by Josh Monda | Nov 17, 2021 | Mental Health, random thoughts, Uncategorized
I know this is a longer post because this is something dear to my heart; hopefully, you can learn something from this. There is a reason why the Bible instructs Christians to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil. 4:6). The problem is that trauma can cause people to lose their faith in God. There are many unfortunate things in today’s society, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, forms of abuse, losses, and many other things that lead to traumatic experiences.
What is trauma?
Trauma is a psychological term that refers to the emotional response to an event that threatens one’s physical, social, or emotional well-being. Trauma can be defined as an emotional injury that is the result of an adverse event. For Christians, this could be anything from physical abuse to rape to losing a loved one. This trauma can manifest in many ways, but the most common symptom is fear, which is considered multidimensional in traumatic experiences. There are five stages of trauma: -Acute Shock-Denial-Anger-Bargaining-Depression The best way for a Christian to handle trauma is first by acknowledging it. This will make it easier to deal with. Secondly, they should turn their attention towards God and pray. Lastly, they should seek comfort and help from family, friends and, fellow Christians. However, we all know that often this is not what happens when A Christian experiences trauma; for one reason or another, they feel shame, and instead of dealing with their hurt, they suppress it.
One might ask what exactly are the Causes of Trauma.
A traumatic event is not one’s fault. It is impossible to predict the future and avoid traumatic events, but it is possible to be prepared for them. A person may experience a traumatic event listed below, but we must understand there are many ways to help with trauma, and each person will need a different treatment plan.
Witnessing or experiencing violence
When one witnesses or experiences violence, it is a difficult and traumatic experience. Every year, millions of people fall victim to violence. Their lives are suddenly and irrevocably changed. They may be unable to work, go to school or even feel safe. When violence causes trauma, it can lead to a wide range of mental health problems.
Witnessing the death of loved ones
Every day we live and work, we may experience stress and trauma. Like any other human being, Christians go through difficult life experiences. The death of a loved one is a traumatic event for anyone to experience. Christians have the added need to know whether their loved one believed in Christ or not on top of the desire to know that their loved one knew they loved them.
Witnessing the death of a loved one can be an incredibly traumatic experience.
Witnessing or experiencing sexual assault
Witnessing or experiencing sexual assault can be a very traumatic experience. In some cases, trauma can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is an anxiety disorder that may cause flashbacks and nightmares of the event. It’s important to remember that not everyone who goes through a sexual assault will develop PTSD – the severity of the trauma will determine if a person experiences this mental health issue. Some people may develop sexual assault trauma disorder (SATD), also known as complex trauma disorder. This disorder can include symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, dissociation, and anxiety. People may also develop a dissociative identity disorder following a trauma such as sexual abuse.
Experiencing physical abuse
Physical abuse is often an experience that people are left to ponder the aftermath of. As a result, the trauma can cause long-term repercussions for victims. What does this mean for Christians who have experienced physical abuse? While it may be difficult to know the answer in every situation, there are steps that Christian individuals can take to process their experience in healthy ways.
Experiencing verbal abuse
The most common response to trauma is to try and push it out of your mind. However, when you experience verbal abuse, this is not always the case.
First off, you may find days when you can’t stop thinking about what was said to you. Secondly, you may find yourself reacting in anger when someone says something similar. Thirdly, there are times when memories of that hurtful event would arise without any triggering event happening, which is called spontaneous recovery.
Experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event
Typically, a traumatic event is a disturbing, violent, or scary experience that someone goes through. That being said, just because someone has been through a traumatic event does not mean it will lead to trauma. If a person can process their emotions and thoughts about the event, they may not experience trauma. An individual should be aware of mental health resources so they can get help if needed. This way, they have the resources to maintain healthy relationships with themselves and others.
Does trauma happen to Christians?
Obviously, one can look at just a small portion of traumatic events listed and know that Christians experience trauma. The problem arises when “well-meaning” Christians want to treat trauma as something that is not real, or they have the attitude that trauma can be prayed away or even worse that if you are going through trauma, you must lack faith.
Are Christians traumatized? Yes.
Are they traumatized by the same things non-Christians are? Yes.
How should Christians respond to trauma?
Many Christians experience trauma and find themselves unable to cope with the stressors that come with it due to the lack of resources and counseling. Churches especially can be a great resource because they provide a sense of community and knowing that someone else has been through what you’re going through. Churches also can be a place to go to get counseling and support. Christians should first find out what they are experiencing as trauma. How do you know if you are experiencing trauma?
People with trauma often experience a lot of the following symptoms:
– Feeling detached from others
– Feeling isolated
– Feeling hyper-aroused
– Feeling numb
– Feeling angry
– Feeling sad
– Feeling depressed
– Feeling anxious
– Feeling overwhelmed
– Feeling frustrated
– Having trouble concentrating
– Having trouble sleeping
– Having trouble eating
In addition, people who have been traumatized can have these symptoms:
– Agitation and irritability
– Low self-esteem
– Sleep problems
– Impulsivity
– Feeling suicidal
– Thinking of harming themselves or others
– Impulsively acting out
– Having trouble controlling their anger
– Inability to trust others
– Having trouble making decisions
– Having trouble being assertive
– Having trouble focusing
Treatment can help reduce the symptoms of trauma.
Healing takes time, so you need to be patient with yourself and allow God’s power to work on you.
How can one work through memories of trauma?
In the past, when people were traumatized, they might feel guilty about what happened because they thought that they were supposed to be strong and that they were supposed to be able to get through it. They might have thought that they deserved the trauma. A therapist can help you take a different perspective that would change your entire life.
If you are ready to work through your trauma, there are a few things you should do.
– Talk to someone about your trauma. Especially someone who will understand. This person might be a friend or a family member, a pastor, or a counselor.
– Get the help of a therapist. If you are in a relationship, this person can help you work through your trauma.
In the aftermath of a traumatic event, it is not uncommon for a person to experience a great deal of anxiety and fear. The resulting feelings can cause significant stress and instability in their lives. It can also lead to mental health concerns such as depression, insomnia, and social withdrawal. These symptoms are very challenging to manage because they leave the individual feeling much worse about themselves and their situation.
Getting Help
If you have gone through trauma, I want to encourage you to get help.
Trauma can be tough. It can leave us feeling alone and afraid, and we might suppress our emotions for years after the event happens. It is essential to know that there is hope and healing available. One way to do this is through talk therapy: talking to a therapist about what happened and their feelings. Another option is through prayer: praying and seeking support from God and others to find peace again. Please reach out, even if it is to me. You do not need to carry this burden alone.
Conclusion:
How the Scriptures encourage us to handle trauma.
Many people find themselves in situations where they are faced with traumatic events. After these events occur, many people are left with questions about handling the trauma they have experienced. They may experience intense feelings of anger, disappointment, grief, or guilt. The scriptures encourage us to be gentle and kind to ourselves and others and accept that God’s peace is found in Christ. Your own personal relationship with God is not based on your ability to do something but on your willingness to receive God’s grace. You may be wondering how a Christian should go about handling trauma with the Bible. After all, the Bible speaks extensively on how we should live when things are going well and when they are difficult. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you.” Matthew 11:28.
The Bible was written by people who experienced trauma during their lifetime. A Christian should not be afraid to discuss these experiences with God and other Christians. God wants to help us all heal, but sometimes it may take time and be difficult. God will do everything in His power to help us heal.
I close with this.
Every human being will experience trauma. It is impossible to go through life without experiencing some type of trauma. As a Christian, you, too, will encounter tragedy and hardship. However, God has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
by Josh Monda | Nov 13, 2021 | Mental Health
Intro:
For me, it started with a simple message in Facebook messenger. Someone I barely knew was reaching out to me and asked if we could have lunch and if I could help them learn more about our town. Of course, I knew this was not why he wanted to meet. I will never forget his words as he sat across from me and said, “I am worried about you, I see you in a downward spiral, and I am concerned for your health and your ministry.” For the first time, I was talking with someone who would not let me off the hook, and as we sat there, he would not let me leave until we had a plan. By the way, he is my counselor.
Pastors are not immune to mental health struggles. In a recent study, it was found that pastors experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety than non-pastors. Pastors have difficulty finding time for themselves. They are constantly trying to be the caregiver for their congregation, making them feel like they don’t have control over their own lives.
What Is Mental Health?
Mental health, the medical term, is defined as a state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, can work productively, and can make a contribution to their community. Mental health does not mean that one’s life is devoid of challenges and difficulties. In fact, Depression and Anxiety are part of “normal” life in that most people experience them at some time. However, for whatever reason, “mental health” conversations are sometimes taboo among Christians, particularly pastors. Why Is Mental Health Important? Mental health is essential because it is the health of the mind that makes us truly healthy. The Bible says that “a body without a soul is dead” (Ecc. 9:5). Mental health is the health of both body and soul.
What pastors need to know about mental health.
Mentally healthy people are much more likely to be able to cope well when difficulties arise. It is the difference between being able to cope well when there is a hurricane, flood, or earthquake and being unable to cope when there is a hurricane, flood, or earthquake. In fact, depression and anxiety are part of the “normal” experience of life. However, most people are not aware of these feelings, and many of us try to deal with them alone. Because mental health is so important, pastors should know about mental health and minister to people with mental health problems.
Mental health and the mental illness of others cannot be separated from the work of ministry. Therefore, ministers have a special obligation to minister to people with mental illness. The first thing ministers must do is to understand the illness. As a pastor, you must know the signs, symptoms, and causes of mental illness. You must know the diagnosis, the history, and the prognosis. You must also know how mental health professionals can help people with mental illness.
When The Pastor Struggles
However, what happens when all of this hits close to home? What happens when the pastor struggles with mental health? Or the minister goes through a period of emotional distress?
The key to ministry is caring for people. That is what makes us ministers. Therefore, ministers must be able to care for themselves. A minister who is sick is a sick minister. A minister who is depressed is a depressed minister.
A minister who struggles with mental illness is a minister who is struggling with something that needs to be addressed. If a minister is concerned about their mental health, they should be concerned about the church and about the church’s concern for them.
Pastors must be able to identify what makes them more susceptible to mental illness and know the steps they can take to be well.
Of course, we are not going to leave out the Bible
The Bible helps us understand the issue of mental health. The Bible is especially helpful in helping us recognize mental illness and encouraging us to seek help.
In Psalm 139, the psalmist writes about his mental illness. He says:
Hear, O Yahweh, my voice when I call to you;
hear me when I call to you,
for my cry has reached to you,
to your holy temple.
The psalmist understood that mental illness is real.
Pastors, we must understand that this is a real thing, not something that is just made up, and we must understand it is ok for us to struggle as well.
Pastors are people too.
They have bodies, minds, and emotions just like the rest of us. However, for many pastors that are involved in ministry work or are focused on serving their congregation members or other Christians, there is little time to focus on themselves which leads to a decreased awareness of wellness, burnout, depression, and suicide.
How can the church be supportive of a pastor who is struggling with mental health issues?
Some of the things that can be done to keep a pastor healthy are:
- Make sure the pastor’s needs are met.
- Offer help in the form of a counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist.
- Provide rest and relaxation time for the pastor.
- Encouragement: Tell him how much you care about him. Encourage him to seek professional help or make sure he knows that he is not alone.
- Build him up: Praise him for his work; allow him to be recognized for his work.
- Finally, just take the time to talk to the pastor. Ask him how he is doing, if there is any way you can help, how is his family doing, what is he struggling with?
I want to take a quick moment and talk about a few things that can be done to help.
The importance of self-care.
This is important for a couple of reasons. One is to help you keep your faith. It is easy to get worn out in ministry and feel like you can’t be a good pastor unless you are putting your life on hold and are putting yourself last. This is a terrible mindset to have. The other reason is that pastors are constantly in touch with their bodies. It is easy to be so busy doing ministry that you don’t have the time to make sure you are healthy. This is a massive problem for pastors. Pastor, you must practice self-care, meaning you must take time to take care of yourself.
Take time to exercise.
Make it a priority to set aside time to do things that increase your heart rate, and the will help you stay healthy. This does not have to be running; it can be doing something fun or some sort of sport; it can even mean going out and prayer walking. The point is to get some exercise
Get enough sleep.
Your brain actually heals when it sleeps. If you are not getting enough sleep sooner or later, it will affect the rest of your body. A lack of sleep can lead to cognitive impairment, making it difficult for someone to concentrate and remember details. Another effect is the depletion of energy. Sleep deprivation is also associated with increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation.
Get some sunshine.
This may seem like a strange one, but the sun is actually a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals. This doesn’t mean you should stay in the sun for too long, but it means you should take advantage of the sun when you can.
Maintain relationships
Pastors have to have friends. They do not necessarily have to be in the church, but pastors need to have friends that they can talk to and that they can be real with. Pastor, you need a friends and for those that are not pastors, why not be a friend to your pastor?
In conclusion, pastors have a responsibility to their congregations, their church leadership team, and themselves. They must be mindful of the signs of depression and mental illness, get treatment when needed, and speak up when they notice that another pastor might need help.
To offer the best service possible to parishioners, pastors must also stay mentally healthy. Attend regular counseling sessions with a therapist who can diagnose and treat mental illness, if necessary.
by Josh Monda | Aug 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
Before downloading my resume why not go here and learn how to write a resume that will stand out from the hundreds of others that a church receives in their Pastor Search.
Recently I have sensed Gods’ leading me to the possibility of becoming a Sr. Pastor. So I have decided to go ahead and post my resume on this site. This resume is very similar to my youth pastor resume which can also be found on my site.
If you would like to see my resume just to see how it is constructed or perhaps you need some help with yours feel free to download it. I am no expert that is for sure and realize I am looking for a ministry to serve in as well so there is a slim possibility that we would send resumes to the same church.
If you are interested in contacting me for a position in your church or would like to speak to me then download my resume at the link below and contact me. God Bless.
To download right click and select save as and save it to your hard drive. Just remember where you saved it. Pastor-Resume.pdf If you have enjoyed being able to download a sample resume why not make a donation it will help cover my hosting fees. It is easy to do just click below
by Josh Monda | Aug 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
I have debated on whether to right this or not as I know that some will take it and twist what I am about to say into something that it is not. However, right now I need some quiet from all of the noise and to do this often times I find the best outlet is writing. For me often it is preparing a Sermon.
Over the course of these last few days I have found myself asking How would Jesus respond to this? Honestly, in the aftermath of the tornado when I stepped into a neighborhood that looked like a bomb had went off I was not thinking how would Jesus respond. When I helped pull a lady and her husband from their basement as there had a wall laying on them I did not think how would Jesus respond. As I knelt down and held a woman covered in blood whose face was all cut up and as I asked her if I could pray with her I did not ask my self how would Jesus respond. As I went to one of my church embers hospital room and looked at her head cut open and her clavicle broken and as she wept because she has lost her husband and now her home, and as she said I have nothing left, forgive me for being weak pastor, I did not ask myself how would Jesus respond? I held her and cried with her. Because in those moment I believe that is how Jesus would respond.
However, I sit here with quiet for the first time in days thinking of a daughter who nearly died on Saturday, and a tornado that ripped through my town taking four of my church embers homes on Sunday and I ask myself that question, how would Jesus respond. I ask myself that question because I am the leader of my church, I ask self that question because I believe it is vital to how we respond.
We may be surprised to know that natural Jesus was actually faced with natural disaster in his time. In liked 13:1-5 we read
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5, ESV)
So when we ask ourselves how would Jesus respond we have his response above. This is how he responded to the disaster of his time.
First notice that Jesus clearly lets them know that tragedy, suffering, and sin are not necessarily linked together. This is not the first time that Jesus had to make a similar connection either see John 9:2. These people really believed the reason that Galileans were murdered by Herod was because they were great sinners. In other words it was because of their sin that brought on their suffering. Notice they did not say this but they were thinking it which is why Jesus addressed the question. From here Jesus makes the reference to another news story of the day where a tower fell on 18 people killing them. He does this to illustrate his point even further that suffering is not necessarily due to sin. If this were the case then no one would be breathing, and we would all be dead. We know this because we are all sinful, and we all would be worthy of the most horrible of sufferings, death. So for us to somehow equate any natural disaster including the tornado in Washington, Il with the sin of the people is folly.
However this does bring me to my next point which may be sometimes difficult to hear. However, notice that even though Jesus clearly seemed to let the people know that suffering, and sin are not necessarily tied to one another he was also quick to point out that sin does have its penalty. Often our question tends to be focus on why would God allow such a thing to happen to certain people when perhaps the question should be “why not me?” It is very easy during these times to somehow question God as if he really owes us an explanation however our question should really by why am I allowed to take my next breath? The answer to that question is because God is full of Mercy. Is this not what Jesus is saying when he tells them “unless you repent you will all likewise parish.” When something like a tornado passes through our town it should indeed remind us that we are all sinners, and every one of us deserves the penally that sin brings which is death.
Which brings me to the next point. We should be reminded that we all need repentance. Look at the words of Jesus. He did not try to explain why it happened, or how it happened, or who to blame he simply reminded the people of their need for repentance. The most important question that anyone could ask deals with the eternal destiny of their soul. Twice Jesus reiterates the necessity of repentance. God is desires to show us mercy and is full of grace, he forgives, and can restore us but repentance is necessary. When a tornado rips through you town and when Jesus is confronted with a natural disaster we should be reminded of our need for repentance.
Finally and I do not want anyone to miss this because often this is what we do not realize. A tornado or natural disaster like this should make us realize the necessity of spreading the gospel. Honestly this is what started me on the quest of finding out how Jesus would respond. As I look around and see people that are hurting I see a far greater need that is spiritual and my heart breaks. Right before the Tornado hit my community I shared in Sunday school that humanitarian effort without the gospel is simply humanitarian effort and does not make an eternal difference. Little did I know that within a few minutes of making that statement a tornado would rip through my town taking out 4 of my embers homes. This tornado should make us come to the realization that people are hurting, but they are hurting spiritually far greater than they are hurting any other way. We must look around at the pain and suffering that people are going through and know that there is a far greater spiritual suffering that darkens the soul of people. This should drive us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ knowing that the alternative is perishing for eternity. How dare us sit by and do nothing when people are perishing, we must proclaim the gospel with urgency. So when a tornado is Washington Illinois occurs it should drive us to realize the necessity of sharing the gospel.
May we realize that indeed if we fail to share the gospel of Jesus Christ during this time perhaps we are missing the point and missing a great opportunity that has been laid before us. May we not just talk about the gospel but may we be gospel driven to the point that it permeates everything we do. I pray that the Lord use me to lead others to the recognition that when a Tornado hits that we should recognize the need to share the Gospel.
