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The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship That Actually Changes Lives
True Discipleship Integrates Emotional and Spiritual Health.New Life Fellowship in Queens, New York, had it all: powerful teaching, dynamic ministries, an impressive growth rate, and a vision to do great works for God. Things looked good---but beneath the surface, circumstances were more than just brewing. They were about to boil over, forcing Peter Scazzero to confront ne...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
March 1st 2003
by Zondervan
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As a football coach I often run into experience where players will run a play wrong when they really have no reason to. For example we will practice a play that everyone knows. It is a basic play that we have been practicing for years. They have been told the correct way to do it over and over again. But when we run it they do it wrong. As a coach I will remind them of what they are suppose to do and they will respond with, "I know," in a sadden voice while looking at the ground. This always mer...more
On the recommendation of many, I read Scazzero's story of establishing healthy emotional lives in his church in Brooklyn, New York. In effect, you could replace the word "church" with any organization of your choice: Home, workplace, baseball team, poetry club. The part that is compelling is that the Church is supposed to be a place in which love is practiced, but that many do not practice it well due to the emotional deficits they carry. One doesn't expect this in your local police precinct, so...more
The Emotionally Healthy Church describes the ingredients for a church to be authentic and healthy. The book is in four sections - Discipleship’s Missing Link, Biblical Basis for a New Paradigm of Discipleship, Seven Principles of an Emotionally Healthy Church and Where Do We Go from Here? Peter Scazzero presents a brilliant and needed strategy for discipleship that actually changes lives.
I have seen many churches copying each other, attempting to be like the well known mega-churches. So I espec...more
I have seen many churches copying each other, attempting to be like the well known mega-churches. So I espec...more
The thesis: you cannot be spiritually mature without being emotionally mature. Peter Scazzero, a pastor of a large urban congregation, learned this lesson the hard way. His church was "successful" in many ways, but divisions among the staff and finally in his marriage (when his wife decided to leave his church!) led Scazzero on the painful path of self-discovery that led to this book. He learned that his busyness, defensiveness, inability to say no, etc. were preventing him from being like Jesus...more
I´d been working with Peter and Geri Scazzero for already two years and keep learning. The transforming paradigm brought with this book is revolutionary despite the fact the most spiritual practices within had centuries. The problem address by the book is we as christian dismissed so many good spirituales principles and practices due to our narrow denominational mindset that our styles of life is as fragmented as secular society. We´d just lack so many pieces in our formation that our practices...more
An excellent, practical read on what the author describes as the missing piece of Christian spirituality. Scazzero gives his own account of starting a multi-site megachurch and becoming highly successful, only to realize when it was all said and done that his marriage was falling apart and his church was full of people who were as overworked and stretched thin as he was. Scazzero summarizes a lot of great work in family systems, leadership, and grief (he even uses Bruggemman's work on the Psalms...more
This is a great book about the link between spiritual maturity and emotional maturity. I agree with the statement that the two maturities are not mutually exclusive, but you can't grow spiritually without also addressing emotional maturity.
Some of my favorite Quotes are :
P7 “the overall health of any church or ministry depends primarily on the emotional and spiritual health of its leadership.”
P20 “the key to successful spiritual leadership has much more to do with the leader’s internal life tha...more
Some of my favorite Quotes are :
P7 “the overall health of any church or ministry depends primarily on the emotional and spiritual health of its leadership.”
P20 “the key to successful spiritual leadership has much more to do with the leader’s internal life tha...more
Great book... author points out how the church has largely ignored emotional health within spiritual formation. Author covers topics like: Understanding emotionally cues and hints; breaking the power of your past; learning vulnerability; the gift of limits (which was particularly important for me to read); and a variety of other important topics. If you are looking for material to guide you through the untangling of emotional baggage... this is a great place to start.
Essentially the ideas of 'Sonship' applied to the church as a whole, rather than to an individual. I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical at the beginning because this book read a little too 'touchy-feely' for me. But as it moved on, it was really good and offers a corrective to churches (and especially church leadership) about how to lead out of broken-ness and the restoration that Christ brings.
"I hope this book helps me mature emotionally so my life and character reflect what I say I believe about God." That's what I said before I read the book. Well, obviously just reading a book doesn't change your character - poof! - but this book did give me lots of new ways of thinking that I hope to make into habits so that I will grow in Christ-likeness even in my emotions, feelings and habitual attitudes. A book that says things I haven't heard elsewhere. Note: persevere through the first two...more
I feel that this book was effective in pointing out the problem, yet incomplete in addressing how to solve it. But can a book really teach us how to be better disciples and mentors? Either way it was an interesting read, and it brought up a subject that needs to be addressed in the contemporary church.
This book is a helpful analysis of how leaders and their relationships in the church can hold back the church from fruitfulness.
It encourages us to dig up the underlying issues and learn to live with brokenness, limits, and loss.
Jesus' model of incarnation is presented as the ideal for us to follow
It encourages us to dig up the underlying issues and learn to live with brokenness, limits, and loss.
Jesus' model of incarnation is presented as the ideal for us to follow
Some good stuff to think about. Especially appreciated the idea of past family history & repeated patterns of dealing with crises, stress, relationships. The idea that a congregation really doesn't mature more than its leadership is a slightly disturbing thought.
This is mainly for church leaders, and advocates, as it says a number of times, a "Copernican revolution" in the way church leadership is handled (this is evidence of the shaky use of terminology throughout- really, a "Copernican revolution"?). The whole theoretical beginning of the book is suspect for me: it all hinges on the idea that "one cannot be spiritually mature without being emotionally mature." (The converse is clearly untrue, yes? Also, there is a good deal of discussion about the spi...more
One of those books that changes your perspective, and possibly even your life. Most articulate rendering I have seen on taking good Spiritual principles and incorporating an emotionally healthy context to them. Inspiring.
Great book for those trying to find balance and personal wholeness if you are a Martha-type or involved in leadership in the church; I learned about tendencies I need to keep watch over
A solid practical book with some really good insights into developing a culture of emotional growth. It's pretty anecdotal so don't expect great theological insights or precision. It is a good read for our very emotionally shallow culture.
Unfortunately most churches don't integrate emotional health into their discipleship/spiritual formation process. This book shows us how.
A formerly burnt-out pastor makes a personal case for attending to emotional-health issues in church and ministry life. Many helpful insights, but in general I felt the case was made in chapter 1 and the rest was commentary. I also felt at times like he was trying to convince us of the connection between spiritual and emotional health. Scazzero is Pentecostal. In my faith tradition (Lutheran), I don't think this would be a debate, but a duh.
I think this book would be fruitful for a council or le...more
I think this book would be fruitful for a council or le...more
A must read for those who have read Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by the same author.
Excellent principles for healthy living - useful in a church setting or with any relationship. Practical insights and good use of Scripture. A few too many personal stories and overly repeated praise of his own church, but still a great read.
Worth reading if you want to do some serious soul searching.
This book will keep me busy a long time, now that I've read it....
This comes out in Japanese this month (June 2009).
Amazing book that ministry leaders must read.
Recommended by Leslie
Good truth.
Excellent book! Lead out of "my failures, weaknesses, & struggles, not my successes."
This book puts it finger on some good things...such as the general state of unhealthiness that is found in many evangelical churches, and that the incarnation of Jesus can be the model for healthy ministry. It is always a mystery to me that Christians, of all people, are so slow in admitting their need and sin when our gospel is one that proclaims that this is true of us, and that God loves and saves us from it.
I feel like I've read lots of nonfiction books like this one. The idea is basic, and all of the chapters are simply different anecdotes and examples of the idea. Here the message is: vulnerability = godliness. If you already agree that it's important to be honest and open with yourself and others, then this book is probably going to feel like it's much longer than 200 pages.
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Jan 24, 2008 03:40pm