boundaries             - s

Ministry Talks 6 – Top Ten Reasons to Take a Vacation Two massive things in the way of vacation – time and money Creativity is often a must, but here are 10 reasons why vacations can’t go by the wayside in ministry life...   Ecclesiastes 3:9-14   1 – Rest  Conversations about what rest is Biblically  Run Hard, Rest Well  https://runhardrestwell.com/ Sleep – Ted Talk, Why do we Sleep? https://www.ted.com/talks/russell_fos...   2 – Recharge  Inspiration fatigue  What gives you energy? What recharges you?   3 – Reflect  processing the past year, month, days  Give your brain “whiteboard space”  Dangerous Calling, Paul David Tripp – pg. 55  https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Call...   4 – Teach Others  Your family, Your congregation, Your community  What is rest? Permission to rest Prioritizing family Stewardship of time   5 – Consider the next pastor/teacher/leader  unrealistic expectations passed on  Where am I allowing Gospel space in this church/ministry?   6 – Identify symptoms of burnout  Physical – headaches

Ministry Talks 5 – Discouragement in Ministry   Where have you felt discouragement in life? In the Christian walk? In ministry?   The power of normalizing and naming it - Discouragement is normal and not shameful - Apostle Paul and discouragement John 16:33  ESV - tribulation  NIV – trials and sorrows  Greek = thlipsin/thlipsis = pressure, that which rubs http://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/...   What tensions do you have in ministry or at your church? Where do you experience the pressure or stress internally? How do you “let it out”, whether positive or negative?   Discouragement - Encouragement - Courage/Take Heart   Psalm 27:14 – waiting and discouragement   Psalm 31:24 – take heart, be fed How does God feed you? 1 – the experience of shame 2 – when or where have you needed rescue, received rescue 11 –feeling outcast, less than, unwanted  v.12 – the weight of your own brokenness and the weight of brokenness in the world   What is discouraging to you in the culture around you?   Work through Psalm 31 an

Ministry Talks 4 – Freedom in Ministry   Foundations for Freedom in this life: Galatians 5:1 John 10:10   Roadblocks to Freedom in Ministry Life Status v. Weakness Forgetting the Sinner/Saint duality Expectations Our Worth “God’s Will”   What expectations have you felt the weight of in ministry?   What expectations have you put on yourself?   What expectations have you felt from other people?   Which roadblock to freedom have you struggled with or have you seen people struggle with in ministry?

Ministry Talks 3 – Church Work Children Opening the conversation for our children and families about church work and faith life   Church as a Safe Place Developmentally children have a hard time with abstract concepts of grace, mercy, and the big ideas we want them to learn We teach them in many ways around the Word with words but primarily children understand faith and God’s work through the Word with experiences and relationships Church can feel like a dark place at times, even though it “should” be light-filled and darkness can be scary. This is confusing for children Need to talk about it openly, address it kindly, without gossip, but gentle honesty 1 Peter 1:9 – God is working mercy in the places we don’t even know Ephesians 5:8 – he is growing us as people of Light   Deuteronomy Living 6:4-9 in Gospel The same God is Lord over our homes, our families, and our churches Helping kids see God in our homes, as well as at church Not knowledge that saves us Not our work, even church work that saves us Tal

Ministry Talks 2 – Intersections of the Ministry House Foundations for our homes Psalm 127:1 – No labor you do is in vain. The Lord is at work- in your home, your ministry, and anywhere you are in your community.   1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do ministry in “God’s House,” the church, but also in the other areas of our lives. Ministry within our home is not “less than” ministry at church or with people from our churches/communities. Our families need us also and God works in that and calls it ministry.   1 Timothy 3:1-5 We do not have to “have it all together.” God works in grace. He works in the prodigal children. He works in our mess-ups both in our homes and our ministries. What does it mean to manage a household well – studying the Word together, coming before Him in prayer and sorting it all out for your family together.   Systems Chart –  Understanding all the places our lives intersect Draw your house or a box to represent your house. Note around it all the interacting places and spaces that intersect in your

Ministry Talks 1 Intro Welcome to a new series from I Love My Shepherd - Ministry Talks!   Are you in part-time or full- time ministry? Do you have a ministry degree or background? Is your husband or your wife in ministry?   This video series is intended to share insights around the Word about the unique joys, as well as the unique challenges to ministry life. We'll talk about the tensions of all that is good and hard in ministry, talk about the ministry's impact on home and family life, and encourage one another.   The series will always be grounded in the Word of God, while sharing psychosocial and systems concepts that are useful when considering how our lives interact within the church, our families, and our communities.   Here is a list of upcoming topics: *Intersections of the ministry house Wisdom for the ministry household The influence of ministry wives and women in ministry Friendship in ministry life Boundaries in ministry and the ministry family Expectations and the ministry family Brokenness and