Please pray for the wife and three young sons of Pastor Andrew Stoecklein of Inland Hills Church (Chino, Ca) who tragically took his own life this past weekend. This hurt when I read of this ..www.christianpost.com/news/inland-hills-pastor-andrew-stoecklein-takes-life-after-battle-with-depression-anxiety-227028/He struggled valiantly with depression and had just come back from a sabbatical and preached this message ..www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=440&v=cVBe4z2QSRMThere’s never been a time when the church needs to rally more in serious prayer for its pastors and relationships________________www.spiritwatch.orgAm I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? Galatians 4:16
He took a sabbatical.He labeled his problem for what it was – even preached about 5 days before his suicide.And – it still wasn’t enough.Sad________________
Thanks Raf. I have been praying, thinking about sending money to our church for our pastor. He is a wonderful guy but I want to start a ‘sabbatical fund’. It didn’t work for this pastor, but I still believe it can HELP!This is such an important thing, handling depression. Our prayers for the family________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
I remember in Cedartown I believe.Large Congregation, TV exposure, etc…Sad indeed________________Charles A. HutchinsSenior Pastor SPWCCongregational Church of Godwww.spwc.church
I can’t begin to imagine the kind of grief his wife and kids are going through. His church too. I know from personal experience exactly what it’s like to suffer depression and even what it’s like to have suicidal thoughts at times, many years ago.While I am definitely in favor of appropriate medication and counseling, I also believe that every time someone kills himself, he was clearly not listening to the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus, but instead hearkened to the voice of the Enemy.
I too have been through periods when I seriously contemplated suicide. Both times it came down to how could I leave my children with such a burden. I decided that either I would climb out of it with God’s help or die trying. Ministers, especially pastor’s,are indoctrinated into a belief that to step aside equals failure. We all know that is false, yet how many of us have stayed in the pulpit when we knew we should have walked away________________“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”