Did Jesus Battle Depression?

Did Jesus battle depression? Seems like a strange question at first, but consider Isaiah’s prophesy of the coming Messiah: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). That certainly sounds like someone dealing with the symptoms of depression. So why do we immediately push back at …

Liberty from Pastoral Burnout

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Those words are quoted from the Emma Lazarus poem, New Colossus, inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. While the original intent is to describe all who are welcomed by Lady Liberty, they may also sound like an apt description …

Caught in the Middle

Everyone experiences loss at some time in life -from the second grader whose classmate didn’t return to school after suddenly contracting spinal meningitis, to the elderly man whose life-time neighbor dies of natural causes. In between, is a difficult range of scenarios including parents left grieving in the delivery room, children left standing by the …