Am just finishing up Joseph Sebarenzi’s God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (Atria Books, 2009). Joseph, A Tutsi, tells his story from childhood experiences of Hutu-Tutsi violence and state-sponsored discrimination to the 1994 massacre (he was out of the country then) and meteoric rise to power where he became the speaker of the [...]
Entries from September 2009
September 29, 2009
Marriage is like…?
a box of chocolates? a roller coaster?
What analogies might you use to help illustrate the beauty and difficulty found in the marriage relationship? Yes, the Bible gives us several good ones but here I’m interested in ones that come from personal experience. I’m being asked to speak on the topic of “marriage as roller coaster”. [...]
September 28, 2009
NPR takes up the issue of Pastors who abuse
Check out the following story (including audio) about abuse by pastors. They report 1:33 women have experienced a sexual advance by pastor:
Key elements found in the researcher’s survey?
Dual relationships or conflicting roles (where pastor is counselor and highest authority)
Holding leaders in too much awe and that leader’s lack of accountability
Isolation of communication (pastor alone in [...]
September 23, 2009
Your choices/experiences shape your grandchildren?
Anybody see the Nova episode on PBS last night? I caught only 15 minutes of it. Apparently it aired in 2007. Here’s a transcript of it.
The part I watched was about the impact of diet and chemical exposure on the lifespan and health two generations later.Very interesting!
Check out this little snippet:
NARRATOR: The diagram showed a [...]
September 23, 2009
Teaching style and outcomes
My seminary, Biblical Seminary, focuses on teaching excellence when choosing new professors. We want teachers who are experts in their field but who can also teach. Hence, we had a daylong seminar yesterday about teaching adult learners. We discussed and explored a number of things (e.g., what do adult learners want, how do they best [...]
September 22, 2009
Just don’t blow it
Having spoken last week on the topics of trauma and pastoral sexual abuse (and the resulting conversations with attendees at both sessions), I keep thinking this thought: Just don’t blow it.
Let me explain. Both sessions are filled with examples of Christian leaders abusing vulnerable people. It is common that attendees want to come up and [...]
September 21, 2009
AACC revisited
Not much time today for any significant posting on psychological assessment and/or the AACC world conference I’ve just returned from. 5 Days away from home leaves way too much other stuff to do!
However, here’s one small reaction question I pondered on the plane ride home: Which is better: a conference where I agree with [...]
September 18, 2009
Engaging Biblical Texts in Trauma Therapy
Today I present my 1 hour CE training at the AACC conference. In this presentation I briefly review (a) complex PTSD and its typical symptom presentation, (b) material from my recently published work on best practices for using Scripture in counseling. Then I consider the particular application to therapy with trauma survivors. The goal is [...]
September 17, 2009
Seen and Heard at AACC
The 2009 conference is underway. Loads of people here. Way too many for my taste. But, then I did run into three former students (Jane, Barb, and Bayo) and I saw some colleagues I haven’t seen for some time. Even better, I ran into Bishop Alex and Leah (my host and compatriot in Rwanda).
After my [...]
