Christian Living
John Fernandes
The Common and Weak Arguments of Pro-Choice ...

Roe V Wade was overturned yesterday and my social media feeds have been permeated with Pro-Choicers spewing arguments that are complete nonsense, whether I was a pro-lifer based in Christianity (or any religion) or a pro-lifer based in atheism. I will present those arguments and provide logical and scientific reasons why they are invalid. You may say “there is no absolute truth, truth is subjective.” If you do, you just contradicted yourself already and made a poor argument. To say definitely that no absolute truth exists, you are defining subjective truth as absolute truth…

The Common and Weak Arguments of Pro-Choice Unraveled
Mental Health, Life Experience
John Fernandes
Today, I Embraced My Inner Child

There is a trend in psychology going around about understanding and healing your inner child. I have never understood it until today. I think a reason seasonal depression hits me, is it brings back feelings and memories that were uncomfortable or negative for younger me. I sat on social media and observed the “memories” that it had for me for today. That only exacerbated my mood. Lost friends, past failures, broken relationships, etc. Nothing changes if nothing changes, so I took action.

Today, I chose to listen to my inner child. I chose to serve my inner child. I chose to embrace my inner child.

Today, I Embraced My Inner Child
Ministry
John Fernandes
Youth Deserve the Same Opportunity To Worship ...

Picture this. It is Sunday morning. You are attending your Sunday morning church service, yearning to experience God, working to deepen your knowledge of God, and aiming to deepen your relationship with God. You are in the middle of the musical worship portion of the service when people slam through the sanctuary doors with a ruckus. But it doesn’t stop there. They loudly speak to people throughout the congregation. Would you be distracted? I would be. Would it interrupt your worship? It would for me.

Youth Deserve the Same Opportunity To Worship As Adults
Mental Health
John Fernandes
Stages of Change for Leaving A Sinful Lifestyle

The Stages of Change Model is a key tool in addiction counseling and recovery. We can see the Stages of Change model active in more than just recovery from substances, but instead in any type of change we are endeavoring to make. This model even describes when the Holy Spirit starts convicting us for things in our life that are not of God.

Stages of Change for Leaving A Sinful Lifestyle
Mental Health
John Fernandes
Can Christians Say Addiction Is A Disease?

Recently, I have encountered many Christians who say that addiction is not a disease it is purely a matter of choice and self-control. As somebody in recovery and finishing up his Masters in Addiction Counseling, I firmly say that is bologna, and can be a very dangerous and harmful thing to say.

Can Christians Say Addiction Is A Disease?

Mental Health

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God Healed My Depression

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God Healed My Depression

 From a year ago to ever since I can remember, I always struggled with depression. There was low self-image, self-esteem, self-compassion, and self-love. I had no sense of self-worth. Most days, I passively tossed around the idea of suicide. Even when I wasn’t suicidal, fleeting thoughts like “what would happen if I was not here anymore” would cross my mind several times a day. I thought I was good for nothing except to be another statistic of people who took their own lives. Nobody would see it coming. I looked as though I was happy and had my life together on the outside. On the inside, I wanted to die.

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Where Have I Been This Past Year

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Where Have I Been This Past Year

Last summer, I graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Honors BS in Psychology and an Honors BA in Christian Studies with a minor in Worship Arts. I had a few job offers both inside and outside of ministry for after I graduated. I was working in youth ministry at my church and had my local ministers license. It seemed like I had everything together. On the inside, I was falling apart. After 2 years of sobriety from alcohol, I started drinking again at my grandma’s funeral. It started off small, and soon became a problem once again. I was spending almost every night at the bar after classes. I would find any reason to drink. I was trying to cover up the deep depression I was experiencing. Summer hit and I graduated. I had no job and no school to keep me distracted from my depression.

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Am I Leaving Ministry?

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Am I Leaving Ministry?

A few nights ago, I started thinking of all the reasons I can’t be a pastor. The small voice in my head became louder and louder. I was again on the verge of dropping out of my MDiv program. I thought what is the use, I could never be a pastor. I could never picture me as a pastor or in ministry. These were lies the enemy was telling me. To combat it, I reached out to a few people I trusted to see if there was truth in the voices or not.

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I'm Transparent, But Not Confident

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I'm Transparent, But Not Confident

 I have always been pretty open about my struggles with my mental health. This by no means is a demonstration of confidence. I always have the trepidation of being judged or getting bad feedback from being so transparent. Ultimately, I have seen time and time again how my testimony has helped people. Every so often, I share a bit of my testimony on social media or in a sermon. Every time I do, I have at least one person contact me later saying that they have been struggling with the same thing and it was refreshing to know other people do to. The devil likes to tell you that you are all alone.

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Dear Professor, I have Depression

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Dear Professor, I have Depression

Dear Professor

This summer, I thought that I was finally liberated from my depression since I had not experienced a severe episode of depression in a few years. Unfortunately, I was wrong. For several personal reasons that seemed to hit me one after the other like I was standing out in a hail storm, my depression was starting to settle in. I thought I had it under control, but it only got worse. I sought to combat it through therapy and meeting with my pastor, but that was futile. I tried to alleviate the ailment through drug therapy and antidepressants, but that was also futile. It gradually began taking a toll on my academia. It may seem at the moment like I am a bad student (in fact I think I am) but I promise I am not always like this. I don’t always skip class and I don’t always turn in my assignments late.