9: Why is This Happening to Us?

Welcome to Crossroads connection is a show all about having conversation surrounding life ministries and culture was a quick thank you to our friends at the Truth Network for airing this program will get welcome to Crossroads connection. I am handing George and I'm so grateful to you taking time on your data.

Listen to this program. I'm very excited about today because I had a chance to interview a licensed clinical social worker, Anthony Thomas really about how to deal with fear. You know something about fear. Fear is one of those things will aptly stop us in our tracks and will stop us from becoming not only all that God has for us, but really stops us from is becoming our best versions of ourselves that God is trying to do inside of us and of course of time of this recording and when this recording is being aired. We are still in the midst of a pandemic around the world this: 19 I can't help but think that there's quite some you listening right now or you are just wondering if maybe not fully afraid and in fear. Maybe year worrying a little bit maybe have some anxiousness about it. Maybe you're panicking you know. And despite all different levels of this on a daily basis so as were all dealing with this pandemic in our own ways.

I wanted to share some highlights from a recent sermon that I preached called.

Why is this happening to us, how many of you asked that question before you press the question today. Why is this happening to us and as I was reading through Judges chapter 6, I came across a passage with Gideon and this passage opens up with the Lord sitting underneath the tree and Gideon was beating out.

We in the winepress, the height of the Midianites and the angel Lord appeared to him and said to him, the Lord is with you, a mighty man of valor. Now we know by reading the rest that passes at that such I like ironic statement that the Lord is speaking to getting getting later in the chapter says ham from the weakest clan on the weakest person in my family. Yet the Lord sees in him something mighty so Gideon said to him please my Lord is the Lord is with us now, here's the question. Listen why that has all this happened to us. I just can't help but think that there's probably a lot of people asking that same question, and then getting goes a step further, he says, and where are all his wonderful deeds that our father recounted she was seeing did not the Lord bring us about Egypt, but now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian, so three capital quickly what Gideon's doing Gideon's and a whole and he's beating out wheat.

In the holies in fear he's from we clan is the weakest in his family. This angel Lord who is an Old Testament showing of Jesus himself, the Lord is with you on mighty men of valor, and Gideon says will how was it possible and if you're with this than the wise is happening to us and by the way, God I've heard about how you rescue people from Egypt, I heard about the Red Sea. I've heard all those great stories of Joshua Moses and all those before us swear they now in and out about you but I know my life a vessel similar questions/vessels questions where I said God, I've heard about your fame vexed in Scripture for your fame. I stand in all of your deeds but Lord, I want you to renew them in our time and my time make them known like right now I wanted to hear stories of the past. I want you to do something amazing in my life and my time now and so he asked the question if the Lord is with us and why is all this happening to us, so Gideon hears about the great works of gone the past. Yet, he wondered why did not the same great God do a great work in his life.

Gideon thought the problem was with God. Now the Lord has forsaken us.

But see this is what Gideon doesn't realize he doesn't realize that the book of Judges is called the book of Judges when only because there's judges that happen, but it's a it's a book of judgment that there are seven since cycles that the Israel people go through where they have a good judge in a bad judge and a good judge and a bad judge, and every time that Israel would flounder and fail and repent, forgive them, and God raise up a good godly judge to help lead them and then they would do good and they were flourished and then up bad evil healed non-God-fearing judge would take over and the people would suffer.

This is the cycle that they're in there in the spin since cycle and so Gideon, he's not blaming himself for the people borders he do, he does what we all do he say in that God you abandon us, but in truth, Israel abandon God got enough or sick Israel. So God is calling Gideon to faith and victory. I'm just telling you too often we allow fear and doubt to cause us to not see that God is with us and that we have victory sore. We are the me ask you question where is God calling you to have faith and victory was God calling you in your life.

Even right now to have faith and victory may be feeling Gideon may be wondering where God is.

Maybe you're thinking that you're not strong enough. Maybe you think you don't have the resources or family doesn't have the resources yet. I promise you that there is a God in heaven is looking at you, calling you mighty man mighty woman of valor, mighty teenager valor, but do we have the faith to step out and receive that and actually live out a life of victory instead of in fear. So as I said, this episode is, special because I had a chance to sit down with Anthony Thomas and really talk through how to navigate through fear. I think your find this interview very helpful very encouraging I think and find some great awareness in this sort of take a quick break and then right after the break were to jump into my interview with Anthony Thomas. Perhaps you've asked yourself this question. Are you running the business or is the business running. You, how might your teams grow. If your teams are driving the business forward.

Instead of you. You are sitting on a wealth of untapped opportunity. It takes courage to learn how to create a culture where your people are truly empowered on their seats, my name Cheryl Scanlon business and executive coach working together will go straight to your court challenges to sort through competing demands and realigned to your highest priorities for measurable results. Visit C3advantage.net at sea number three advantage.net I will come back from the break. I am here with my very special guest Anthony Thomas who is a pastor at crossroads Fellowship as well as a licensed clinical social worker Anthony think you so much for joining me on this episode to be here in the year interacting with you and your guests, so anything would you explain to us what exactly is a licensed clinical social worker. Yeah it is a license the state issues to certain credentialed people to allow them to do professional counseling get paid for it.

There's a few licenses like a licensed psychologist licensed professional counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist and then mine licensed clinical social worker there all on par with each other in terms of the type of license where you can view additional counseling excellent, and so your pastor of a church and near the care and counseling pastor a church. Why is counseling within the church, and what part does counseling play within the church today and more and more a larger churches have staff that are experts at counseling.

I think it is playing more and more a part. Seminaries are starting to train more and more theologically proficient people at counseling because counseling is just another you can think of it as part of the discipleship process. Quite honestly, you can think of is a precursor to discipleship or supplement to discipleship. But you know it's hard to just grow spiritually when you are having some mind body spirit issues that are so interconnected.

Maybe deep relational issues and problems they so interact with our spiritual growth and can inhibit our spiritual growth that it can be impossible to do discipleship, work, the church pastors need to do without. Also interacting and thinking about mental health issues as it comes to some individuals in Celeste.

The point of it and why it might be important within the church. Yes really get a lot of people have thought about connecting counseling with discipleship. I think a lot of people view counseling as only one am in trouble or only when I really, really need to get help, but I really like the way you worded that that it's really a spiritual connection with our discipleship and our growth and so I also know that you are over all the care ministries across his fellowship not crossers is known as having a pretty extensive care ministries.

Can you just tell us a little bit of the overview of not just what care ministries. There are crossroads, but really, once again, the why, why does the church have so many different essential care ministries. Yeah. So all these care ministries are led by folks within our church through lay led by directors over these ministries and so I work with the directors to help them do the work of the ministry, which is what pastors really do you know instructed to do the Scriptures equip the delay. The people to do the work of the ministry and gifted people that have experienced things and have a heart for gifts of mercy.

Another concert special gifting that make them particularly talented at the Taconic here that they are providing more so than some of our pastors on staff and so is awesome to be able to come alongside a team of believers who are really desire to help people and kinds of ministry, to share some of the greatest names in idea little bit of what you're talking about. You celebrate recovery for instances of ministry that started out of Saddleback Church in is now worldwide setbacks of California and is now worldwide and in churches all around where one of a number of churches in the Raleigh area have celebrate recovery and it is the ministry that's geared toward helping people, various issues they say hurts, habits and hangups is the idea and so I think it was sometimes a substance abuse or addictive issues, but it's bigger than that is about 30% of folks that are involved in sober regarding the issue, but can be on the issues related to the Internet or an RFP be issues related to eating or food or issues related anger or relationships.

There can be a lot of things, plus alcohol substance abuse drugs and died so a variety of her talents and hangups are addressed through Christ centered twelve-step program which makes it different than AA or NA Alcoholics Anonymous and must they also have similar twelve-step program, but that celebrate recovery model usually Christ centered Christian-based but yet still works on that summer spiritual twelve-step program and really helps people deal with these kind of hurts and one of our our ministries meets on Friday nights and they have step studies in sponsors and breakout groups that are open shared groups and blah blah a good administrative happens to you that that ministry must agree share and so he lost a loved one, and dinner several times a year. We offer program, agree share that helps you deal with the grief that comes with the loss of a loved one is different kinds of losses like loss of the child or awesome spouse or you know maybe you lost someone to this code 19 virus and and so it in the these losses would be broken into stub groups and so when they have breakout discussion about these groups (force care, which is another ministry. If someone's going through the pain of separation or divorce. They can get help through the divorce care ministry just three examples of types of ministries that we do.

So there's a church out there are passionate listening to this right now and they don't really have any cortical chemistries at their church. Is there one particular care ministry that you would recommend that if most churches are any churches out there that this would be one that you probably want to try out or get on board with which will that be.

I think I agree share what might be the first one to start with because some in every church is already doing very helping folks with Lawson and dealing with funerals and dealing with people around grief and this just helps that that's an easy first step church initiative is the organization that puts outreach share and they are easy to contact a worker churches. They help you figure out how to train your people and come alongside you and have materials so they have video teaching and you cannot facilitate and then deal with the breakouts is a good place to start right wonderful. So you mention COBIT 19 and part of the reason why I wanted to interview you. Right now, affect the time of this recording and then when this recording will air. We will certainly be still dealing with the coronavirus as a nation and here in the Triangle Raleigh-Durham area. We are right now currently on a stay-at-home order and like a set is at the time of the release of this will still be on that stay-at-home order and I know that when all this happened, you must first a lot of people probably didn't think too much about it knows overseas was in China then maybe was here, and how quickly the last couple weeks. It's really ramped up nationwide and I just know this by a lot of people that are dealing with anxiety and fear and worry and panic when it comes to how do we navigate this heel because people are possibly losing jobs, and now people working from home.

Kids are being homeschooled.

You know there's a whole big disruption happening across the board and so I thought you know your your counselor you deal with chemistries all the time. How would you help somebody through this if we're sitting down together and I came years that have have some issues dealing with fear, anxiety, worry, stress over all the stuff that's happening Cova 19. How would you walk me through that. That's a great question and it is gripping. A lot of people have these conversations a lot. I would first ask some questions to try to figure out if you're in one of two categories you notice big picture trying to think on a simple, but I I would either categorize people as fairly typical as it relates to fears and worries and anxiety. Those you know, everybody has certain level of fear were anxiety is very normal on something we all deal with an experienced and that type of person you know maybe they leave a little more toward worry than the average, but they're absolutely able to define in their daily job and work in school and and and their functioning is not constructed at all, but maybe COBIT 19 has has come to kick that up a notch and so there's find themselves panicky define themselves more worried than most. They certainly get concerned Jerry is affecting their data bit. They made a collective freaking out a little bit that is category one sectors, which I think is very typical and with that type of person yeah I have have some some recommendations. These are these are unity, recognition seven, everyone can apply and it would help everyone and then there's a second type of person that maybe they deal with anxiety much in a much stronger way than most. They may have a maybe easily diagnosed with some kind anxiety disorder, OCD or posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety is just a huge component of their life, but maybe you have some is listening and they haven't recognized that this is an enzyme that attracts you to the second category want want you. You mentioned something about some suggestions about setting a lot of people are in that first category, where everything was fine and now it's not an either being inundated with news and you'll ever be talking about your the grocery store people en masse. You know it it raises your of awareness and possible fierce order a few suggestions of how people in the first category jump ahead with the second category you will, I would first I would try to limit the amount of news intake that you are receiving. You know I yeah I noticed about my life the last few days has put music on the house and super four hours a day or so. We're hearing Christian music playing in that really makes a difference and neither as opposed to configuring one scary thing and it's like every time you turn on the TV news that's all the talking about.

Yeah. So maybe shut off the TV for a while and and doing something else I thinking like we need to begin to practice more self-care you know if you find yourself more panicky. I think you need to think about okay what can I do to cure myself little because you no good to anyone else. Don't take care yourself like the recommendation when you're on the plane and the masculine falls man they say, to put it on the first that's right yourself yourself and then they can help somebody else if you don't enable the reader so so we got we got a have enough self-care and so this becomes a little personalized you know whatever is.

It helps you to be able to relax and may be different than someone else, but for some it may mean reading a book or taken back to work though in our law school work. If something is open. Michael Parker the driving range is at the driving range and he but not yet the these are these are apparently they're still packed right now and so I think they create and make you distance yourself from each other but but there are number of things you can do that you might enjoy that might distract your mind unit reading an exercise or getting on the phone and catching up with a friend where you do not talk about going 19 begin to talk about Canada the year you have in common – and so maybe you can serve someone in your neighborhood or care for someone else. Maybe you can do a devotion. Maybe you can pray or get into the Bible Christian book. All of these things can help manage your mind cannot relax Strack and ultimately, take care yourself and that's what someone in category one to be angling and yet again this is a great unite. I think sometimes get sucked in the stuff and so just turning it off, leaving take care yourself cannot side you know, spend time with people in your family. All seems to alleviate some of that but they said to mention more of a kind of a serious second category to walk us through that second category of person yeah and again, this would be someone that you can clearly diagnosed with an anxiety issue in maybe someone Artie knows that they have this kind of issue going on in Cova 19 doesn't help. Or maybe it's become clear that they're not functioning well at all. Life become unmanageable because of fears and worries you have this. This is more serious and and reason I'm mentioning.

The second category is because honestly the ideas that I just expressed in the first category can be offensive to people in the second category there, like you don't think I've tried to relax.

You know I say will just pray you know is like prayer I I pray every minute of every day it makes me more anxious. You know, and so so person. The second category needs to address this in a full mind, body, spirit, way, like me would I blood pressure would just say pray for your blood pressure yesterday will I remember, this is a bigger, more specific issue you think smart about this in a four-way spiritual part of it, but it is not a whole are in so we can address it from a medical standpoint, the mind-body spirit standpoint in what I want you to know is that if you're dealing with worries, fears if you panic attacks. If you have a knot in your stomach if you start to think, suicidal thoughts like oh my gosh I can't live like this.

If I'm going live like this. I would rather die if you begin to get hopeless those, thoughts and fears. That's beyond, your average and and that is anxiety at the courts. Anxiety might have a specific diagnosis. That's more specific than anxiety you're dealing with serious anxiety and what I do know is is treatable.

L. You don't have to just suffer. You need to get help and there's help you can get even right now here in Cova 19. So walk us through that so so what do they do, what are some options some suggestions for me. Well, first I would seek the help of a professional focus as I could give you the some some strategies, techniques that I would give somebody in a counseling scenario but those are so often tailored to the specific waves expressing an individual's life that is much better for them to get the help from a professional obscuring house expressed in their life.

So what I want to know is is very specifically there is chemotherapy out right now.

You can't easily go to the counselor's office and see them in the office but there's a there's a good local resource called login clinics.com exit since in time you login clinics to do Google login clinics.com director of this program does our church in our workforce campus.

There's medical doctors on staff. There's Mental health counselors on staff there Christians are really a great resource they chemotherapy experts and so on. You know I often didn't recommend them a lot because I that I had this idea that most people try to go to the office to see somebody right now, did so in angling him him now and then login clinics are professionals of this you, you can contact them and and their mental health counselor. US Terrace is one of them she would connect with you and talk with you about anxiety and and strategize around plan that would specifically help you. This talk therapy that's available in class. He is not that intuitive. What will you to get past this. You first of all, you should know it's not your fault.

This is the way your body's wired you can't is not a spiritual problem you just had enough faith, you'd be better.

Now this is this is counter behind iiNet first category a person more you do and doing some reading and some prayer time getting through your talking a whole another set of things are happening inside of somebody's mind and body exactly exactly and it's real. And so we can tend to think of it in like they just need more faith in, and not that really is some can be hurtful to someone struggling with this issue and so there really is no login clinics is a good option. There is pharmacological help.

Quite honestly so many medication can be a help and not and so consulting with the doctor about what you're experiencing and they can talk you through some options. Many times people don't need the medicine because they realize, wow with the good talk therapy about anxiety I can actually get a handle on this and and and recover from this, not medicine, but sometimes you need both needed dual approach in planting Thomas, thank you so much for that at such a huge help you not think putting things into two categories really makes a lot of sense, defining in mind which category man I just kinda feel anxious and little worry little fearsome because it is from seeing and hearing, or is there something bigger going on. You know that not in your stomach feeling those those thoughts that are real healthy at all and that there is options and there is help out there for people and so once again, say that website again. It's login clinics.com is a great resource. Anthony, thanks much for your time today.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week and stay safe out there. Thank you really think everybody for joining licensing my preference for making this possible for me to send you can contact them for sponsoring this channel your success as a leader buying from your team clear and consistent communication from you in strategic delegation. My name Cheryl Scanlon C3 Advantage helps you steward your most valuable resource. Well, improve retention grow employee engagement and generate higher team and individual ownership.

The success of your organization begins with you and depends on your team as a leader and lecture organization further visit C3advantage.net.net