I recently changed the name and URL for my blog from: MyExGayJourney to MySSAJourney. I thought the URL (myexgayjourney.blogspot.com) would transfer to the new URL (MySSAJourney.Blogspot.com), but I guess that didn't work.
The reason for the change is NOT due to any change in my own beliefs or goals. It is just that I never intended to use the term "Ex-Gay" anyway. I don't believe any of us are created TO BE gay and this journey isn't about become "Ex" anything as much as it is about growth and healing in authenticity and assertion - releasing shame and other false identities and counter-emotions.
Anway, I hope to share more here soon. I've been preoccupied with ministry work (http://www.Joel225.com) and my regular full-time job in the corporate world, so I haven't had much time for writing. I hope to get more prolific in the future though.
Pax Christi,
Jeremy
Monday, January 20, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
15 Minutes a Day
This past week, a group of my friends in Joel 2:25 (http://www.Joel225.com) started meeting via teleconference each morning to pray Lauds (Morning Prayer: http://universalis.com/). The teleconference line is one that we set up exclusively for prayer and it's available 24/7.
Right now, we have two groups that meet every day: the Compline or night prayer group at 10:30PM CST and the new Morning group. Both of these are traditional liturgical prayers (from the Psalms) and they are awesome, but they are mostly from my own Catholic tradition. Our group is very diverse and at least half of Joel 2:25 guys are evangelical or charismatic and many are from Orthodox traditions. I would LOVE for us to get more daily groups with other forms of prayer / worship.
Besides the obviously most important aspect of communal worship and praise for our King, there is a practical/ministry benefit. I've been reading a few different books lately on Addiction recovery. They are not specifically related to SSA, but all of them site the importance of "Keystone Habits" and positive community / group involvement and relationship with God as the most important factors for healing - recovery and long term sobriety.
When I first started Joel 2:25 about a year ago, I focused exclusively on deep emotional processing. My biased judgement at the time was that this was the area most ministries neglected. I developed the protocol we currently use for our Small Groups with the intention of creating safe and "sacred" space to enable vulnerability and deep catharsis. Our Small Group leaders are all really skilled in this type of work and I think those small groups are going really well.
At the same time, I'm realizing there is a LOT of value in short DAILY groups - even if it's only 15-20 minutes. It can be a huge help in developing sexual sobriety and spiritual growth. From what many therapists are telling me, this is critical for anyone to get real benefit out of the catharsis work.
Anyway, if anyone here would be interested in participating in or leading a daily group (15-30 minutes) for prayer, worship, scripture study, etc. - please let me know.
Pax Christi,
Jeremy
Right now, we have two groups that meet every day: the Compline or night prayer group at 10:30PM CST and the new Morning group. Both of these are traditional liturgical prayers (from the Psalms) and they are awesome, but they are mostly from my own Catholic tradition. Our group is very diverse and at least half of Joel 2:25 guys are evangelical or charismatic and many are from Orthodox traditions. I would LOVE for us to get more daily groups with other forms of prayer / worship.
Besides the obviously most important aspect of communal worship and praise for our King, there is a practical/ministry benefit. I've been reading a few different books lately on Addiction recovery. They are not specifically related to SSA, but all of them site the importance of "Keystone Habits" and positive community / group involvement and relationship with God as the most important factors for healing - recovery and long term sobriety.
When I first started Joel 2:25 about a year ago, I focused exclusively on deep emotional processing. My biased judgement at the time was that this was the area most ministries neglected. I developed the protocol we currently use for our Small Groups with the intention of creating safe and "sacred" space to enable vulnerability and deep catharsis. Our Small Group leaders are all really skilled in this type of work and I think those small groups are going really well.
At the same time, I'm realizing there is a LOT of value in short DAILY groups - even if it's only 15-20 minutes. It can be a huge help in developing sexual sobriety and spiritual growth. From what many therapists are telling me, this is critical for anyone to get real benefit out of the catharsis work.
Anyway, if anyone here would be interested in participating in or leading a daily group (15-30 minutes) for prayer, worship, scripture study, etc. - please let me know.
Pax Christi,
Jeremy
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Please join us in prayer or let us pray for you
In Joel 2:25, we would like to keep YOU in our prayers. In addition to the video-conference support groups, participants gather in small groups at several different times each day to pray using our 24-Hour Prayer Teleconference line.
Currently, we have two establish daily groups that meet at the same time each day for Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer). The prayers we use for each day are available online at:http://universalis.com/
Our dedicated prayer line is up 24/7 so we hope we can add more daily groups soon including Charismatic, evangelical, and Greek Orthodox groups.
If there is anything we can pray for you about or if you would like to join us in one of our prayer groups, please contact us: http://joel225.com/joel_021.htm
Saturday, January 4, 2014
"Becoming a Whole Man" - by David Matheson
Here is a great new resource which is really excellent: http://becomingawholeman.com
Also the website for the "Center for Gender Wholeness": http://genderwholeness.com/
I highly recommend the book and the interactive website. The "Masculine Archetypes" that David Matheson describes are the "King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover." They are also referenced in many other men's programs - including the Promise Keepers.
I actually have 8 books on my shelf right now about the "Masculine Archetypes" as well as one on the feminine archetypes.
Anyway, this website is really awesome! David Matheson is also one of the creators of the JiM weekend (Journey into Manhood) http://www.PeopleCanChange.com/jim I hope to have him come to one our Joel 2:25 meetings (http://www.Joel225.com) as a guest speaker later this year.
Pax Christi,
Jeremy
Also the website for the "Center for Gender Wholeness": http://genderwholeness.com/
I highly recommend the book and the interactive website. The "Masculine Archetypes" that David Matheson describes are the "King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover." They are also referenced in many other men's programs - including the Promise Keepers.
I actually have 8 books on my shelf right now about the "Masculine Archetypes" as well as one on the feminine archetypes.
Anyway, this website is really awesome! David Matheson is also one of the creators of the JiM weekend (Journey into Manhood) http://www.PeopleCanChange.com/jim I hope to have him come to one our Joel 2:25 meetings (http://www.Joel225.com) as a guest speaker later this year.
Pax Christi,
Jeremy
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