Gain Access To Wholeness: Changing How We Think About Healing Edited By Christy Wimber Accessible As Digital

book, but very repetitive in their view of 'wholeness', I was interested in reading this book partly because of who the author is but mainly because the theme of the book is of interest to me.


Christy Wimber shares openly in this book about her own struggles and also how God has changed her thinking on the subject of healing and wholeness.
I admire anyone who allows God to change the way they have thought about a topic, especially when they have thought this way for some years as this is not easy.
As I read I felt challenged to be more open to God changing the way I think,

Christy writes about how our scars show the pain we have gone through in our life, but that they also show we have survived.
She writes that it's important not to hide our scars from people because when we reveal our scars it gives others hope that they too can survive whatever pain they are going through.


Included in this book are chapters on addiction and shame, how they can keep us from wholeness and how we can receive freedom and healing from them.
In another chapter Christy explores the importance of trust and how choosing trust despite what we face, is vital for us on our journey towards wholeness.


Christy looks at the question, if God heals, why am I still sick And in a chapter which I found particularly helpful, she looks at the meaning, purpose and goal of healing.
In this chapter, she stresses how important it is for the church to be a place where others come and encounter love and acceptance which she says is healing in itself.
How the church should be a place where people can receive help,

One chapter has been written by Katherine WelbyRoberts who suffers from anxiety, depression and chronic fatigue, She gives practical suggestions as to how we, as the church, can respond to those with mental ill health, It's a very helpful chapter which provides the reader with insightful information,

I do just have a couple of points to make which explains why I have given this book four rather than five.
First, I did find it was a bit repetitive at times, Even within the same chapter, there was repetition which I felt was unnecessary the repetition took from the clarity of the writing rather than adding to it by strengthening the point made.
In my opinion, it would have benefitted from some additional editing, Secondly, the book seemed to end quite abruptly, I felt it would have been good to have a conclusion at the end to tie all the main points together.
I do want to stress that these two points are just my personal opinion as a reader, and you may not feel the same when you read the book.


I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding the Biblical concept of wholeness, either from a personal viewpoint or because they want to be able to better support and encourage others in their own journey of wholeness, or because they want to be able to minister more effectively to others in their church and community.
I was looking forward to reading this given the subject matter based on looking at God's view on mental healing.
However I feel that

this was written as more for the benefit of the authors than for those who are searching for answers.
Some of the passages admitting failings and uncertainty, although seemly humbling, left me feeling like an intruder into lives unknown to me personally and I was not assured by this.
Sorry but I cannot recommend this writing style and will look elsewhere for such teaching and advice, The world is changing culture is shifting, Never has safety and security been more desired, What shakes also spills. Pressure spills to the surface, And when struggles become visible, safety becomes more invaluable,

We only encounter true freedom and wholeness when we know we can speak and hear truth with no fear of retribution.
Look at the ministry of Jesus, He created spaces of safety, He also never blamed people for how they got sick, Jesus' invitations are never based on whose struggles are more easily dealt with, In His Kingdom, in His house and under His care, there is no 'us' and 'them', Jesus said over and over that He came for the sick, the broken, the oppressed, depressed, those caught in chains.
He came for us. Each person, as well as every part of who we are, body, soul and spirit, matters to God, And if it matters to God, it must matter to us,

With the world changing so are people's struggles, In years past what worked in prayer and ministry may not work today, because people's concerns and experiences of personal difficulties have changed.
And just with anything else we should be growing in how we learn and deliver ministry, God wants to bring people into wholeness, And one of the greatest acts of kindness we can do is provide a safe place in order to witness people's struggles, so that we may love, care for and pray and minister to them more effectively.
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