Mar 26
The most crucial and necessary first step to becoming a church that welcomes children with emotional disturbance from past trauma is to adopt an attitude of humility. It’s the humility that asks, “What must have happened to that child?” or “I wonder what I might have done to cause this child to react that way?” …
Mar 14
I was invited to be a part of the “Book Launch Team” for a new resource for churches that I think is invaluable for any ministry considering outreach to those that struggle with mental health issues. In Montana, where the need is great and services are often lacking, the Church has a great opportunity to …
Feb 08
Dear friends and church supporters, I thought it might be of interest to you to see an example of how I am integrating the themes of resilience building, and in particular the measures from the Children and Youth resilience Measure (CYRM-12+4), into our chapel times on campus. What appears below is part of the lesson …
Dec 30
2018 is here, and it’s the season when most of us consider New Year’s resolutions and even the most cynical among us dares to think that with a little will power we might do any number of things: lose weight, eat healthier, watch less TV, get that promotion, or repair damaged relationships. 2017 was a …
Sep 04
Pat Hays has written a devotional book that gives wonderful insight into the joys and struggles that parenting a child with emotional special needs presents. Her book, My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom, contains excerpts from her personal prayer journal as she worked through the last fifteen …
Aug 10
This week, Intermountain hosted a dozen volunteers from First Presbyterian Church in Butte, Montana and ministry interns from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Missy Henry, although “great with child,” did a great job organizing the volunteers and setting up the week to be successful. The group came and shared a modified version of the VBS curriculum by …
Jun 12
Trauma often does its greatest harm when it occurs during the impressionable stages of our youth. Losing one’s parents, moving from different schools, living in an unstable environment – all of these are issues that can break into a child’s world and cause difficulties well into adulthood. What can we do? What has research shown to …
May 10
Maybe you are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel? It’s hard to think of a Bible story that has more potential triggers for retraumatization or difficult feelings for children from hard places and circumstances than this story of jealousy, murder, and judgment! As the story goes, the first family is living out its …
Apr 19
As I wrap up my doctoral studies, I am excited to see how the concept of becoming “trauma-informed” in ministry is starting to pick up steam across the country. Far from being behind the curve here in Montana, we are on the cutting edge in terms of integrating the expertise of the medical and social …
Mar 18
As the chaplain at Intermountain’s residential program, I often hear the stories of families parenting children who have experienced trauma and how hard it is for them to find a church that “gets them.” One mother shared with me, “The hard thing was, just as my daughter’s behaviors were getting worse and I needed a …
Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed with your favorite email client and be alerted to new articles.