Small Group World

06.21.10

God's Healing for Life's Losses... Use it to Train Your Leaders

Blindsided, Ambushed, Amazed, Inspired… the list could go on and on. When Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D. contacted me asking if I'd be willing to read God's Healing for Life's Losses, How to Find Hope When You're Hurting, and be part of his blog tour, I was honored but saw little opportunity to aid the small group community. That is, until I had finished reading this amazing manuscript. This treasure of only 110 short pages (and that includes multiple pages filled with questions for personal reflection) is a perfect tool for dealing with personal loss as well as the training of small group leaders.

Dr. Kellemen does a superb job explaining what grief is, the stages of grief, the importance of journeying into the pain of grief and the power of allowing God to join you on the journey. Simply reading the chapter titles captivated and motivated me so intently I could not put this book down. Consider them… The Way of Suffering, Candor: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, Complaint: A Lament for Your Loss, Cry: I Surrender All, Comfort: God Comes, Waiting: When God Says "Not Yet", Wailing: Pregnant With Hope, Weaving: Spiritual Mathematics, and Worshiping: Finding God.

Throughout this incredible read Dr. Kellemen quotes church fathers and church leaders, all who were forced into her/his own dark night of the soul. He does this without losing biblical integrity and forcing us to remember that grief is normal and natural. When I finished the book I was reminded that the grief process is more than a series of stages, it is a spiritual discipline that drives us to the hope found in Jesus alone.

When Bob was asked how the grieving person would benefit from reading God's Healing for Life's Losses his response revealed his own heart. Check it out…

I weave throughout each chapter three stories: my story of facing the death of my father, a ministry couple's story of facing an unjust ministry termination, and biblical narratives of suffering people in the Scriptures. These combine to "normalize" the grief and growth process so readers understand that while their path is unique, it is not at all abnormal.

The "eight stage model" in God's Healing for Life's Losses helps readers to travel down the grief and growth path. We live in a fallen world and it often falls on us. When it does, when the weight of the world crushes us, squeezes the life out of us, we need hope. New life. A resuscitated heart. A resurrected life with resurrected hope. God's healing path is a personal journey. God's Healing for Life's Losses uses God's Word as the sufferers GPS: God's Positioning System. It traces God's pathway through grief to growth so that readers learn how to face their suffering face-to-face with God.

Written in "gift book" format for the person facing suffering, God's Healing for Life's Losses includes two built-in application/discussion guides (including a journal section). This makes it perfect for individual or group use. Persons suffering any type of life loss (job loss, illness, divorce, church conflict, the empty nest, death of a loved one) will benefit from the real-life wisdom they discover in God's Healing for Life's Losses.

Small group pastor… I would suggest you get copies of this book and spend ten weeks with your small group leaders. Have them read one chapter per week, do the journaling as requested, and come together to discuss what they are experiencing. Some of your group leaders will finally deal with past hurt that they have chosen to deny. The rest will learn the stages and phases of grief. They will be prepared to help their group members find hope, help, and healing when grief invades his/her space.

Get this book, read it yourself, and then use it to equip your leaders.

One last word… Dr. Kellemen will randomly select a dozen people who respond to the blog posts. They will receive a complimentary copy of the book. So let us know what you think.