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	• Emotionally Healthy Church, The Peter Scazzero Zondervan, 2003 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Emotionally Healthy Church

Pastor Scazzero has articulated what is a huge need in the Christian church in America. After 25 yrs in ministry, I must agree with him that most pastors bring huge amounts of emotional dysfunction into their pastorates, hence, ultimately hurting their flock. These same pastors, love God and are deeply committed to serving Him, only in many cases their emotional health is in bad shape. I do not agree with every theological point made, but do whole heartedly support the book's principles.

Truth becomes personal

Lose the pretense. The pent up emotions, unpleasant memories, childhood experiences, disappointments, unmet desires, and motives of our heart that we hide behind the veneer of ministry, reputations and titles are bluntly exposed for what they are. Truth finally becomes personal and unbelievably shocking! Jesus was emotionally whole and freely expressed his anger, surprise, joy, and sadness. This book is key to taking an honest look at yourself and relationships. Begin your inner healing and start developing and maintaining honest healthy friendships, relationships and marriages, or mending broken ones. This book is a must read for all Christians young and old, including pastors, leaders and those who serve in any capacity of ministry. Thank you Peter for humbling yourself and baring your soul and teaching us how to do the same.

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Helpful if imperfect...

In "The Emotionally Healthy Church," Peter Scazzero suggests that the way most modern, evangelical churches "do church" creates a culture of emotional dysfunctionality, which allows or even forces the people of the church to be spiritually crippled and unable to function in the way that God intends for them to live as disciples of Christ. He then proposes six principles that will right this sinking ship and reestablish the church as a place that produces healthy followers of Jesus, emotionally and spiritually (because the two cannot be separated).

Overall, I agree with the general premises of this book. As Scazzero shared his observation that Christians are unwilling and sometimes unable to hear the truth if it is uncomfortable to them, I was struck by how relevant that claim is in the lives of so many people that I know. As he described how Christians seemingly refuse to acknowledge the reality of such "negative" emotions as anger, frustration, and sorrow, this resonated very much in my own life. Indeed, he suggests that one of the worst things that we can do for our spiritual development is to pretend that these very real and human emotions do not exist or are somehow inappropriate. Finally, I also agreed with his call to acknowledge the fact that we are beings created with limits, and that we do a disservice to ourselves, to those whom we love, and to our Creator by attempting to live limitless lives. Though it's obviously hard to do, I appreciate Scazzero's challenge to recognize our limits and make choices accordingly, even when the consequences are disappointing and sometimes even hurtful to others.

In the midst of agreeing with Scazzero's overarching principles, there were a few smaller ideas that did not sit as well with me. For instance, I am wary of the way that he emphasized grief and loss. Specifically, I agree that we need to create more space in the church for people to deal with grief and loss more honestly, rather than sweeping these emotions under the rug of God's provision, as if the fact that God is in control somehow makes the pain automatically go away. However, the degree to which Scazzero discussed these emotions almost leaves no room for those who have experienced little or no loss. I am uncomfortable that he almost seems to make grief a requirement for spiritual maturity.

My other point of contention is with his call to brokenness. I understand and agree that it is not particularly helpful when pastors present a perfect public persona, never admitting wrong and never acknowledging personal weakness. A willingness to put our own struggles in the open can go a long way toward fostering the type of transparency that is essential for growth to happen within the church. However, I am convinced that there is a time when a pastor needs to provide an example of godliness, faithfulness, and victory. If pastors are always equally broken as Johnny Pewsitter, then what hope does anyone have for freedom from the bondage of sin? As much as the Apostle Paul admits his own wretchedness, he also challenges the church to follow his example as he follows Christ. The challenge to lead by example and to at least occasionally get things right seems to be noticeably absent from Scazzero's teaching.

Scazzero is to be commended for offering a book that many of us in the church need to read. His brutal honesty is refreshing. He provides a healthy model for all church leaders in the way of transparency, and it's a good model for many of us to follow, in terms of acknowledging our mistakes and shortcomings. I also appreciate his charge for church leaders to pursue reality, no matter how disappointing it might be. I'm glad that I read this book and am happy to recommend it to anyone who might be open to the connections between emotional health and spiritual vitality in the church.

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healthy ministers can minister

Scazzero does a good job of sharing from his own experience -- which is always more helpful than just quoting others.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Something is desperately wrong with most churches today. Many sincere followers of Christ who are passionate for God and his work are unaware of the crucial link between emotional health and spiritual maturity. They present themselves as spiritually mature but are stuck at a level of immaturity that current models of discipleship have not addressed. Discipleship that really transforms a church must integrate emotional health with spiritual maturity. The Emotionally Healthy Church, winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award, offers a strategy for discipleship that accomplishes healthy living and actually changes lives.

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