Alfred Street Baptist Church Virtual Bible Study

[Music] alpha street baptist church would like to thank all of our online viewers for worshiping with us we hope that you've enjoyed our virtual worship experience i know that each and every one of us has a deep desire to be back in worship to be back in fellowship with one another but we have to continue to do it in a safe way we were able to do it safely out at fedex field a little while ago and now i want to invite you to another outdoor gathering of worship before the weather changes it might be our last opportunity this year on sunday september 26th 11 a.m meriwether post pavilion join in with all of alfred street baptist church we're gathering there to worship at 11 the doors will open at 9 30 and parking is free because safety is our number one concern we've tried to choose a venue where we know we can come worship fellowship and still be safe if you've never been to merriweather post pavilion when you come you're going to be amazed there are 5 000 seats in a covered pavilion giving a shelter from the sun and then there are another 5 000 seats in the grassy knoll area so when you come you can sit wherever you feel comfortable you can your family can sit in the grassy areas and your lawn chairs and your blankets and still see and hear worship or you can have one of the seats under the pavilion if you're in the grassy area masks are requested if you're going to sit under the pavilion masks are mandatory and if you're in one of the seated areas do us a favor respect people's requirement and request for social distancing if you and your family are gathered together leave a couple seats before you sit next to the other family so that we can remain socially distant and safe when we worship in that space we're going to do a few things we're going to give thanks to god for the life that we live we're going to be blessed by our music and worship arts we're going to celebrate 13 years of anniversary as pastor and people we're going to hear a word from the lord as i am excited to preach what god has laid on my heart and we're going to break bread and share in communion before we get to merryweather our deacons will have a distribution of communion that you can pick up before we get there and community elements will also be available on site listen i know merryweather is a little bit far of a drive but i promise you it's going to be worth it the worship is going to bless you the music is gonna touch you the fellowship will aid and assist you in getting over this isolation we've been living in and we're not just worshiping we're also gonna have a family reunion kind of style i'm inviting you to bring your own food but also know that there will be some food trucks on site so that when we're done worshiping we can break grant together almost like having a large picnic and be able to fellowship and see stay around i want to come by and see you and your family and how everyone's doing so once again sunday september 26 11 a.m doors open at 9 30 parking is free merryweather post pavilion we're going to have a great time listen you can also grab one of our t-shirts if you so desire go online we've got a t-shirt that we're asking people to wear that we can have a sea of our colors of burgundy and gold we're not burning any gold that's the that's that football team how about crimson and cream let's wear some crimson cream we're gonna have a great day come on out and join with me as it'll be my pleasure to worship with you to help combat the covet 19 coronavirus outbreak alfred street baptist church has suspended all in-person worship services activities and events until further notice we know that these are difficult and challenging times we invite you to stay connected by participating in our online worship services and remain faithful in your getting online via our alfred street website asbc app and on our text messaging system if you have any questions about giving please feel free to email our finance department at finance alphastreet.org if you're interested in becoming a member of the historic alpha street baptist church please email deacons with an s at alphastreet.org or complete the membership form on our website or on our asbc app alfred street members have you been blessed with a skill set in law policy writing human resources record keeping fundraising finance property management or executive board leadership and a heart to serve others the nominating committee wants you nominations are now open and will close on thursday september 30th at 11 59 pm open positions descriptions of qualifications and responsibilities as well as the online application are available at www.alfredstreet.org tuesday night bible study is back with our very own reverend dr latasha l morgan join dr morgan from our office of christian care and counseling throughout the month of september as she facilitates a conversation about anxiety and mental health our office of christian care and counseling would like to share that september is national suicide prevention month even amid a major pandemic there's still an urgent national effort to prevent suicide in the united states sadly suicide is among the leading causes of death in the u.s and is still considered a major public health concern for more information on how you or someone you know can get help please visit our website or app for additional information and resources our september pastor's pick for book of the month is against christianity how right-wing evangelicals are destroying our nation and our faith by obri m hendrix jr this book is a timely and galvanizing work that examines how right-wing evangelical christians have veered from an admirable faith to a pernicious destructive ideology be sure to purchase and or download a copy from your favorite retailer everyone is invited to join us virtually as we kick off our brand new exciting fall season of online sunday school classes starting saturday september 11th 4 45 pm eastern and sunday september 12th at 9 00 a.m eastern visit our website and asbc app for more information calling all asbc undergraduate college students alfred street's college ministry also known as the college link is now accepting online registrations for the 2021-2022 academic year registration ends sunday september 19th so be sure to register online today so that we can stay in touch and support you throughout your college year asbc is upgrading its church management software system to realm r-e-a-l-m what is realm you ask realm is a brand new church management record-keeping software system designed to provide you with a new way to connect to our events contributions and giving statements just to name a few stay tuned to our website and or asbc app for the latest information our christian life institute presents a virtual experience via zoom entitled spiritual gifts the five-fold ministry with reverend rosalind brooks join us thursday september 23rd from 7 to 8 30 p.m eastern time discovering your spiritual gifts can help you understand how you can serve the body of christ this event is open to everyone however you must register online to participate our social justice and legal resources ministry presents an expungement restoration of rights pardon and sealing of records virtual law webinar experience saturday september 25th from 10 a.m to 12 p.m noon eastern daylight time online registration is required however this webinar is open to everyone our sunday school deep roots bearing fruit curriculum team is seeking volunteer writers editors copy editors proofreaders and recruiters if you're interested in learning more about all of the volunteer opportunities available with our sunday school curriculum team please email drbf alfredstreet.org for more information have there been music dance or drama presentations from alfred street baptist church that's touched your soul or been a blessing to you if so we invite you to check out our new music and worship arts playlist on our asbc youtube channel the most recent music and worship arts drama and dance offerings experienced during our weekly aspc worship services will be featured here we invite everyone to continue to join us at 7am eastern time for our daily prayer call which takes place monday through friday this will allow you to stay connected to your asbc family through prayer you can dial 1-530-881-1212 and enter the id number 788-999-203-1 [Music] sign also we invite you to tune in to our faith forward weekly radio broadcast featuring pastor howard john wesley every sunday morning at 7 30 a.m eastern daylight time on magic 102.3 fm and 92.7 fm for a powerful sermon that will move you forward in your faith we invite you to join us and alfred street baptist church on sunday evenings from 7 pm to 7 30 p.m for our faith forward show on praise 104.1 fm dc's inspiration station be sure to visit our website or your asbc app for the latest asbc updates regarding covet 19 and to find out what to do if you think that you've been exposed to the coronavirus for more information on these and all the exciting events taking place here at alfred street please log on to alfredstreet.org [Music] alpha street baptist church would like to thank all of our online viewers for worshiping with us we hope that you've enjoyed our virtual worship experience i know that each and every one of us has a deep desire to be back in worship to be back in fellowship with one another but we have to continue to do it in a safe way we were able to do it safely out at fedex field a little while ago and now i want to invite you to another outdoor gathering of worship before the weather changes it might be our last opportunity this year on sunday september 26 11 am meriwether post pavilion join in with all of alfred street baptist church we're gathering there to worship at 11 the doors will open at 9 30 and parking is free because safety is our number one concern we've tried to choose a venue where we know we can come worship fellowship and still be safe if you've never been to meriwether post pavilion when you come you're going to be amazed there are 5 000 seats in a covered pavilion giving a shelter from the sun and then there are another 5 000 seats in the grassy knoll area so when you come you can sit wherever you feel comfortable you can your family can sit in the grassy areas and your lawn chairs and your blankets and still see and hear worship or you can have one of the seats under the pavilion if you're in the grassy area masks are requested if you're going to sit under the pavilion masks are mandatory and if you're in one of the seated areas do us a favor respect people's requirement and request for social distancing if you and your family are gathered together leave a couple seats before you sit next to the other family so that we can remain socially distant and safe when we worship in that space we're going to do a few things we're going to give thanks to god for the life that we live we're going to be blessed by our music and worship arts we're going to celebrate 13 years of anniversary as pastor and people we're going to hear a word from the lord as i am excited to preach what god has laid on my heart and we're going to break bread and share in communion before we get to merriweather our deacons will have a distribution of communion that you can pick up before we get there and community elements will also be available on site listen i know meri weather is a little bit far of a drive but i promise you it's going to be worth it the worship is going to bless you the music is going to touch you the fellowship will aid and assist you in getting over this isolation we've been living in and we're not just worshiping we're also going to have a family reunion kind of style i'm inviting you to bring your own food but also know that there will be some food trucks on site so that when we're done worshiping we can break bread together almost like having a large picnic and be able to fellowship and see stay around i want to come by and see you and your family and how everyone's doing so once again sunday september 26th 11 a.m doors open at 9 30. parking is free merryweather post pavilion we're gonna have a great time listen you can also grab one of our t-shirts if you so desire go online we've got a t-shirt that we're asking people to wear that we can have a sea of our colors of burgundy and gold we're not burn any gold that's then that's that football team how about crimson and cream let's wear some crimson cream we're gonna have a great day come on out and join with me as it'll be my pleasure to worship with you to help combat the covet 19 coronavirus outbreak alpha street baptist church has suspended all in-person worship services activities and events until further notice we know that these are difficult and challenging times we invite you to stay connected by participating in our online worship services and remain faithful in your getting online via our alfred street website asbc app and on our text messaging system if you have any questions about giving please feel free to email our finance department at finance alphastreet.org if you're interested in becoming a member of the historic alpha street baptist church please email deacons with an s at alphastreet.org or complete the membership form on our website or on our asbc app albert street members have you been blessed with a skill set in law policy writing human resources record keeping finance property management or executive board leadership and a heart to serve others the nominating committee wants you nominations are now open and will close on thursday september 30th at 11 59 pm open positions descriptions of qualifications and responsibilities as well as the online application are available at www.alfredstreet.org tuesday night bible study is back with our very own reverend dr latarcha l morgan join dr morgan from our office of christian care and counseling throughout the month of september as she facilitates a conversation about anxiety and mental health our office of christian care and counseling would like to share that september is national suicide prevention month even amid a major pandemic there's still an urgent national effort to prevent suicide in the united states sadly suicide is among the leading causes of death in the u.s and is still considered a major public health concern for more information on how you or someone you know can get help please visit our website or app for additional information and resources our september pastor's pick for book of the month is against christianity how right-wing evangelicals are destroying our nation and our faith by obri m hendricks jr this book is a timely and galvanizing work that examines how right-wing evangelical christians have veered from an admirable faith to a pernicious destructive ideology be sure to purchase and or download a copy from your favorite retailer everyone is invited to join us virtually as we kick off our brand new exciting fall season of online sunday school classes starting saturday september 11th 4 45 pm eastern and sunday september 12th at 9 00 a.m eastern visit our website and asbc app for more information calling all asbc undergraduate college students alfred street's college ministry also known as the college link is now accepting online registrations for the 2021-2022 academic year registration ends sunday september 19th so be sure to register online today so that we can stay in touch and support you throughout your college year asbc is upgrading its church management software system to realm r-e-a-l-m what is realm you ask realm is a brand new church management record-keeping software system designed to provide you with a new way to connect to our events contributions and giving statements just to name a few stay tuned to our website and or asbc app for the latest information our christian life institute presents a virtual experience via zoom entitled spiritual gifts the five-fold ministry with reverend rosalind brooks join us thursday september 23rd from 7 to 8 30 pm eastern time discovering your spiritual gifts can help you understand how you can serve the body of christ this event is open to everyone however you must register online to participate our social justice and legal resources ministry presents an expungement restoration of rights pardon and sealing of records virtual law webinar experience saturday september 25th from 10 a.m to 12 p.m noon eastern daylight time online registration is required however this webinar is open to everyone our sunday school deep roots bearing fruit curriculum team is seeking volunteer writers editors copy editors proofreaders and recruiters if you're interested in learning more about all of the volunteer opportunities available with our sunday school curriculum team please email drbf alfredstreet.org for more information have there been music dance or drama presentations from alfred street baptist church that's touched your soul or been a blessing to you if so we invite you to check out our new music and worship arts playlist on our asbc youtube channel the most recent music and worship arts drama and dance offerings experienced during our weekly asbc worship services will be featured here we invite everyone to continue to join us at 7 a.m eastern time for our daily prayer call which takes place monday through friday this will allow you to stay connected to your asbc family through prayer you can dial 1-530-881-1212 and enter the id number 788 [Music] pound sign also we invite you to tune in to our faith forward weekly radio broadcast featuring pastor howard john wesley every sunday morning at 7 30 a.m eastern daylight time on magic 102.3 fm and 92.7 fm for a powerful sermon that will move you forward in your faith we invite you to join us and alfred street baptist church on sunday evenings from 7 pm to 7 30 pm for our faith forward show on praise 104.1 fm dc's inspiration station [Music] be sure to visit our website or your asbc app for the latest asbc updates regarding covet 19 and to find out what to do if you think that you've been exposed to the coronavirus for more information on these and all the exciting events taking place here at alfred street please log on to alfredstreet.org [Music] [Music] alpha street baptist church would like to thank all of our online viewers for worshiping with us we hope that you've enjoyed our virtual worship experience i know that each and every one of us has a deep desire to be back in worship to be back in fellowship with one another but we have to continue to do it in a safe way we were able to do it safely out at fedex field a little while ago and now i want to invite you to another outdoor gathering of worship before the weather changes it might be our last opportunity this year on sunday september 26th 11 a.m merriweather post pavilion join in with all of alfred street baptist church we're gathering there to worship at 11 the doors will open at 9 30 and parking is free because safety is our number one concern we've tried to choose a venue where we know we can come worship fellowship and still be safe if you've never been to meriwether post pavilion when you come you're going to be amazed there are 5 000 seats in a covered pavilion giving a shelter from the sun and there are another 5 000 seats in the grassy knoll area so when you come you can sit wherever you feel comfortable you can your family can sit in the grassy areas and your lawn chairs and your blankets and still see and hear worship or you can have one of the seats under the pavilion if you're in the grassy area masks are requested if you're gonna sit under the pavilion masks are mandatory and if you're in one of the seated areas do us a favor respect people's requirement and request for social distancing if you and your family are gathered together leave a couple seats before you sit next to the other family so that we can remain socially distant and safe when we worship in that space we're going to do a few things we're going to give thanks to god for the life that we live we're going to be blessed by our music and worship arts we're going to celebrate 13 years of anniversary as pastor and people we're going to hear a word from the lord as i am excited to preach what god has laid on my heart and we're going to break bread and share in communion before we get to merryweather our deacons will have a distribution of communion that you can pick up before we get there and communion elements will also be available on site listen i know merry weather is a little bit far of a drive but i promise you it's going to be worth it the worship is going to bless you the music is going to touch you the fellowship will aid and assist you in getting over this isolation we've been living in and we're not just worshiping we're also going to have a family reunion kind of style i'm inviting you to bring your own food but also know that there will be some food trucks on site so that when we're done worshiping we can break bread together almost like having a large picnic and be able to fellowship and see stay around i want to come by and see you and your family and how everyone's doing so once again sunday september 26 11 a.m doors open at 9 30. parking is free merryweather post pavilion we're going to have a great time listen you can also grab one of our t-shirts if you so desire go online we've got a t-shirt we're asking people to wear that we can have a sea of our colors of burgundy and gold we're not burgundy gold that's the that's that football team how about crimson and cream let's wear some crimson cream we're gonna have a great day come on out and join with me as it'll be my pleasure to worship with you to help combat the covet 19 coronavirus outbreak alfred street baptist church has suspended all in-person worship services activities and events until further notice we know that these are difficult and challenging times we invite you to stay connected by participating in our online worship services and remain faithful in your getting online via our alfred street website asbc app and on our text messaging system if you have any questions about giving please feel free to email our finance department at finance alphastreet.org if you're interested in becoming a member of the historic alpha street baptist church please email deakins with an s at alphastreet.org or complete the membership form on our website or on our asbc app alfred street members have you been blessed with the skill set and law policy writing human resources record keeping fundraising finance property management or executive board leadership and a heart to serve others the nominating committee wants you nominations are now open and will close on thursday september 30th at 11 59 pm open positions descriptions of qualifications and responsibilities as well as the online application are available at www.alfredstreet.org tuesday night bible study is back with our very own reverend dr latosha l morgan join dr morgan from our office of christian care and counseling throughout the month of september as she facilitates a conversation about anxiety and mental health our office of christian care and counseling would like to share that september is national suicide prevention month even amid a major pandemic there's still an urgent national effort to prevent suicide in the united states sadly suicide is among the leading causes of death in the u.s and is still considered a major public health concern for more information on how you or someone you know can get help please visit our website or app for additional information and resources our september pastor's pick for book of the month is against christianity how right-wing evangelicals are destroying our nation and our faith by obri m hendricks jr this book is a timely and galvanizing work that examines how right-wing evangelical christians have veered from an admirable faith to a pernicious destructive ideology be sure to purchase and or download a copy from your favorite retailer everyone is invited to join us virtually as we kick off our brand new exciting fall season of online sunday school classes starting saturday september 11th 4 45 pm eastern and sunday september 12th at 9 00 a.m eastern visit our website and asbc app for more information calling all asbc undergraduate college students alfred street's college ministry also known as the college link is now accepting online registrations for the 2021-2022 academic year registration ends sunday september 19th so be sure to register online today so that we can stay in touch and support you throughout your college year asbc is upgrading its church management software system to realm r-e-a-l-m what is realm you ask realm is a brand new church management record-keeping software system designed to provide you with a new way to connect to our events contributions and giving statements just to name a few stay tuned to our website and or asbc app for the latest information our christian life institute presents a virtual experience via zoom entitled spiritual gifts the five-fold ministry with reverend rosalind brooks join us thursday september 23rd from 7 to 8 30 pm eastern time discovering your spiritual gifts can help you understand how you can serve the body of christ this event is open to everyone however you must register online to participate our social justice and legal resources ministry presents an expungement restoration of rights pardon and sealing of records virtual law webinar experience saturday september 25th from 10 a.m to 12 p.m noon eastern daylight time online registration is required however this webinar is open to everyone our sunday school deep roots bearing fruit curriculum team is seeking volunteer writers editors copy editors proofreaders and recruiters if you're interested in learning more about all of the volunteer opportunities available with our sunday school curriculum team please email drbf alfredstreet.org for more information have there been music dance or drama presentations from alfred street baptist church that's touched your soul or been a blessing to you if so we invite you to check out our new music and worship arts playlist on our asbc youtube channel the most recent music and worship arts drama and dance offerings experienced during our weekly aspc worship services will be featured here we invite everyone to continue to join us at 7 7am eastern time for our daily prayer call which takes place monday through friday this will allow you to stay connected to your asbc family through prayer you can dial two 1-530-881-121 two and enter the id number seven eight eight nine nine nine two zero three pound sign also we invite you to tune in to our faith forward weekly radio broadcast featuring pastor howard john wesley every sunday morning at 7 30 a.m eastern daylight time on magic 102.3 fm and 92.7 fm for a powerful sermon that will move you forward in your faith we invite you to join us and alfred street baptist church on sunday evenings from 7 p.m to 7 30 p.m for our faith forward show on praise 104.1 fm dc's inspiration station be sure to visit our website or your asbc app for the latest asbc updates regarding covet 19 and to find out what to do if you think that you've been exposed to the coronavirus for more information on these and all the exciting events taking place here at alfred street please log on to alfredstreet.org [Music] hi good evening and thank you for joining us for another bible study here at alfred street baptist church this evening we will have the office of christian care and counseling leading the conversation a christian conversation about anxiety this conversation will tie into pastor wesley's series and so if you haven't already please make sure that you take a look or view at the sermon from this past sunday this that's going to be the second sermon in this series we're so grateful that pastor wesley has given us this opportunity to share on this topic um i'm reverend latasha morgan and with me again is the team from the office of christian care and counseling we have good evening i'm marcia leftwich and good evening my name is jorge wallace all right so we're talking about anxiety we're moving further in that conversation and we really wanted to just kind of come back with some points to help just bring it all together again pastor wesley has provided us with a very thought-provoking and amazing sermon series to this point and so these studies will help uh just add some additional support as we move through especially if you find that you are dealing with anxiety um so we want to just kind of talk about a definition like getting a working definition i've given a working definition in that first bible study and so today we just want to talk about that just a bit more um so from your perspective and from your knowledge what let's talk about let's tell them about anxiety so we know that it's an emotion right and we know that um it has a lot of characterizations mainly stress and fear um so what would you like to add to that um one of the things i'd like to add is that it is normal to have anxiety um everyone at some point in their life is gonna have some anxiety or some responses as related to their anxiety um so that's one of the biggest things that i want us to kind of hit home with everybody is that it is normal to be anxious at times and have different experiences with anxiety absolutely and i think the other thing would be to point out that um you know identifying what it is because a lot of times we're experiencing things and people don't quite know what it is so you know we want to definitely include what those symptoms might be you know and when do they need to go see something right you know so yeah um so what we do know is that um often anxiety uh is connected to feelings of um tension worry um anxiousness and so uh and then of course there's the physiological manifestation of it and we'll get into that a little further so just to just kind of help us understand um that it is uh that situation where you feel um extremely overwhelmingly in some instances uh anxious and nervous and worried particularly about events to come future events um so if you just hold that as we walk through uh this discussion that will help so you brought up a good point marcia about it is important to help normalize anxiety um you're right anxiety is something everyone struggles with um and then we'll talk about like there's a normal level and when it transitions to become something more where you may need some additional help and support one in three persons struggle and deal with anxiety we talked about that larger number last week where 41 million people in america and we're just talking about the people that actually report that i'm having some difficulty with anxiety so now just bringing that uh number just closer uh you made a great point about looking in the room so it's three of us here one two three right we all got it one of us is one of us struggles pretty regularly or significantly with anxiety and so when we look at male to females research says that it's a two to one situation that a lot more likely females are the greater group to suffer from anxiety um when we look at the overall number of persons that report about anxiety in the african-american uh community jorge what was that number somewhere about 23 percent 23 yeah so 23 of those reporting actually reporting and that's a problem that we have in our community that we really aren't reporting and we've talked about that stigma piece um but of those that report we're talking about somewhere about 25 of that number represents the african-american community um so when we talk about normalizing anxiety one one thought i think will help people as we move forward is that uh the response of anxiety is a god-given like god gave us this right he gave us this this whole anxiety um the fight flight or fleet like we're very familiar with that um but this is a god-given human reaction to fear and it was meant to protect us right exactly yeah where did we go wrong what happened i mean i think that we're not taught that there's a normal response and i think that typically in our community we're taught that you don't one talk about anxiety and if you are talking about it or if you are fearful that's an indictment of your faith yeah and one of the things that i think is important that we again um kind of drive home is that if you are experiencing anxiety it is not an indictment of your faith that's right it does not mean that you're not a good christian it just means that you are having a natural response to an event or the potential of an event that might be coming up that's right and so i think especially i mean we all were raised in the same type of community in terms of our faith yeah and it was like you know you're not afraid just pray and you know we don't talk about that right right away pray it away right right right but it's okay to pray and talk about it it's okay to pray and have different tools absolutely right it's it's you know when you talk about normalizing it right if you look at this situation you know one in three of us right but just just the opportunity to do something that we're not that we normally don't do we have the conversation yeah yeah we have these conversations all the time yeah but doing it in this particular fashion now it's about okay how do we regulate those emotions so that we're able to complete this project that's right that's right so you know we in the normalizing piece and you don't think you mention it about teaching right you know identifying first what it is and then you know teaching you know how do you mediate and how do you mitigate i'm sorry and and reduce those feelings and go from there that's right oh and i was saying thinking about it coming from behind closed doors right like we see people frequently who are experiencing anxiety and we give tools and tips but they're not able to talk about it within their own friends and family because there's a stigma associated with it so i think like just us saying one in three you know so if you're in a room right now or you're going to work one in three people is experiencing some level of anxiety or may even have a disorder which i'm sure we'll talk a little bit about later but just making it a normal thing like it's okay yeah it's okay to pray and have jesus and it's okay that you might be a little anxious no that's my favorite line you can have jesus and a therapist right that's what my shirt says [Laughter] and i i opened up uh talking about normalizing and i said well what did we do wrong and i just wanted to go back to that for a second because it's not that anxiety is wrong so i just want to be clear but what where do we go wrong with that and i think we went we kind of got off of off track when we one haven't taken time to normalize it two we haven't taken time to educate ourselves a bit more and then three uh how do we then merge this whole idea of mental health and particular diagnoses uh with our faith right and so that's that really is what our position is that that it there has to be this merging this connection uh knowing that god is so concerned about um everything he's concerned about every single aspect of our lives including moments when we are anxious and overwhelmed um and so you know a lot of times uh the anxiety comes from this place of stress like that that right there is the number one contributor to anxiety stress now who isn't stressed out um pandemic aside right uh there is some level of stress in all of our lives and so um when we have these stressful moments or we are uh in a situation where perhaps we feel that we're threatened or in danger right that's when that fight flight um response happens right um and that's where the anxiety gets our adrenaline going right and then there's all of this stuff that connects with our brain but when we get into a situation where we're more fearful than we are in a normal state those things begin to overwork right over flood our brain and and the chemical uh part of this that god had you know god orchestrated with this amazing body of ours right it begins to overwork and overdrive and that's when we get into this place where um anxiety disorders come into the picture right so we'll talk about that and so this leads us into the conversation about how does uh anxiety manifest um now growing up in an african american family going to church all of my life uh i've always heard that nobody ever called it anxiety they i remember my mom and grandmother talking about my nerves mm-hmm y'all heard that what my nerves oh my girls uh you on my nerve you're on my last nerve uh and and you know talking about nerves but i really don't remember anybody ever putting the correct name to it absolutely um and so we want to be able to put the right label on it it is all right to use the word anxiety that is what it is it's not a mystery or some secret uh because secrets don't get you healed guys absolutely holding on to secrets pushing stuff down trying to uh walk through as if it's a normal uh situation or circumstance that doesn't bring about healing i think in in some cases and and you brought up like all of us kind of growing up in the african-american church yeah you know um we get culturally conditioned to you know i think you mentioned praying away or and and then what happens is the identification of what's actually going on get lost yeah because now it gets buried under you know god didn't give you a spirit of fear you know yeah and and all the other scriptures that we could apply and it doesn't mean that that's not applicable it's just that and normalizing it because if i can't attain that scripture then now i'm gonna feel another way yeah you know and then now you know in our community we're sometimes we're anesthetized to to what we're actually feeling yeah you know and then when you know i hear it all the time well i tried to church but the church didn't work yeah didn't work for me yeah and a lot of that uh it didn't work comes from really just and i mean again this is my opinion and based on study that um we have god kind of far out in left field right uh this this unattainable deity that we don't have connection with um and that comes from a religious kind of mindset we were talking earlier right just talking about the legality and the traditional stance that religion has in our lives but when we begin to replace religion with relationships yes ma'am that is when uh we are then able to really begin this idea of merging our mental wellness and our faith on a different level like we begin to understand that god is intimately connected with us yes uh you you highlighted uh psalm 139 yes yeah right yeah go ahead oh okay no i was just gonna say you know i'm sitting there thinking about a session that i had previous and and the young lady said to me you know she still considers god to be this you know grandfather type figure that's standing over her is going to punish her because you didn't pray you didn't read you didn't do this and i was like well you know that doesn't sound like relationship you know and we just have to kind of piggyback on that the punitive part of it yeah right in in our community we're raised there's kind of a good and bad and if you don't follow this path there's a punitive result and that's where we kind of get into this misnomer that if i admit i'm having some mental health challenges that means i'm being punished for something or i didn't do something correctly and that's a myth and that's one of the things that i think is important when we're having these conversations that it is not a punitive thing if you're having some mental health choices just because you're having anxiety or you need to talk to a therapist or a mental health professional it does not mean you've done something wrong in your walk with god all of these things happen for whatever reason god has ordained and you know you've heard me say this before everything is divinely ordered and that may even include a mental health challenge or a diagnosis and god is in the mix midst of all of that yeah i mean it's not punitive so i think that that's another important factor absolutely because we hear that all the time what did i do wrong right you know why is god punishing me yeah why is this my fault and it's not he's not punishing you this is just part of your path yeah and part of your journey of your journey part of our the importance of the church yeah and our job is to guide them and say this is all within god's plan even though you may not understand why this is happening yeah yeah some things uh that's right we're gonna get her in this upcoming mit class um and so and so i but that's a great segue because if we um in our work especially like we have the absolute delight to be able to merge mental wellness mental health with faith in this christian counseling um setting right and so um everyone doesn't get that and so we definitely realize that we we we are blessed but because we're able to do it we are able to help people understand first of all and i kind of have this conversation quite often in session with clients what is your understanding of who god is to you [Music] like what does god really mean to you who is god to you what does he represent um and you i am often surprised at some of the responses that god is very punitive um that that god is again far off um and there is uh not this this close understanding or connection and so that's why i brought up the psalm 139 because in that psalm uh david is is talking about like how close god is to us yes ma'am um and how connected and how much he knows about us and if god knows that much about us it then would be our response to get to know as much as we can about him right because at the end of that scripture david says search me yeah and know my ancestors that ain't just thoughts that's right you know so yeah as i'm listening to you i'm just thinking about how you know in marcia you hit it on the head how so many even myself i mean sometimes i it was a point in my life where yeah i believed in god mm-hmm but i didn't necessarily i can't do it for you but he messed with me because i did this i did that and especially if it's been taught and then and driven into you that it this is like you have done a bad thing and god doesn't god doesn't deal with people that do bad things right right right right but listen i don't know about you but i remember the story of christ on the cross right and in that moment he said to the thief regard you know i can imagine i just only i just kind of picture like i wish i was there right but in that moment regardless of all that that thief had done because he literally was on that cross for some things he had done whereas jesus wasn't and he said you will be with me like all of that has passed away all of that is erased all of that is forgiven so there's nothing that we can do uh per se right there are some things that god is just like listen guys that's too much you're doing too much right but god is so forgiving and now that we're in the dispensation of grace right we have uh god isn't even looking at our filthiness he's looking at the righteousness of christ and the work that god has done through christ to redeem us so that somebody ought to just like lift your hands like god i thank you right and so now i can take all of my anxious thoughts i can take my anxious self i can take my anxious diagnosis straight to the one that knows everything about me amen right yeah so that gives me some kind of peace i don't know about you resting in the fact that you know god don't make no junk right everything i mean really right because we're like why did why am i like this or whatever god made you this way for a purpose and your purpose may or may not be revealed yet but there's a purpose whether that's the anxious thoughts or feeling i you know some anxiety right so we've got to remember that and that's you know one of the things i work with people all the time like self love radical self love the good the bad the ugly you know self compassion that's right um and and this is within you and it doesn't mean that it's going to change how you operate a little bit maybe even some tools and strategies but you can still do what you need to do and it does not take away from who you are yeah yeah um pastor wesley says quite often if you read your bible it'll make you a better christian right [Laughter] and if we read our bibles like we'll find stories of people that lived in their time but dealt with things we're very much familiar with elijah in the face of death right uh he was depressed at some point he was anxious yeah like death looked better than life considering what he was going through um jesus on the cross before he even made it to the cross in the garden of gethsemane crying out like tears dropping like blood crying out that this would pass from him this assignment this purpose and that connects with what you said marcia there's some things god has orchestrated for us to come closer to draw closer to him so that we would move from that stagnant mindset of religion and y'all don't send me no emails about this because i just stand on it moving from that stagnant place of religion to that beautiful bountiful place of relationship hey you you i'm sorry you mentioned i know because you're getting ready to go i'm gonna sit over here and just watch y'all preach but you mentioned elijah and i think we talked about it a bit earlier like like even in his running you know he still kind of ran into god right and and i was speaking with someone just a little while ago that mentioned not being able to hear god and i was saying well thing elijah you know there was wind there was earthquake and there was fire and then there was that gentle whisper you know i and the first question they asked him was what you doing here so it's like why are you in this place yeah so you know and getting to your point about about us existing and walking and living and and achieving and doing all those things in grace a lot of those traditions have been so stabilized in mosaic law and rigid you know so we get to the part about grace but we still stuck over here like we're tied to it right right so so don't send me no emails either i want to well we'll talk about this later but when you were talking about like you know not being able to hear from god yes right um and this i know we're gonna talk about this way later but i kind of wanted to just segue and we're gonna do that later about being still which is a technique we'll talk about later with the meditation and things like that yeah and how to tap into hearing from god um so we'll just put a little we'll put a pen there i promise we'll come back to that um so so far right we've talked about like how it is important for us to recognize that our relationship with god is key in managing um identifying well identifying and then managing with anxiety right that that is as christians right so if this conversation we're not in this context we probably would be going a different route right but because this is a christian context it is absolutely key that we kind of ask that hard question of ourselves who is god to me right what do i what what what foundational beliefs do i have about god um how closely connected am i to god right and then how then do i allow god to be a part of not just the when the things are bad moments but the all the time uh every aspect of my life moments how do we get how do we transition from that moment from that place to that you know that level um and so that comes with hard questions having those hard questions um pastor wesley and yes i'm gonna refer to pastor wesley because he's kicked this off and he is the amazing pastor of the alpha street baptist church but in the first sermon he was very transparent right he shared his own personal struggles with anxiety and then even beyond that he shared some of the coping mechanisms that he chose right but he couldn't even get to that place if there wasn't this awareness that happened right so once we kind of have the relationship um conversation with ourselves and work to restore that uh so that we connect closer and closer with god and we'll talk about some techniques uh in that aspect uh there's this disposition that we have to take where we're just gonna have to be honest right we're just gonna have to tell the truth about what we're going through right right and what we're doing and what we're doing that's right that's right i mean that's to kind of piggyback on what you were saying that was the beauty of of pastor's willingness to be yeah transparent because he ain't the only one that's right and and a lot of us in our community you know we drink too much smoke too much you eat too much buy too much sex too much you know because we're trying to deal with the stuff that we're feeling don't they want to feel better we just won't feel different right yeah so we get into all of those things you know and then it becomes problems so now we're in debt now we're alcoholic now we're addicted you know and it just continues and those things are easy yes yeah those are easy fixes yeah the real work i didn't mean to cut you off the real work is easy [Laughter] i just wanted to say those are easy fixes right like the real work is beyond finding something easy that's just right she can talk about those techniques yeah even the therapy right yeah that requires work that requires work um so that's not as easy as just shopping and all those things you mentioned yeah and they feel good yeah and then in the moment they feel good it releases those endorphins and dopamines and stuff like that but but after a while yeah there's nothing else yeah you know there's nothing else to get that's right that's right um and then we get back to the root of the issue that hasn't been addressed right right um and so you're looking for the next thing to help you're looking for the next fix right um using terms that are familiar in alcohol or drug recovery you're looking for that next thing um but there is no next uh there is work and and it takes healing work and honest transparent work and then there comes this um awareness that has to happen so we'll talk about this idea of sitting still anxiety causes us to race and run um trying to either project what the future is going to do right or what's going to happen or what's going to be there or what's waiting um and so there's this constant uh action this constant um you know i hear people say that my my mind just won't shut off right my mind won't shut down right uh i lay awake at night right not the song but i mean listen but i lay awake at night right and my thoughts they just keep going and there is no relief and i feel overwhelmed um and so when we get into that state um we we find ourselves um just kind of running against what what what our normal position should be right when god says like come and cast your cares on me i i care about you i love you bring it to me bring your burden let's do an exchange like let me take that heavy stuff from you um and i'll give you something that's so much lighter and easier for you to care carry um but if we don't have that awareness if we are uncomfortable with sitting still it's very difficult to get to that place of transition absolutely we i think for some of us we're in this constant strive for ease comfort and pleasure and say that again ease comfort and pleasure i want it to be comfortable and by all means it's got to be pleasurable wow and we're in this constant stride for that and and for most of us we're in a society of predictable outcomes that's true i pay this i get this you i do this i get that and it's when that stuff starts not working right those outcomes aren't as predictable so now i got to fix managing control so now when i can't fix managing control everything so now it's like spinning it's really it's like yeah because i got to spin this one i got to get back over here i got to do this one and this is over here i got to pick the kid up i got to go to church i got to do this i got it yeah yeah and then now we're swirling and all of this stuff and then when it crashes yeah you know uh for some folk they bottom out for some folk they just they get wound up and and then they come see us yeah right yeah and so listen here's a good place to kind of segue uh for disclosure like this is not a therapy session okay this is information and we want you to use this information for you to make the best informed decision for yourself so listen take this information um take some time to sit with it there's a lot listen we're three therapists we listen to people all day we are excited to have an opportunity to talk about uh so we could talk all day long uh but we'd like to hopefully we'll be able to come back and be able to share some additional points and particularly dive into some tools that help manage anxiety but our goal today was one to make sure that we gave a definition to that we help you understand how normalizing anxiety is significant and key and then we want to make sure that um after normalizing man anxiety that we have a working understanding of how it manifests what it looks like where some of these uh where do we get some of this from um and then now now that we kind of have all of that information we want to then make sure that you know that god is always our connecting point uh that the complete finished work that christ has done on the cross has given us access uh to this peace and joy uh for this abundant life that jesus christ says i came to give you um i came to give you life and that more abundantly and so that you know that you have a hope in the god that loves you and a god that cares for you and a god that literally filled in the gap of sin by giving the life of his son so that we could be made into brand new creatures and some of them and then so some of this that we are dealing with we'll be able to use it as our testimony right so these tests will turn and transition into testimony they don't have to be stigmas and secrets that we cannot heal um and so i'll let you all kind of come in with the final word and we'll see if we listen we'll see if we get invited back and we'll come and talk about uh some some real tools that will help help you work through and navigate anxiety final words um finally i just you know want to remind everyone it's a normal um situation anxiety is normal um there are tools tips and resources yeah um and hopefully as we move forward you can have access to those resources and um you know whether it's referring out whether it's you know other techniques that we can kind of talk about but just to start this conversation maybe within your own personal circles you know maybe even just self-reflection like am i having some anxiety um do i need to talk to somebody do i need to just say okay let me just be still for a moment tap and be mindful to what's going on um and just know that it's okay to say i have x y and z it's okay to have a therapist and pray and have jesus so yeah yeah absolutely okay any final words for you you know i'm thinking you know the truth about you yeah you know you we are the experts on ourselves you know it's that willingness just to be honest about your situation yeah you know and once you are honest about it then now take the necessary steps to either do something different or stop doing what you're doing you know so um i'm excited i mean i you know this is this is our wheelhouse so we we do this like like you preachers sit around and talk you know what's therapists we sit around staff cases right so no i'm excited i i just would encourage anyone you know please reach out um we're here yes um we're excited and willing to do the work that god has placed in front of us and yeah yeah i think it might be good if we just close out with a word of prayer um you guys i hope that you've been encouraged enlightened and informed by this discussion uh and so let's just close out with a word of prayer kind god we come before you today and we thank you we thank you one for being our father we thank you for being the lover of our soul and not just our soul but our mind our body our spirit and god we just thank you for the opportunity to share with this audience and uh that you are good uh that you do all things well and that even in the worst circumstance or situation that you are able to help you are able to give us hope and you are able to heal us in places that we might be afraid to reveal and so father i pray that this broadcast and the work and ministry of the alfred street baptist church particularly the office of christian care and counseling that you will continue to use us for your service that you will touch those that should be touched and that you will connect us with those that we need to reach and connect thank you god for all that you've done and we give your name all praise all glory and honor it is in jesus name we pray amen amen thank you for tuning in so alpha street members you have a wealth of resources available to you by way of the well-being ministries here offered at the church those ministries include our agape ministry agape will help facilitate workshops related to mental health we also have divorce care which will provide support during uh and after a divorce we have grief share which will support in the loss of a loved one additionally we have our recovery ministry particularly they focus on addiction related to drug recovery and alcohol recovery we also have our hiv and aids ministry as well they do a lot of work with information and support we also have faith on canvas that is an art therapy ministry so for the artists in you to merge your faith your art and some self-care faith on canvas is that ministry additionally we have hannah's prayer which will help help manage and navigate issues of infertility as well as provide support and lastly we have our rise ministry and rise is the ministry that will support domestic violence thrivers and survivors in addition to sexual trauma victims and survivors so listen there are a number of ways that you can connect so if you don't want to use therapy as your initial route you can touch base with a well-being ministry and if in fact you feel that therapy is what you need you can reach out to pastoral counseling at alphastreet.org [Music]

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Id: FFZKAw-MVCQ

Length: 67min 11sec (4031 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021