August 25, 2009
As I have spoken on The Shack in recent months–this past weekend, for example, at the Central Church of Christ in Benton, KY–the title of this post has become increasingly clarified for me: “Sad But Unafraid.” [Those who fear the Lord] will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. […]
8 Comments |
Pastoral Care | Tagged: Fear, God, Grief, Love, Pain, Suffering |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
April 27, 2009
On April 30, 1980, Sheila Pettit Hicks, my wife of two years, eleven months, and eight days, died twenty days after recovering from back surgery. A blood clot stopped her heart while she slept at her parent’s home in Ellijay, GA. This week is the 29th anniversary of that horrendous moment in my life. It shifted […]
17 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Personal | Tagged: Death, God, Grief, Pain, Providence, Sheila Pettit Hicks, Suffering, Will of God |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
December 11, 2008
Last Saturday evening Jennifer and I attended a 5th-8th talent show at the Lipscomb Campus School. It was almost three hours long, but had several excellent performances. However, it was long. About thirty minutes into the program, I began to feel uncomfortable. Something was gnawing at me. My insides were pushing me to run, to […]
32 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Personal, Spirituality | Tagged: Contemplation, Envy, Forgiveness, Forgiving God, Hurt, Meditation, Pain, Prayer, Resentment, Spirituality, Suffering |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
December 9, 2008
Forgiving God is a controversial topic among many believers, especially Christians. Jewish believers, however, have a long history of talking about “forgiving God,” and it is present in the classic story of Job as my last post suggested. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, for example, one of the most significant questions in Jewish theology […]
4 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Theology | Tagged: Bitterness, Forgiveness, Forgiving God, Pain, Praise, Rebellion, Suffering, Tragedy, Transformation, Woundedness |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
December 7, 2008
To forgive God is, for many–if not most, a necessary bridge to praising him. But it is a difficult idea to grab hold of–how does one forgive God? What does that mean? And, indeed, it sounds blasphemous….as if God has done something wrong that needs forgiveness. And who are we to forgive God anyway? We are […]
16 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Personal, Theology | Tagged: Anger, Bible-Job, Bitterness, Forgiveness, God, Lament, Pain, Praise, Resentment, Suffering, Thanksgiving, Theodicy |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
September 27, 2008
[My book on the Shack is now available on Kindle.] William P. Young’s The Shack became a national bestseller in 2008. It touched the hearts of many and generated hostile theological disagreement from others. I read the book last January. Moved to tears several times, I was emotionally and intellectually engaged by Young’s storytelling. This modern parable […]
15 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Personal, Spirituality | Tagged: Books, Death, Grief, Pain, Providence, Shack, Suffering, The Shack, William P. Young |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
August 26, 2008
When my wife and I exercise in our bonus room we watch some kind of DVD. Today we watched the biography of St. Patrick. Though I was familiar with much of his story, I was intrigued when the video narrated the following from his Confession. “I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an exile, evidently unlearned, one […]
10 Comments |
Church History, Pastoral Care, Spirituality | Tagged: Affliction, Bible-Psalms, Brokenness, Grace, Grief, Hurt, Pain, Sin, St. Patrick, Suffering |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
August 25, 2008
“God seeps through the cracks.” I heard that statement today. I thought it profound; wish that I had originated it (there is my pride); and wondered why I had never heard it before (I thought I knew everything!). It struck me as so true…at least in my life and I can only speak for myself. When […]
6 Comments |
Pastoral Care, Spirituality | Tagged: Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Healing, Heart, Pain, Pride, Sin, Spirituality, Suffering, Wounds |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks