PM - Article: Healing in the Name of Christ

Healing in the Name of Christ
By Chris Book, Executive Director

Part three in three part series on our slogan "Housing, Help and Healing in the Name of Christ."

When I came to Paxton Street Home in 1985 I needed healing. Like so many others, my need for healing was pretty well masked by an ability to function. But it was still real. That healing has begun. It is a gradual process that comes from being a part of a community where God's Spirit is at work. For me, Paxton Ministries is a healing community.

In the church, healing is a confusing issue to say the least. Often our experience differs from teaching that we hear or what we understand scripture to say. At Paxton Ministries we deal with the reality of serious mental and other illness every day. Here, not only do people receive housing and help, but healing also takes place.

The most common form of healing we observe is of the emotions. Many of our residents and some of our staff come from broken, dysfunctional settings where abuse and stigmatization, or worse, abound. Those experiences result in lifelong scars. At Paxton Ministries these same people encounter Jesus, some for the first time. Here we see Him in the hands and eyes and ears of people who accept us regardless of our past. Healing begins. It continues as we learn that this is our home. Compliments replace criticism. Jesus' love shown through others begins to melt away our hardened defenses.

The healing process is often a long one. Some emotional scars are so deep that they may never go away on their own. In those cases we arrange for professional counseling and offer to arrange for it. Most people at Paxton Ministries would testify to healing that is taking place in their lives simply by being at a place where God's power and love exist.

We also see evidence of other types of healing. In our morning staff devotions we pray for every member of the community who is ill or having a hard time. It is common to see staff or residents praying with one another. As we pray, people come face to face with His love for them. Some are divinely touched physically or in their spirits. That is healing. But when healing doesn't occur, Jesus' heart calls us to remain with each other. We work at being obedient. Jesus heals.

When healing occurs at Paxton Ministries it is not always dramatic. In my case, I am more at peace with who I am as a child of God. This is a community where love and compassion are a way of life, where everyone is accepted for who they are and not what they do. Here the healing power of God melts away the labels given by society. Residents and staff alike benefit from being part of the healing community at Paxton Ministries.

Three part series on our slogan "Housing, Help and Healing in the Name of Christ:
Article #1: Housing in the Name of Christ
Article #2: Help in the Name of Christ
Article #3: Healing in the Name of Christ

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