Overview

Faith leaders, learn to manage your own trauma and help others manage theirs with The Four Promises by Ron Bell. We--all of us--are experiencing ongoing trauma, pain, and loss. The challenges are compounded for pastors and other faith leaders because they must manage their own trauma and help people in their congregations and communities. People and congregations need help to find healing and wholeness, but so do their leaders. This book addresses the need at both levels. The Four Promises: Spiritual Healing for Past and Present Trauma is a deeply compassionate and effective tool for pastors, ministry leaders, chaplains, leaders of faith-oriented organizations--and for the people they serve. It offers a process of reflection and self-discovery based on a sequence of four tactics we can use to manage our own experiences of loss, pain, and trauma. The tactics are helpfully framed as promises we make to ourselves. Downloadable and reproducible teaching tools are available to facilitate group study. The promises and the process are rooted in author Ron Bell's own family history in a church where members' lived experiences were often full of pain. Bell witnessed the very specific method by which members and leaders expressed their pain and then were empowered to manage it. As a trauma-trained scholar, he analyzed the method and developed this process, which is being adopted and taught in denominational and academic settings across the U.S. Experiencing a traumatic event can cause us to instinctively hold our breath. Living in ongoing trauma without resources and tools can teach us to live breathless, toxic, tired, sick, and unhealthy lives. This book helps break that cycle. As we navigate past and present trauma, The Four Promises provides concrete and thoughtful steps to help us engage with our trauma, heal, and finally exhale.

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9781791025816

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Ron Bell is senior pastor of Camphor Memorial UMC, a 100-year-old congregation in St. Paul, MN. He is a regular guest columnist for the Saint Paul Monitor and has published multiple articles and other work. He hosts an ongoing webinar series on Trauma and Empathy, which he's led at several universities, including St. Paul College, Bethel University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Fuller Theological Seminary. He is an active presenter/teacher at non-profit agencies and other organizations. Ron holds bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in philosophy and theology, and has done trauma certification training at Rutgers University School of Social Work. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

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