Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

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This skill is called "STOP MIND READING", and once you learn this, it could very well save your life and ministry. That is why the GENOGRAM is one of the core tools in both parts of the Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Course. Furthermore, just as the title of his chapter is just the reverse of what is true, so is his notion of “false self” and “true self” reversed in that his so-called “false self” is truly him and his “true self” a figment of his imagination. At any rate this system of finding out who we are is a false system, contrived from the imagination of mere humans, for which the apostle Paul’s warning could be applied:

Indeed, Scazzero’s tedious process takes time and effort away from intentionally following Christ. Think of the time it would take to go through all the effort of looking for signs of our behavior in other family members and, if not found in the parents or grandparents, then trying to find out if that particular negative behavior was seen in any ancestor no longer living. And it would be painful focusing on all the bad stuff in self and others. Consequently, emotion and reason compete with Scripture as the authorities for what is considered true. It is fitting to consider C.J. Mahaney’s words here. Although the law of Moses contained an abundance of commandments from God for Israel, it was everywhere understood that the supreme commandment was to love God, with the result that the Shema (Num. 15:37-41; Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21) was recited daily and posted on the doorpost of every home. A second command like it in importance was to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:39), as required in Leviticus 19:18. Jesus considered this second command to be of equal importance to the love of God and said, “There is no other greater commandment than these” (Mark 12:31). And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Scazzero and others who believe and follow the words of psychology over the words of the Bible do not realize that their very actions are a confession that they do not believe that the Bible has perfect words to assist believers for the same individual, couple, and family problems of living as psychotherapy treats. However, the difference is that the Bible is the true source while psychotherapy and its underlying theories are faulted, fleshly notions and imaginations, of fallen fellow human beings.Pete launched New Life Fellowship Church, first in English in 1987, and then in Spanish (Iglesia Nueva Vida) in 1991, serving as lead pastor of both congregations. Julio Rodriguez took the leadership of Iglesia Nueva Vida in 1996, expanding that work and planting over twenty new churches throughout Latin America from that time till today. One significant distinctive of New Life was her location in Corona/Elmhurst, Queens and her commitment to bridge racial, cultural, economic and gender barriers through the power of the gospel. As a result, the church became well-known as one of the most multiracial churches in the United States with people from over 73 countries. Scazzero only brings confusion to any biblical understanding of the nature of humans by mixing in false psychological concepts of what a person is by nature. Is anyone born with a “true self” before being contaminated by parents and the world as erroneously claimed? Or are they blank or clean slates? No! The Bible declares that we are all descendants of Adam and therefore born in sin. And finally, we ask questions about people’s marriages and singleness, knowing this is foundational to any long-term, significant work for God that will stand the test of time.

Scazzero has found that he is in demand among evangelical pastors nationwide. He has been invited to speak to AOG pastors’ conferences, CMA pastors’ meetings, and even to Focus on the Family retreats. He quotes primarily from famous Catholic monastic mystics both living and dead, and he proudly announces that he attends a Trappist monastery in MS on a regular basis participating in the rigors of monastic life. It appears that his audiences have no problems with the source of his material. Trappist monks, and other emergent universalists get generous quotes in his writings and are ALWAYS quoted favorably. One can only assume he sees their teaching found in their writings as beneficial and that his evangelical audiences either don’t care or know to whom he refers in his writings. The book is probably best considered in terms of the concepts of diagnosis and cure. In diagnosis we are given a wealth of stories and biographical material to consider. Scazzero shares story after story of woe – church splits, marital strife, bitter pastors, etc…. So what was the problem? Why all this failure? Interestingly, Scazzero lays the blame squarely at the feet of a church culture of “emotional repression” (55). He says, Emotionally unhealthy leaders also engage in more activities than their combined spiritual, physical, and emotional reserves can sustain. They give out for God more than they receive from him. The demands and pressures of leadership make it nearly impossible for them to establish a consistent and sustainable rhythm of life. In their more honest moments, they admit that their cup with God is empty or, at best, half full. I like to say it this way: Their “being with God” is not sufficient to sustain their “doing for God.”

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The third deadly commandment is that superficial spirituality is okay. Just because we have the gifts and skills to build a crowd and create lots of activity does not mean we are building a church or ministry that connects people intimately to Jesus. I love the Lord’s instruction to Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (see 1 Samuel 16:7).

First, by meditative techniques and disciplines there is a desire to reach an alternate state of spiritual consciousness in which unknowing rather than knowing is the goal. In past centuries, that monastic goal often took years to attain. But in recent times, Father Thomas Keating, quoted freely by Scazzero (Thomas Keating, Intimacy With God: An Introduction To Centering Prayer, in Daily Office by Scazzero, p. 44) along with Father M. Basil Bennington [famous quote: “The soul of the human family is the Holy Spirit], found a way to attain mental silence and unknowing in about 20 minutes. Father Keating attended the 6th annual Christian-Buddhist meditation Conference recently. Here he presented this centering prayer short cut to “Nirvana” to Asian Buddhist monks. Father Keating was praised as a good bridge between Christianity and Buddhism. An attendee stated that his centering prayer seemed to tie in with Transcendental Meditation, yoga mantra meditation, the Jesus prayer and Hindu readings on meditation. We see in these few lines, the Apostle Paul teaching the Ephesian Christians how they were to grow to spiritual maturity. First, they received the truth. This truth then informed their thinking, and consequently led to the transformation of their conduct. The end result was godliness; a new self “created to be like God…” Peter Scazzero: Without being immersed in Scripture on a daily basis, I don’t believe it is possible to lead others for Jesus and to Jesus. How can we unless we are listening to him?Without this skill, church teams remain silenced - unable to speak truth and creating the conditions for an environment of frustration, resentment, and judgement. The greatest commandments, Jesus said, are that we love God with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul and that we love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). (P. 214.)