Brennan Manning’s relapse with alcohol left him in a gutter. The best-selling Christian author and retreat leader hit bottom again. His clothes were in tatters. His face was unshaven and his eyes were bloodshot. His belly was bloated. His body reeked with rancid odor. He was clutching his last ounces of vodka. “My marriage is…
Listen to this episode of Soul Talks: God wants to meet us wherever we are at. He wants us to experience healing from what we are struggling with. Bill shares a story he talked about at the Soul Shepherding Institute. He shares of his time working with a pastor who had come to him for…
Brennan Manning insisted “the God-revelation of Jesus” removes fear and worry. Yet, he also admitted to a fear of abandonment going back to his childhood. Worse, at the end of his life, in his memoir All is Grace, Manning confessed: “I’ve been a priest, then an ex-priest. Husband, then ex-husband. Amazed crowds one night and…
“I’m here because my husband thinks I have a drinking problem,” said Lisa (not her real name). “And he’s crazy! I have my drinking under control.” But Lisa clearly displayed symptoms of addiction: Her alcohol intake had increased. She drank alone. She used wine to deal with stress. Her drinking caused family conflicts. She didn’t…
Bill and Kristi talk about the X-rated advice a man received from a secular therapist, and what really helped him. Pornography and other compulsive behaviors deaden the soul and hurt loved ones. Real life, love, joy and peace come through intimate relationships with God and people.
We learn in the Bible that “Without a vision people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). This is true for you and I today. In 1952 Florence Chadwick wanted to be the first woman to swim the 26 miles from Catalina island to San Pedro on mainland California. She’d already been the first woman to swim the English…
We offer a free Internet Addiction Test to help you see if you (or a loved one) might have an Internet addiction and need help breaking free. I developed the acronym “A-N A-D-D-I-C-T” as a simple screening tool to identify compulsive behavior problems. Here it’s applied to Internet use, which refers to whatever you do online including…
It’s ironic that the more we long for Jesus — to know him intimately and love him fully — the more we are deeply satisfied. Most things in life don’t work that way. If you cultivate a craving for chocolate you’re likely to keep eating it and gain weight or get sick to your stomach!…
Peter observed a dog returning to its vomit and a pig going back to wallow in the mud and God showed him that people can be like that! (2 Peter 2:22) It’s easy to read Peter’s words and start judging people who are foolish. Why does she keep struggling with that? What’s the matter with…
Over the years I’ve talked with many people, including pastors and ministry leaders, who are caught in the snares of a compulsive behavior. They keep trying to stop but can’t. No matter how guilty they feel or how hard they try they haven’t been able to get free. Hope for Struggling Pastors The ministry of…