This week we joined the IBC for teaching on a prayer ministry called "Theophostic." The name comes from theos, meaning God, and phos, meaning light or illumination. Basically, Theophostic Ministry asks Jesus to come into the wounds of the past and shed light, expose the lies we have believed, and speak truth so we may be healed. That is a very simplified version of our week of teaching! :-) It was an interesting week for many reasons, one of which is that Theophostic is quite controversial, espeically in counseling circles. But we had many discussions as a class, and it is so encouraging to have leaders who are open to hearing our criticisms and differing perspectives. Even our staff didn't buy into this philosophy 100%. In the end, though there were some things in the teaching I don't agree with, I can't find much wrong with the basic idea of asking Jesus to be involved in the counseling process and shed light in areas only He can go. After all, He is the Healer of all wounds, and all healing comes from Him.
There is a tendency in weeks like this when you are focusing on yourself and all your "issues," for things to become very heavy and a little depressing. On Wednesday, I was feeling exhausted both emotionally and physically, so I went out in the evening to spend some time with God. I was sitting out on the dock watching the sunset over the water, feeling a bit unsettled and shaken up. And as I sat there soaking up God's presence, the unsettled became settled and the unresolved melted into peace. He just brought a sense that we (Him & me) are ok. Sure, I have brokenness in my life and there are lies I believe, and I need God to bring truth. But my messy-ness does not make me a mess. God loves me and wants me to enjoy Him, and has good things for me--not just hard/good, but plain old good things! So I'm ready. Bring on the good things!
1 comment:
"Theophostic Prayer Ministry" is Scientology in disguise.
A "TPM facilitator" (Scientology Auditor) leads the seeker (Preclear) through a "session" (same term as in Scientology Auditing) of "guided imagery" and "directed visualization" ("Dianetic reverie", "mockups" and "mental image pictures") towards "mind renewal experience" ("Clear") by dealing with past buried memories that may still be bringing you down today ("Engrams").
They claim that they seek to bring you to self-responisibility (Hubbard's "Self determinism") even as they keep you addicted to more and more "TPM Sessions".
They call each person's session a "case" (just like Scientology) and offer "training", "courses" and "seminars" (just like Scientology) in TPM Facilitating, which is simply Auditing without the E-meter.
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