Christian Living
John Fernandes
The Common and Weak Arguments of Pro-Choice ...

Roe V Wade was overturned yesterday and my social media feeds have been permeated with Pro-Choicers spewing arguments that are complete nonsense, whether I was a pro-lifer based in Christianity (or any religion) or a pro-lifer based in atheism. I will present those arguments and provide logical and scientific reasons why they are invalid. You may say “there is no absolute truth, truth is subjective.” If you do, you just contradicted yourself already and made a poor argument. To say definitely that no absolute truth exists, you are defining subjective truth as absolute truth…

The Common and Weak Arguments of Pro-Choice Unraveled
Mental Health, Life Experience
John Fernandes
Today, I Embraced My Inner Child

There is a trend in psychology going around about understanding and healing your inner child. I have never understood it until today. I think a reason seasonal depression hits me, is it brings back feelings and memories that were uncomfortable or negative for younger me. I sat on social media and observed the “memories” that it had for me for today. That only exacerbated my mood. Lost friends, past failures, broken relationships, etc. Nothing changes if nothing changes, so I took action.

Today, I chose to listen to my inner child. I chose to serve my inner child. I chose to embrace my inner child.

Today, I Embraced My Inner Child
Ministry
John Fernandes
Youth Deserve the Same Opportunity To Worship ...

Picture this. It is Sunday morning. You are attending your Sunday morning church service, yearning to experience God, working to deepen your knowledge of God, and aiming to deepen your relationship with God. You are in the middle of the musical worship portion of the service when people slam through the sanctuary doors with a ruckus. But it doesn’t stop there. They loudly speak to people throughout the congregation. Would you be distracted? I would be. Would it interrupt your worship? It would for me.

Youth Deserve the Same Opportunity To Worship As Adults
Mental Health
John Fernandes
Stages of Change for Leaving A Sinful Lifestyle

The Stages of Change Model is a key tool in addiction counseling and recovery. We can see the Stages of Change model active in more than just recovery from substances, but instead in any type of change we are endeavoring to make. This model even describes when the Holy Spirit starts convicting us for things in our life that are not of God.

Stages of Change for Leaving A Sinful Lifestyle
Mental Health
John Fernandes
Can Christians Say Addiction Is A Disease?

Recently, I have encountered many Christians who say that addiction is not a disease it is purely a matter of choice and self-control. As somebody in recovery and finishing up his Masters in Addiction Counseling, I firmly say that is bologna, and can be a very dangerous and harmful thing to say.

Can Christians Say Addiction Is A Disease?

Showing Grace in the Dark Times

Showing Grace in the Dark Times

Recently, one of my boys got in a bit of trouble. It deeply affected my heart. I was frustrated, sad, angry, disappointed, and confused. I know he is better than this and I was not sure why he did what he did. It made me feel like a failure as a mentor. I did not know how to approach this situation or approach my mentee when I picked him up the following day, so I texted Jeff to ask him for advice. I asked him how to approach it and he responded with “probably with the same kind of grace you would have wanted in your dark times…”

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Am I Leaving Ministry?

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Am I Leaving Ministry?

A few nights ago, I started thinking of all the reasons I can’t be a pastor. The small voice in my head became louder and louder. I was again on the verge of dropping out of my MDiv program. I thought what is the use, I could never be a pastor. I could never picture me as a pastor or in ministry. These were lies the enemy was telling me. To combat it, I reached out to a few people I trusted to see if there was truth in the voices or not.

Touching the Untouchable

Touching the Untouchable

Leprosy made a person a social outcast. Leprosy is commonly thought today to be when your body is decaying. In reality, it could be a number of different skin conditions. One of the main reasons leprosy was perceived as “unclean” was that it was typically associated with death since you might be perceived as a sort of “walking corpse” with a skin disease with your skin flaking off. It may not have been “curable,” but it was not necessarily permanent either. One could not be touched in fear of contracting leprosy. Lepers were seen as highly contagious, similar to chicken pox.

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I'm Transparent, But Not Confident

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I'm Transparent, But Not Confident

 I have always been pretty open about my struggles with my mental health. This by no means is a demonstration of confidence. I always have the trepidation of being judged or getting bad feedback from being so transparent. Ultimately, I have seen time and time again how my testimony has helped people. Every so often, I share a bit of my testimony on social media or in a sermon. Every time I do, I have at least one person contact me later saying that they have been struggling with the same thing and it was refreshing to know other people do to. The devil likes to tell you that you are all alone.