Codependency, or relationship addiction, is an excessive, all-consuming dependency on a specific relationship. Most codependent relationships involve some form of underlying problem, such as addiction, abuse, or mental illness. In healthy relationships, it’s natural to rely on each other for support, in fact it’s what Scripture calls us to do. However, there’s a difference between depending on someone for emotional, financial, or physical support and being codependent.

Mental health and wellness and substance abuse and addiction can and do often overlap. As those living in the ministry we may feel and believe that these co-occurring issues don’t pertain to us, but they do. In this episode in our series on addiction we will be discussing co-occurring issues and their effect on us, even us living in the shadow of the cross.

Substance abuse in its many forms is something that affects people no matter the communities they live in or their race, religion, or socio-economic background. Even those of us living in the shadow of the cross wrestle with the disease of substance abuse. Our episode today in our series on addiction will start us in our discussions on substance abuse and how this disease quietly enters our lives.

Living in the shadow of the cross we are faced with many challenges and temptations. How we choose to handle these issues can lead us down the dark path of addiction. Our episode will begin to introduce us to an ongoing discussion of addiction in all the many forms it may take.

Living in the shadow of the cross we are trained, conditioned, and we are accomplished at being People-Pleasers. However, in our struggle serving in Christ’s Church to please and care for all people at all times are we really following the model and doing the work that Christ our Lord has Called us to do, or are we being led by something different.

As pastors and church workers a main part of our calling is to work and serve with other brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to be shepherds of those who are lost working under the one Good Shepherd. However, in doing the work that we do we must sympathize with their suffering, empathize with their needs, and be compassionate in our work. All of this leaves us open to feeling the trauma they are struggling through. This episode is on the secondhand trauma we all face serving in the ministry and serving our Lord.

As pastors and church workers we deal with our own unique sets of stresses that can and often do lead to a distinctive type of trauma. In this episode we will discuss and breakdown this trauma and its effect on those who serve in the ministry. Is this trauma something you wrestle with, only you can know for yourself.

Easter is the most blessed season of the Church Year, because without Easter there is no Christ’s Church. However, how many pastors, church workers and those living in the ministry get so caught up in the passion of this blessed season, the season that starts on Ash Wednesday and takes us through the last handshake of the last congregant on Easter Sunday that we lose or misplace the many blessings our Lord has given onto us. In this episode we will discuss how stress and anxiety can cause us to lose focus on our boundaries and priorities. We will discuss how we need to reset our mindset before we implode from the pressures, we choose to allow ourselves to be controlled by.