Inner Healing

Dear Pastors

Inner Healing

Back in the 70’s and 80’s inner healing was commonly practised in charismatic and Pentecostal circles. It engages the use of prayer, forgiveness, repentance, rejecting lies and replacing them with truth, and processing painful memories to bring emotional and spiritual healing. Agnes Sanford (1897–1982) is considered to be the mother of the inner healing movement, and along with her husband, founded The Agnes Sanford School of Pastoral Care in 1958. Then in the early 70’s, John and Paula Sandford (no relation) were heavily influenced by Agnes Sanford and served to clarify and develop her teachings further. In 1958 the Sandfords encountered the charismatic renewal movement and were filled with the Holy Spirit. After several years of learning, the Sandfords founded Elijah House in 1975 which still operates today mostly in America and to a lesser degree around the world usually in conjunction with ‘ministry partners’ such as Theophostic Prayer, Sozo and Cleansing Streams.

A key characteristic of the inner healing movement was that it was a prayer based ministry operated by lay people. It didn’t require highly trained people in psychology and counselling. In a sense it was a derivative of the healing ministry of many evangelists of that era. It was often accompanied with ‘deliverance ministry’ which, needless to say had some controversy attached to it. From memory it had its fierce detractors but by and large the inner healing movement as it became known was a wide spread phenomena across the denominational spectrum around the English speaking church in the world including NZ.

Today you hardly hear this phrase instead you hear ‘mental and emotional health’. When Christians experience emotional or psychological distress particularly if it is long term and chronic we routinely talk about counselling rather than inner healing. Some have referred to this development as the ‘therapeutic era’ or the age of therapy.

I say all that to say this. I believe we need both in the church. It’s not either/or, but both/and, in exactly the same way as we need prayer for physical healing and we need doctors/surgeons for our physical illnesses (and accidents).

As Pastors and Christian leaders (P&CL) we need both as well. We are not exempt from the wounding, hurts and childhood trauma that so many people experience today or have experienced in their childhood. Many P&CL have a ‘hole in their soul’. In fact, I am of the view that when we take a close look at the lives of many of the high profile failures of recent years there is no doubt about it, this is a major contributing factor. When these particular P&CL came under sustained pressure (as we all do) their inner and private worlds were not able to hold them up and carry them through. It isn’t long before cracks appear, emotions can quickly get toxic and stinking thinking enters in. This can then lead to some kind of unhealthy coping methods that is unbecoming and completely inappropriate for people in Christian leadership positions. It is almost inevitable. But there is good news. All this can be averted if we deal to our inner world issues especially if we ask God to be our helper.

It may be apparent to you by now that I am genuinely worried about the state of affairs in the pastorate. Pastors, you and I are neither immune or exempt from all of this. We too have our stories of disappointments, betrayals, griefs, trauma and pain leaving us hurt if not broken on the inside. Can I say it again, we are not immune. Therefore, for your sake, for your spouse’s sake, for your children and grandchildren’s sake and for the sake of the good people you lead and for the sake of the testimony of the church, please attend to your inner life issues. Anything less could result in you paying an extremely high price. Yes, I do think we owe it to God and to our church/organisation to address our own brokenness and our own wounds.

Before I go and on a lighter note. Here is a new Easter song by Phil Wickham. The opening words are:- “Remember those walls that we called sin and shame, they were like prisons that we couldn’t escape, but He came and He died and He rose, those walls are rubble now”.

Blessings
Alan