Roger Edwards – Page 4 – The Barnabas Center

couples counseling

Roger Edwards joined The Barnabas Center in 1991. He works with both individuals and couples, helping people confess their need and embrace their available choices to lead healthier lives. Roger also teaches and leads discussion groups and retreats applying the Gospel to everyday life. He is a licensed clinical mental health counselor (LCMHC), holds a master’s degree in biblical counseling from Grace Theological Seminary in Indiana and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is married to Jean; they have seven children and… Continue reading couples counseling

make choices

people are more than biological, but not less

Vector cartoon stick figure drawing conceptual illustration of sick infected man coughing or sneezing and spreading infection of coronavirus covid-19 or flu.

I’m having weird interactions. Walking down the sidewalk, I meet a stranger coming toward me. We eye each other. I used to look for signs of a warm disposition, but now I’m looking for signs of fever. I used to check out their running shoes, now I am screening for a running nose. I feel guilty for my suspicion. I’m not uneasy about their character, but rather their creatureliness. It’s their biological-ness that worries me. I know they can’t help it, but they’re a walking petrie dish, a warm fleshy… Continue reading people are more than biological, but not less

what’s happening to us?

Rear-Ended What’s happening to us? A few weeks ago, we were planning our spring. The kids were all in school. March Madness was about to begin (this year, the madness is for real). Then the news starting dribbling in, slowly, in bits and pieces. Corona-what? Surely, this will go away. Then the snowball began: flights abbreviated, concerts postponed, sports canceled, schools closed. And then came the stay-at-home orders. What’s happening to us? It’s happening fast. But, it also feels surreal, like slow motion. I’m all conflicted about it, cycling through… Continue reading what’s happening to us?

a house of cards

As the current situation with COVID-19 unfolds, I rotate through a series of emotions. I am frustrated with all the “panic.” Then I get uncomfortable. Am I taking this seriously enough? So I go buy more toilet paper. And get frustrated with the “overreacting” people in line ahead of me. I alternate between skepticism and uneasiness. I want predictability. I want my ordinary life back. And then I remember that Jesus taught me that “ordinary life” is full of trouble, thorns, thistles, and death. Read this this quote by CS… Continue reading a house of cards

confess your stress

a sculpture of the mythic Atlas holding the world over a white background

Just last week, my wife asked me a simple question and I became defensive. My reaction was quick, automatic. Didn’t even have to think about it. It didn’t feel like a choice, but…it was. We were getting ready for bed when she asked, “Why do you go into work so early?” I didn’t see the question coming, but you would have thought I did based on the series of ready-made responses. I was several sentences into it before I noticed my volume, my tone, my heart rate. But I quickly… Continue reading confess your stress

resolved 2020: make conscious emotional choices

This year, I’m making a new kind of 2020 goal. Historically, my goals have been practical: start a fitness program, paint the garage, or trim the budget. And I usually include a few character goals: listen to my wife, pray for patience, etc. But this year, I’ve got a different—and long overdue—type of goal in mind. This year I’m going to make what you might call a “structural goal.” This year I will make new choices about my emotions. This might seem like an obvious category, since my emotion affects… Continue reading resolved 2020: make conscious emotional choices

resolved 2020: gratefully make choices

I’ve lost ten pounds since September. I’m happy all over. My knees are grateful, my waistline relieved, my heart encouraged. I feel empowered (and more myself). “How did you do it?” you might ask. Modestly I answer, “It was the result of my choices.” Of course, the gaining of that ten pounds was also the result of my choices. Choices always produce results. The real question is who’s in charge of making your choices? The answer, of course, is you. We are the ones in charge, but tend to live… Continue reading resolved 2020: gratefully make choices

the incarnation

“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Growing up in a country church, I heard a lot of talk about “inviting Jesus into your heart.” The grown-ups who used that term seemed rational and competent, so I accepted the phrase. But, oh, I pondered it. I couldn’t quite make it work. I had questions. My first problem with the idea of “inviting Jesus to come live in my heart” wasn’t theological, but spatial. When I was… Continue reading the incarnation

unequally yanked

For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de-humidifier… I put them in the same room and let them fight it out. –Comedian Stephen Wright Sometimes introverts marry extroverts. When they do, a tug-of-war develops: the question of how to recharge becomes a back and forth conflict. Not every marriage, of course, is comprised of one pure introvert and one pure extrovert. But in every marriage, one spouse is a little more introverted or extroverted than the other so the tension seems to emerge in most relationships. The styles pull… Continue reading unequally yanked