“A day is coming for us when there will not even be a doubt, … not even a wondering if the love of Jesus for you is more deep and high and wide and long, then you can possibly fathom.” – Alasdair Groves
Ed Welch did a session asking us to consider ways we can be growing as a church in light of what we have been learning this weekend. He asked us to consider how our church can be a place of healing? (How has our church already been a place of healing in the past?) Ed… Read More »
“The wrong hope will inform how you think about your circumstances and it will leave you in pieces. Or Christ your real hope will find you in pieces and move you toward an unmovable peace.” – Julie Lowe
Mike Emlet’s General Session was about trauma’s effect on the body. “Trauma is one of those places where suffering deeply impacts the body.” Dr. Emlet recounted how in his earlier days he butchered a ministry opportunity with a vet, by not being attentive to his bodily suffering. “In helping traumatized individuals, we don’t want to… Read More »
Darby Strickland’s main session included an invitation to vulnerability. Scripture calls us to lean into God and fellow believers in seasons of deep anguish. It is not good for us to be alone. But vulnerability requires opening up oneself to another and that can be scary. For those who have been traumatized, there may be… Read More »
For the second session, Julie Lowe and Darby Strickland powerfully drew us into the experience and deep impact of trauma through a role play interwoven with scripture from Jeremiah and Lamentations. The story they used was 15-year-old Kayla, who was groomed and victimized by her soccer coach, Mr. Smith, who was a member of her… Read More »
“There is no dark corner in human experience where Christ has not gone—both on his way to the cross and on his way to finding you.” – Ed Welch
For those of you who missed #CCEF2023, or this year’s Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation Conference, below are summaries of the main sessions. This year’s theme was “Trauma: How God’s Light Breaks into Our Deepest Darkness.” I hope these summaries will be a blessing to you. The conference audio is now available for purchase here.
Steve Midgley gave the last message at the CCEF conference regarding how God redeems family. Perhaps this year’s CCEF conference has brought back bad memories of conflicts, divorce, abuse, distrust, or feuds. It is true that family life is under threat. So what hope do we have? Steve suggested that instead of gazing back on… Read More »
Ed Welch delivered a message about how our family history speaks to our present and shapes how we view God today. Ed encouraged us to do some self-reflection. Our histories impact us naturally, perhaps without us even knowing it. Our past family life can be seen as a house with a shepherd. What was the nature… Read More »