Good Grief
Have you noticed that the standard-issue advice people tend to give to grieving people is the same advice they give to adolescents? We say: “It gets better.” With apologies to everyone who ever said that with good intentions, I keep that kind of advice in my “half-truth” file. The struggles of young adults are not […]
Make Someone Smile
Ok, Class, here’s your assignment… No grumbling! Put your hands down, spit out your gum and stop talking! I haven’t even told you what it is yet! Your assignment this week is to make someone smile. Mean-spirited smiles at someone else’s expense will be given an F. Glaring, lascivious or evil-villain grins will get a […]
Pastoral Care at FBG
Did you know scientists found anti-cancer agents in Periwinkle flowers and soil microbes, or that our first anti-retroviral treatment for HIV came from a sea sponge? Believing that God is a good God who cares about us carries the strong implication that everything we need to thrive has already been supplied and that it’s our […]
Empathy Fatigue?
Are you tired? “All cared out”? As summer arrives, I imagine many of us are! Compassion fatigue is a term often associated with donor loss in the non-profit fundraising sector. It can be a problem for the church when we think of the church as “just another tax break” rather than an extended family with […]
The Care and Feeding of Ministers
After years of writing articles admonishing us to care well for others and ourselves, the installation of our new Senior Minister Dr. McEntyre has made me realize I’ve never written about minister care. You might be surprised to know that the gifts that help your ministers the most are actually habits of relating. I share […]
Multi-Sensory Care
Brain scientists say the brain sits in the dark, silent box of the skull unaware of what is going on until the five senses send their information there to be interpreted. The church, trying to share its messages of love, concern and hope, has long depended upon the visual and auditory pathways to get our […]
Happy Reunions
The most underestimated ministry? That’s easy! The ministry of presence is far and away the most essential, most powerful, yet most underestimated of all forms of ministry. Consequently, it’s the most neglected. Too often, I see even friends and family members avoid one another because they “don’t know how” to be present or “don’t know […]
Self-Care and Other-Care
What a relief it has been to see faces again and share one another’s company! Life and health flow from togetherness! While we celebrate, we also take stock of the pandemic’s lingering effects. Funerals were postponed or limited in attendance, preventing us from sharing our grief and receiving comfort. Almost eighty of our members are […]
World Within Weekend
Some of the best things that happen at First Baptist Greenville happen out of sight. They are the interpersonal, off-campus, or confidential ministries of self-care and caring for others. They are powerful and beautiful! If you only come to worship on Sundays, you might never know about the very things we are praying about, giving […]
Caring in Time of Grief
When the church receives word of the death of one of our members, the volunteers on our Bereavement Committee take action. The volunteers on call pick up a small pre-selected, pre-paid meal from Strossner’s Bakery and take it to the family of the recently deceased church member. Each volunteer takes approximately two or three weeks […]