The Shepherd and the Shrink Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dr. Martin Fletcher
In late 2019 Dr. Marty Fletcher teamed up w/ Dr. Matt Hook to respond to the growing mental health crisis. The goal is to help people create healthy spiritual lives in order to restore meaning and purpose to individuals, families, and communities. Psychology meets spirituality.
Why is everyone so angry? There are many answers to this question, but the best is offered by the apostle James.
Today, we talk about self control. We define it and share why it’s important. We note that, if you’re 95% in control, the other 5% will rule you. We talk about the different types of psychology, explaining the problem with materialism. We share why you should never give unsolicited advice, note that people change their minds, and urge you to ask yourself what’s fighting you for control. We note the relative unimportance of control of others and discuss the proper role of feelings.
“There is no good thing that comes from my lack of self-control.” DMH
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The problem with materialistic psychology
● What is phenomenology?
● Why you shouldn’t give unsolicited advice
● The meaning of self-control
● Why you shouldn’t let your feelings rule you
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Love is easy to talk about, but it’s much harder to live. In this episode, we talk about what it means to love your enemy and how to lay down your life for someone else on this side of death.
Today, we talk about marriage. We discuss why marriage is so hard, note the importance of communication, and explain why relationships shouldn’t be competitive. We talk about why the key to a successful marriage is striving to outdo each other in acts of love and service, instead of focusing on what you get out of the relationship. We talk about what it means to lay down your life for others in a world where it’s rare to need to do so literally. We note the power of just being there for someone, and we talk about what it means to say, “Love never fails.”
“If your love’s gonna be complete, it can’t be just for the people who adore you.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Why marriage is hard
● The importance of communication
● Why relationships aren’t a power struggle
● What it means to lay your life down for someone
● The meaning of acedia
Resources mentioned
● Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
● Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
As human beings, we lose all the time. The fact is, we can’t rely on ourselves to succeed. That’s why we need to surrender to the only one who won’t let us down: God. But what does this mean?
Today, we talk about surrender. We explore the idea that life is loss, and that learning to live is learning to lose well. We note Jesus’ statement that you can only find your life through losing it, and we explain why we can look to Jesus for an example of surrender. We also share some Old Testament examples, noting that real faith is not fully based on whether or not it will work out for us.
“We’re so afraid of our surrender. We run away and do our own thing. But that’s exactly what Jesus never did.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● What does it mean to surrender to God?
● Learning how to lose well
● What is winning?
● FInding your life through losing it
● Why didn’t Jesus run away?
● Why it’s okay to be devastated
● Surrendering the small things
● Examples of surrender
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Underreacting, overreacting - people think that these reactions are merely circumstantial. And when you’re on the receiving end of these underreactions and overreactions from others, it can be hard not to take those reactions personally. It can be difficult to realize – these people aren’t out to get you. Instead, they’re likely reacting based on an old childhood habit, a childhood pattern, or a childhood wound.
Today, I discuss how people often operate from woundedness and how they can break free from this manner of response. I share what the “child in survival mode” looks like and how it manifests in people as adults. I also dive into the “Love Chapter” from the Bible and share what love is, what it’s not, and how God’s call to His people to love others plays a crucial role in responding compassionately to others who are operating from their childhood wounds.
“God showed me when people are underreacting and blowing me off, or they’re overreacting to me or to other people, they’re not out to get me. They are simply operating out of their woundedness.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The personal impact of understanding the root cause for why others overreact
● The worst time to tell someone they are operating from their woundedness
● What it means to“put away childish things”
● Understanding the phrase “ the child is the father of the man”
● How to put away childish things
● How to be free to grow into the person God created you to be
● How to recognize it’s the “little child” in you that’s acting up
● Why marriage is a union of four people, not two
● The One who can help heal the wounded inner child
● What the sixth sense is and why you should ask for it
Resources Mentioned:
● Putting Away Childish Things by David A. Seamands
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast episode with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Despondency is hard to identify, but it’s everywhere. Between the values pushed in our society and the pressures caused by things like Covid 19, it’s not easy to find joy, even if you have faith.
Today, we talk about how to combat despondency. We define it, noting that we can think of it as the reverse of joy. We talk about how it manifests and impacts the different parts of our lives. We explain the problem with self-centeredness, noting that it combats love--even when disguised with terms such as “self-love”. We share David Seamands’ 6-step Biblical approach to defeating despondency, noting the power of forgiveness. We talk about how to get to the root of a perceived problem with the help of the Holy Spirit, and we note the power of playing.
“Our society’s response to all of these problems is to look within yourself. ‘Just follow your heart,’ which means you’re completely staring at yourself. You’re constantly are taking your own pulse of, ‘How do I feel about this? How do I feel about that? What’s my identity in this? What’s my identity in that? How do I relate to this?’ And it’s all me, me, my, my, mine, mine. And we get sick of ourselves. And if we don’t know that there’s something greater out there for us to be a part of, we completely miss out.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Defining and defeating despondency
● The impact of despondency
● The 6-step Biblical approach to defeating despondency
● The importance of facing your responsibility
● Why not everyone wants to be healed
● Facing fears and the power of forgiveness
● Why God is proud of you when you’re working to defeat despondency
● The importance of playing
Resources mentioned
● Healing for Damaged Emotions by David Seamands
● Healing for Damaged Emotions - Workbook
● The Shepherd and the Shrink - Episode 32: World Methodist Evangelism with Kim Reisman
● Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
● Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
In what seems to be a chaotic and out-of-control world, it seems irresponsible and heartless not to be caught up in the feelings that come with focusing on all of the problems. But the truth is, for the most part, things are okay. And most of the things that aren’t okay are the things of this world. God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Today, we talk about doing just that.
Mindfulness might have the connotation of flaky spirituality for some Christians, but today we discuss why that’s not the case. We define it, note its long history, and discuss its many benefits. We talk about our negativity bias, which prompts us to focus on one bad thing over many good things. We talk about the role of the media in playing up our negativity bias, and we discuss the dangers of being led by your emotions. We look to Paul for an example of mindfulness in the middle of chaos and discuss why angry emotions aren’t productive. We mention gratitude's role and discuss why mindfulness is the most proactive approach you can take.
“God is more real, past, present, and future, than anything that’s floating across my screen.”
Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Mindfulness vs. mindlessness
● The benefits of mindfulness
● Overcoming your negativity bias
● The role of gratitude in mindfulness
● The importance of loving kindness
Resources mentioned
● Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast episode with your hosts, Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Traffic jams. Squeaking doors. Interruptions. Long lines. Flat tires. What do these all have in common? They’re all triggers of impatience. When was the last time you thought about the link between patience and peace? Questioned your sense of entitlement? Examined your gratitude for the things you have? Patience is easy to talk about, but the real thing is no Disney movie.
Today, we explore patience and talk about its link with peace. We talk about how patience involves an acceptance of reality and how it can help us to escape our addiction to consistency and a sense of entitlement. We explore the link between patience and gratitude and give personal testimonies about the effect of patience on our lives. We end by sharing several practices that help to cultivate patience, as well as a reflection on the price of a pearl.
“Patience is a reminder that our faith is to be lived out in real life.”
-Dr. Matt Hook
“Impatience interferes with the contemplative life.”
-Dr. Martin Fletcher
“When there is a huge problem with today, I say, ‘God, you’ve got a huge problem. I’m going to bed.’”
-Dr. Matt Hook
“Patience is optimistic because it means I am not a slave to my current circumstances.”
-Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● What is patience
● Keeping the bigger picture in sight
● Patience as acceptance of reality
● The importance of listening
● Slowness to anger
● Giving up control
● The role of humor
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast episode with your hosts, Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Everybody wants to know the secret: What’s the secret to prayer? Jesus himself said that the secret to prayer is ‘secret prayer.’ The power of prayer is far-reaching and can benefit your life in many ways. But, when many people pray, they often feel like it's not working, or they need to do it differently to be effective. Prayer is a very personal thing; it's between you and God. How do you make sure you are praying the right way, and what does that even mean?
Today, we discuss how prayer can help us through these challenging times and look at the statistics of those who choose to pray. Martin shares how prayer is assisting him through a busy schedule, and we explore some of the preconceptions many people have about prayer. We explore the importance of privacy in prayer, how some people experience emotions that others don't, and why it's OK either way. We also share how you can get started with bringing prayer into your life - even if you don't have the words - and why where you pray is important.
"Globally, in every culture, people pray.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● How prayer can impact our experience of current events
● Statistics on prayer and the people that choose to pray
● How prayer is helping Martin through his hectic schedule
● The preconceived notions many people have about prayer
● Observations from recent protests
● What is prayer and how to do it according to God's will
● How loss can bring you closer to God
● Why the privacy of prayer matters
● How what we do in public is shaped by what we do in private
● The physiological effects of prayer
● How secret prayer safeguards you from pride
● How prayer deepens with practice
● Why you don't need to worry about your motivations for prayer
● Why many people experience a raw emotional response when they pray
● How Science and Faith are not in opposition to each other
● Why the self-conscious emotions, such as shame, are painful
● What prayer has done for Matt's life
● Why it's ok if you pray and don't have emotions
● How you can pray even when you don't have the words
● How you can get started in prayer with confidence
● Why where you pray is important
● How Jesus taught us to worship and what the prayer He gave us means
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast episode with your hosts, Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Everyone looks for hope, purpose, and peace, and many seek help from a therapist to find them. While this is an important and incredibly helpful step, many people don’t know about the mental health benefits of a relationship with Jesus.
Today, Pastor John Reed joins us to talk about the hope, purpose, and peace that come from following Jesus. We discuss mental health in the Church and note the importance of fellowship and community. We talk about the importance of recognizing that flaws are nearly universal to humans--even St. Paul. We discuss the most effective way to evangelize and why kindness to others doesn’t need to mean that you condone their decisions and beliefs. We also offer three pillars of evangelization.
“Understand where you were and who you were, and what He did for you anyway.” Pastor John Reed
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Why we know ourselves best through others
● Mental health in the Church
● The importance of community
● Accepting who God says He is instead of who we want Him to be
● The three pillars of evangelization
Resources mentioned
● Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
● Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast episode with your hosts, Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Possession may conjure up the many images from movies and cartoon-like visages of the devil. There are many references in the Bible, and it can be a struggle to relate concepts in the scriptures to today. Even though these are ancient teachings, they are still very much relevant today. So, what is possession? Does it still happen in this day and age? How do you recognize the signs, and what can you do to guard yourself against evil in the world?
Today, we discuss how outside influences can become part of us and how we can often feel bound by them. We explore the differences between ideological and demonic possession and how it is not always the instant process we may think. We discuss how a healthy sense of sin is helpful and why we should not hate ‘evil’ people. We share how spiritual problems are not correctable with human solutions and why the Bible's teachings are still relevant today. We also discuss the power of belief, how you can deal with the feelings of being bound, and your best weapons against the modern world's evils.
"There's always something that you can't see, controlling something that you can." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Do outside influences truly possess us
● How all belief has a metaphysical element
● How symbolism helps to reflect the true meaning of faith
● How we can feel bound by outside things
● The difference between demonic and ideological possession
● Why possession is not the quick or instant process we may think it is
● How healthy guilt or a sense of personal sin can stop things from getting out of hand
● Why an unsubmitted will can allow evil in
● Why evil people are not to be hated
● How we can follow scripture to mock the devil in the world today
● The story of possession in Mark 5:1 and how it relates to modern times
● How we entomb ourselves with things that are not life-giving
● How spiritual problems can't be reconciled with human solutions
● Why the teachings and actions in the Bible can help with the modern conditions we see in others
● How we can change our view to look above what the world shows us
● The power of belief and how it shapes our world
● How you can deal with the feeling of being bound
● What are demons, demonic possession, and your best weapon against it
Resources Mentioned:
● The People of the Lie - by M. Scott Peck
● The Road Less Traveled - by M. Scott Peck
● The Screwtape Letters - by C. S. Lewis
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
People are finding it harder and harder to trust, and this leads to isolation, loneliness, and even affects our relationship with God. How can we fix the trust epidemic?
Today, we talk about trust. We define it, share some statistics on it, and explain why some people find it harder to trust than others. We discuss why trust is needed, and we note that there’s no fear in love. We explain why our weaknesses are actually opportunities for trust. We point out the link between trust, humility, and admiration, and we note that you can be a trusting person without being naive. We explore the danger of isolation, cautioning that it makes you vulnerable to the devil’s temptations. We distinguish between solitude and loneliness, we share Henri Nouwen’s story of a trapeze artist he once met, and we point out that you need to trust God to trust others.
“You shouldn’t be willing to trust everyone. That doesn’t mean you should trust no one.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The definition of trust
● Why you should trust
● Why lack of knowledge is an opportunity to trust
● The link between trust, humility, and admiration
● Believing that most people are doing the best they can
● The dangers of isolation
● Solitude vs loneliness
● Henri Nouwen on trust
● The power of acknowledging the presence of God
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
A common misconception of Christians everywhere is that to love is to take on others’ problems. Actually, though, it’s destructive both to others and to ourselves when we try to do that, as well as when we try to get others to take on our problems. Boundaries are what help us to determine which responsibilities are whose, and today I (Dr. Matt Hook) talk about why that’s important. I do it in the context of the book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Cloud and Townsend.
In this episode I discuss virtue signaling, how to square saying no with being a loving person, and the dangers of being nice out of fear. I talk about why a lack of boundaries is unhealthy and why refusing to take on others’ problems is actually the more loving option. I talk about distinguishing God’s voice from Satan’s in the context of guilt, and the difference between responsibility to and responsibility for. I note that boundaries keep the good things in and the bad things out, and I finish with a note on how it’s okay that sometimes people won’t understand.
“There are some people here who have taken on way more than God ever wanted you to.”
“Boundaries are where I end and someone else begins.”
“Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to have other-control. Only self-control.”
“We are responsible to other people, and we are responsible for ourselves.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● When to say no and when to say yes
● Being nice out of fear
● The call to be a servant
● Why you shouldn’t take on other people’s problems
● Guarding your heart
● Why you shouldn’t keep the good things out and the bad things in because of feelings of unworthiness
Resources mentioned
● Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
● Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
The power of our words is something that may not always be at the forefront of our minds. Many people speak or react without genuinely thinking about what they are saying and its effect on others. Speech is all around us, and the power within our tongues can rule our household. The words you use determines how you influence the world around you. So, how can you make sure what you are saying is received in the right way? How can you be more mindful of the way you build relationships through your language?
In today's episode, we discuss how words can take on a whole life of their own and why we should be careful about the language we choose. We explore how the terms we use can affect other people's feelings and why we need to think about the spirit in which something is said rather than the exact words used. We discuss negative language, cursing, and how withholding words can be an act of aggression. We share the lessons we can take from the Book of James and how our words are gifts from God. We also examine how our timing is crucial, why silence can be beneficial, and the things you can do to be more considerate in your comments.
"There is a direct connection between our heart and our words." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● How our words can take on a life of their own
● How we can take hold of our words to explain what's going on
● Why we have to be very careful with our speech
● Why what’s behind the speech is a crucial part and how what we say influences how other people feel
● Why it's not always the message that matters but the spirit in which it is given
● How speech is often used to manipulate
● Withholding words as an act of aggression
● How you can learn to change the negativity in your language
● How the stories we read online are made to create a response
● How words can change the course of someone's life
● Why you need to pay attention to your words to guide your life
● The lessons we can take from the Book of James and how God has given us an incredible gift to use our words
● Why your spiritual attitude affects your words
● How the timing of your comments can be just as significant as the words themselves
● Questions you can ask yourself before speaking
● The benefits of silence
● What is gossip and why it's harmful
● The practice we can do to improve our words and how we use them
Resources Mentioned:
● Be Still and Know by Jenny Ho-Huan
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Underreacting, overreacting - people think that these reactions are merely circumstantial. And when you’re on the receiving end of these underreactions and overreactions from others, it can be hard not to take those reactions personally. It can be difficulty to realize – these people aren’t out to get you. Instead, they’re likely reacting based on an old childhood habit, a childhood pattern, or a childhood wound.
Today, I discuss how people often operate from woundedness and how they can break free from this manner of response. I share what the “child in survival mode” looks like and how it manifests in people as adults. I also dive into the “Love Chapter” from the Bible and share what love is, what it’s not, and how God’s call to His people to love others plays a crucial role in responding compassionately to others who are operating from their childhood wounds.
“God showed me when people are underreacting and blowing me off, or they’re overreacting to me or to other people, they’re not out to get me. They are simply operating out of their woundedness.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The personal impact of understanding the root cause for why others overreact
● The worst time to tell someone they are operating from their woundedness
● What it means to“put away childish things”
● Understanding the phrase “ the child is the father of the man”
● How to put away childish things
● How to be free to grow into the person God created you to be
● How to recognize it’s the “little child” in you that’s acting up
● Why marriage is a union of four people, not two
● The One who can help heal the wounded inner child
● What the sixth sense is and why you should ask for it
Resources Mentioned:
● Putting Away Childish Things by David A. Seamands
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Stress, loss of peace, family challenges, and relationships - or the lack of them have plagued the lives of many now more than ever. These times when you feel alone, isolated, and lonely could be seasons of spiritual dry spells that are inevitable parts of everyone’s journey. But are you aware that you can be the one preventing God from helping you?
In today’s episode, we discuss what a spiritual dry spell is, the signs to identify that you are going through one, and what God could be telling you during this season. We discuss what ‘spiritual warfare’ is and the type of circumstances that lead people to take action toward change. We discuss why happiness isn’t always a great teacher. We also discuss what you can do when it feels like God is leaving you hanging and share examples of healthy ways to start dealing with spiritual dry spells.
“Each time God brings along a dry spell, there is something that He wants to work out in your life. It could almost be a message of hope even though you feel abandoned for the moment.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Where in the Bible you can see people going through spiritual dry spells
● How people cope with spiritual dry spells and why they cope the way they do
● The most impactful thing we could say to someone
● What spiritual warfare looks like
● How to identify what your message is and how it impacts others
● The circumstance that makes people act to make a change
● Why happiness is not a very good teacher
● Behavior vs. Feeling - where is a good start to overcome dry spells
● The parallelism and representations between the prophet Ezekiel’s story in the Valley of Dry Bones to modern-day dry spells
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Life can be exhausting and overwhelming, and we often make it worse by trying to push ourselves past our limit. This isn’t healthy and it isn’t what Christ wants for us. Instead, He commands us to set aside a full day every week for Him. Your first thought might be, Who has time for that? Join us today as we talk about why YOU do, and why it’ll actually help you to be more productive in the long run, not to mention more healthy, more at peace, and closer to God.
That’s right, today we tackle the Sabbath. Join us as we talk about the importance of resting, the ways in which the Sabbath strengthens our relationship with God and others, why it stems from God’s love for us, and why even the busiest person needs it. We discuss the purpose of the Sabbath, diving into how God’s creation is a gift for us and how the Sabbath is our time to stop everything to enjoy it and partake in it. We discuss the effects of keeping the Sabbath holy, including the feeling of safety we so often crave, the rhythm it instills in our life, the rejuvenation, and the improved spiritual and mental states.
“God’s not coming to take time away from us. He’s coming to give us time.”
Dr. Martin Fletcher
“We think that God doesn’t understand the 24/7 world that we live in, but it wasn’t easier back then.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“Your real issue is not with the Sabbath. It’s over the authority of Christ in your life.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“God rested to delight in his creation and enjoy it.”
Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The holiness of the Sabbath as set apart for God
● Enjoying the product of our work
● The lightness of Christ’s yoke
● Christianity as a relationship.
● God’s sovereignty over time
● Learning to put yourself to bed
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Throughout our lives, there will be challenging times, and maintaining calmness can be difficult. Today, it is more challenging than ever to find peace and have a calm state of mind. The chaos around us has a profound effect on our wellbeing, and finding serenity is not easy. So, how do you navigate your way through tough times and remain in a calm state?
How do you find a sense of peace... and what does that even mean?
In today's episode, we explore the meaning of calmness and how it differentiates from peace. We share how many people look for peace in the wrong places and how you can bring yourself into the moment to promote calmness. We discuss how the way we wait for what we want affects our peace and sense of calmness and why it's essential to help others. We also share how the story of the Prophet of Elijah is relatable to all of us today and the things we do each morning to promote calmness that we can take with us throughout the day.
"There is a strength in the midst of chaos; you can still be calm." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● What is calmness and how is it different from peace
● Phenomenology and the exploration of experience
● The scripture that changed Martin's life
● Why peace through hedonism is fleeting
● How we look for peace in the wrong places through judgment and division
● Why we need to understand that all people have to go through the same difficult path to God
● How being in the moment and seeing the truth helps to bring calmness
● What is the value of peace
● How the attitude we take while we wait affects our peace
● How to help someone find a sense of calm
● How we can all relate to the Prophet Elijah
● How getting outside of yourself and helping others is beneficial
● Why confidence, peace, calm, and faith are all interlinked
● How Matt starts his day to create calmness
● How daily disciplines can train your peace
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Humility can come in many forms. We know humility and the ability to be humble is a good trait to have and in some cases, it’s easy to identify a humble person. But in other situations, humility and humbleness can often be a little tricker to spot.
Today’s episode is all about the character virtue – humility. I discuss why it’s often hard to stay humble and maintain your humility when serving people – especially when those people don’t appreciate what you do. I discuss why, for some people, being right seems to be more important than being humble. I discuss why genuinely humble people don’t actually think of themselves as being a humble person. I also discuss how the Bible says you can cultivate humility, the discipline required to cultivate it, and the importance of considering your uniqueness as a gift from God.
“Humility doesn’t come from a place of weakness. Humility comes from a place of strength and inner security.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Why humility is a good character trait to have
● The connection between humility and continuing to serve people who do not appreciate what you do
● Being humble versus being ‘right’
● How focusing on yourself draws you away from God and other people
● How to cultivate humility
● The discipline required to cultivate humility
● Thinking of your uniqueness as gifts from God instead of flaws
● The difference between selfish suffering and selfless suffering
● Asking yourself: Are you ready to follow God into and with humility
Resources Mentioned:
● The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Why don’t people get the help they need? There are many reasons, ranging from stigma to sex to fear of weakness. But the truth is, none of these reasons are good enough.
Today, we talk about why you should seek help. We note that people tend to view therapy as a last resort, and that they’re often afraid to expose their weakness. We point out that seeking help requires strength, and we discuss the biblical idea that our strength lies in our weakness. We explain why self-care is closely linked to other-care, and we talk about what Ruth and Naomi have to teach us about healing well. We discuss the different levels of fear, and we note that people tend to prefer the hell of a predictable situation to the heaven of an unpredictable one.
“We were not wired to be as alone and as isolated as all of us have been.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“People confuse familiarity with safety.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● Overcoming stigma about seeking help
● Why people view therapy as a last resort (and why they shouldn’t)
● Why seeking help shows strength
● The link between self-help and other-help
● What Ruth and Naomi can teach us about healing
● The different levels of fear
● Stepping into the unknown
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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What is our response to the insane level of critique, suspicion, judgmentalism, and confusion in our world? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but an underrated and overlooked solution is gentleness.
Today, we talk about gentleness. We discuss why it’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit and why it’s directly connected with strength. We talk about the link between gentleness and meekness, and we emphasize the importance of being gentle with yourself. We note that engaging in anger makes you smaller, not bigger, and we talk about why gentleness is effective. We define the purpose of gentleness and note that it’s a lens through which to see everything else.
“Until you’ve been treated gently when you probably didn’t deserve it, you might not understand the strength and the power and the goodness that is available in gentleness. But sometimes we have to be the recipient of something before our eyes are opened to it.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
● The meaning of gentleness
● Why gentleness isn’t weak
● The link between gentleness and meekness
● Being gentle on yourself
● Why engaging in anger makes you smaller, not bigger
● Why it’s so much easier to act like a Christian than to react like one
● The strength of self-control
● Gentleness as a way of keeping God in the middle of our lives
● Sadness vs anger
● Gentleness as a lens through which to see everything else
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
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Life is difficult, and running from that fact doesn’t change it. Ironically, the best tactic for making life less difficult is to accept this fact. But once we accept it, how do we move through it? The secret is faithfulness.
Today, we talk about this virtue. We distinguish between love and faithfulness and talk about how they’re related. We share definitions of patience and explain why creation can be called faithful. We point out that the things you don’t see are as important as the things you do, and we explain why this confirms the fact that you matter. We talk about why you shouldn’t avoid suffering--and why it’s not even in your best interest to do so--and we posit that it’s okay to struggle. We note that life is not a sprint and discuss the effects of sin. We explain what it means to keep your eyes on Jesus and we define gentleness.
“Gentleness is not weak; gentleness is bridled strength.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“You’re not a failure because you’re struggling.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why accepting that life is difficult makes it less difficult
- The power of faithfulness
- Definitions of patience
- What interferes with faithfulness?
- The faithfulness of creation
- Why you matter
- Why you shouldn’t avoid suffering
- Why focusing on yourself makes you miserable
- What it means to keep your eyes on Jesus
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Most people think they have some time left in their lives, but the truth is, we don’t know that. Expected or not, you could die at any moment. That’s why it’s important to ask yourself what things you would wish you had done or said if you were on your deathbed right now.
Today, we talk about memento mori. We note that our death is out of our control and that it may come sooner or differently than we anticipate. We talk about what it means to leave a legacy, pointing out that our death belongs not to us but to the people who survive us. We talk about harbinger dreams, and we urge you not to leave things left unsaid. We talk about what the Bible has to say about preparation for death, and we share our own personal experiences with death. We offer guidance on how to know what your priorities really are, and we share advice on how to store up your treasure where it will last.
“We don’t always have the opportunity to write our exit script.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why your death is not your own
- Memento Mori
- What will matter after you’re gone?
- Harbinger dreams
- Why you should say what you want to say now
- What people usually wish they had done more
- Why God shouldn’t just be another item on your priority list (even if He’s priority number 1)
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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As human beings, we lose all the time. The fact is, we can’t rely on ourselves to succeed. That’s why we need to surrender to the only one who won’t let us down: God. But what does this mean?
Today, we talk about surrender. We explore the idea that life is loss, and that learning to live is learning to lose well. We note Jesus’ statement that you can only find your life through losing it, and we explain why we can look to Jesus for an example of surrender. We also share some Old Testament examples, noting that real faith is not fully based on whether or not it will work out for us.
“We’re so afraid of our surrender. We run away and do our own thing. But that’s exactly what Jesus never did.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What does it mean to surrender to God?
- Learning how to lose well
- What is winning?
- FInding your life through losing it
- Why didn’t Jesus run away?
- Why it’s okay to be devastated
- Surrendering the small things
- Examples of surrender
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Why is everyone so angry? There are many answers to this question, but the best is offered by the apostle James.
Today, we talk about self control. We define it and share why it’s important. We note that, if you’re 95% in control, the other 5% will rule you. We talk about the different types of psychology, explaining the problem with materialism. We share why you should never give unsolicited advice, note that people change their minds, and urge you to ask yourself what’s fighting you for control. We note the relative unimportance of control of others and discuss the proper role of feelings.
“There is no good thing that comes from my lack of self-control.” DMH
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The problem with materialistic psychology
- What is phenomenology?
- Why you shouldn’t give unsolicited advice
- The meaning of self-control
- Why you shouldn’t let your feelings rule you
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
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Many, many people have been affected by the death by suicide of a loved one. In these times, it’s hard to know what to say. In this episode, I (the Shepherd) take you through the helpful and unhelpful ways to show your love and support to a person struggling with such a loss.
Today, I talk about suicide. I list some of the dumb things people say when they want to show their love but don’t know how. I point out that we don’t judge someone’s life based on their worst moment. I share some helpful things to say to or ask a person struggling with a loved one’s death by suicide. I note that, in general, there’s no way to tell if someone is going to commit suicide, and I note that death by suicide does not mean anyone’s failure. I share Corrie Ten Boom’s words on hopelessness, I explain why you should see yourself as a climber instead of a runner in life, and I note that you can trust God with your damaged emotions.
“No one ever suffers alone, and no one can out-cry God.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why not everything is the will of God
- The ministry of presence
- Why we do not judge someone’s life by their worst moment
- The power of using the person’s name
- Warning signs of suicide
- Why death of suicide does not mean failure
- Where to go from here
- God’s power to heal our memories
Resources Mentioned:
- Dexter United Methodist Church
- Dexter UMC Facebook page
- Dexter UMC YouTube channel
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Life is hard, but there’s always joy to be had. One of the sources of this joy is the knowledge that we’re not the only ones who suffer.
Today, we talk about our common problems. We discuss the problem of suffering, sharing why its presence doesn’t discredit the goodness of God. We note that, though you are unique, your problems are not, and we talk about why it helps to know that others share your struggles. We explain why discipline makes you free, emphasize the importance of tolerance, and warn against the dangers of isolation.
“You’re completely unique, but your problems are not as unique as you think…and that’s why I love that we get to talk about this.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“Our strength is in our weakness.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The commonality of our struggles
- The problem of pain
- Why discipline makes you free
- The importance of being understanding
- The problems with isolation
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Life is hard and we all have to carry our crosses, but we have a tendency to focus on those crosses a little too much. In this episode, we talk about why that is.
Today, we talk about negativity bias. We note that, though we tend to connect the dots and form patterns from bad things, we rarely do the same for good things. We talk about why our society over-values happiness. We define interference and discuss how to overcome it. We talk about why we need to think less, and we point out Jesus’s response to the storms in our lives: to walk all over them. We talk about the Jesus prayer and define mercy.
“God is never not working on me.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why we need to connect the dots of the good things that happen to us
- Letting Jesus overcome the storm
- Negativity bias
- Eliminating performance interference
- The performance formula
- Why we need to think less
- The Jesus prayer
- The definition of mercy
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Last week, we talked about humility: what it is, why it matters, and how to live it. Today, we talk about its counter vice: pride.
In this episode, we explain what pride is and why it’s such a big deal. We note that it leads to every other vice, defining it as the anti-God state of mind. We warn that it’s hard to see sometimes and we share a list of places pride might hide. We note that it takes humility to repent, and we share lessons from the story of King Uzziah on how pride leads to our downfall. We distinguish between reality and distortions, noting that the former is rarely too much for us to handle. We offer advice on whom to look to for wisdom, and we note that, though God certainly wants you, He doesn’t need you.
“The only way to fail is to quit.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
“God wants to work through your life, but God doesn’t need you in the way that we think he does.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why pride is the great sin
- Where pride might be hiding
- The reason for success
- The power of failure
- Lessons from the story of king Uzziah
- Reality vs distortions
- Why you shouldn’t take advice from someone you don’t want to be like
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Humility is hard to define and harder to live out. In this episode--Part 1 of a two-parter--we talk about humility: what it is, how to recognize the real thing, and how to live by it.
Today, we define humility. We discuss the problem with going with the flow, explain what real tolerance is, and share why having humility isn’t something to spend time worrying about. We explain the traps it’s easy to fall into and talk about why the foolproof way to escape them is to stop focusing on yourself. We note that discipline is an important key to humility, also noting that any disciplined person has failed over and over again. We also talk about Mary, explaining how she showed her humility and why she provides the answer for us.
“Who are you when no one is looking?”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is humility?
- The problems with going with the flow
- Real tolerance
- Why focusing on being right gets in the way of humility
- Why thinking about whether you’re humble is a trap for pride
- Developing real discipline
- Mary as an exemplifier of humility
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Lent has begun, and it’s important to clarify the point of it. There are all sorts of ideas about the purpose of Lent, but whether we hold these ideas consciously or unconsciously, we need to straighten them out.
Today, we talk about Lent. We discuss the liturgical year, explaining what it is and why it’s important. We note that practice doesn’t always make perfect, and we note that we can’t divide our attention. We discuss the benefits of fasting and explain why it’s similar to feasting. We go into the spiritual disciplines, defining them, listing them, and sharing why they’re important. We offer a new definition of sacrifice, discuss delayed gratification, and note that you’re already sacrificing whether you know it or not. We talk about the power of moving on when you fail, and we note the importance of following God for the right reasons.
“Take your attention off the things that you’re sacrificing for right now, and move it to the thing that will absolutely satisfy you.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The purpose of Lent
- The liturgical year
- Why practice doesn’t always make perfect
- Why fasting is similar to feasting
- The power of solitude
- Ths spiritual disciplines
- The definition of sacrifice
- Why you’re already sacrificing anyway
- Following God for the right reasons
- Moving on after failure
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We often let fear rule our lives, whether it’s in the form of anxiety, numbness, apprehension, or many other forms. However, it doesn’t need to. In this episode, we share why you have nothing to fear.
Today, we talk about fear. We explain the purpose of healthy fear, discuss the different things we fear, and explore what it’s like to live in fear. We discuss the link between self-consciousness and anxiety, talk about why we fear vulnerability, and note that love necessitates vulnerability. We define fear of the Lord and explain why it’s the solution to the fear problem. We discuss the different types of fear, talk about what therapy can and can’t do, and distinguish between love and fear. We also explain why you should let yourself be vulnerable, citing C.S. Lewis.
“Because of my faith, I know God is God. I know God is.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The purpose of fear
- The link between self-consciousness and anxiety
- What it means to be vulnerable and why we fear vulnerability
- What is fear of the Lord?
- The different types of fear
- What therapy can and can’t do
- Why to love is to be vulnerable
- Why vulnerability isn’t weakness
- The difference between love and fear
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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The devil’s greatest weapon is low self-esteem, because he uses it to attack our very identity as children of God. He uses it in four key ways, and in this episode, I (the Shepherd) explore these ways and talk about how to defeat them.
Today, I talk about low self-esteem. I share what Paul and John have to say on the subject and explain why it’s Satan’s most powerful weapon. I list the four ways that Satan uses low self-esteem to attack us, sharing insight on how to fight back against each. I note that the Holy Spirit helps us dream bold dreams, and I explain why low self-esteem attacks these dreams and limits your potential. I talk about why low self-esteem ruins your relationship with yourself, others, and God, and I explain why we can glory in our weaknesses instead of lamenting them. I warn that Satan’s lies are often small enough to float just under the radar, I ask what the cost is of fighting back against your low self-esteem, and I note that loving others doesn’t mean hating yourself.
“You cannot think wrongly and live rightly.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“Let God love you. Let him teach you how to love yourself and love others.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The power of community
- Why the devil’s schemes aren’t just bodily
- What Paul and John have to say about low self esteem
- The four ways that Satan uses low self-esteem and how to fight back
- Why low self esteem destroys your dreams
- Why low self esteem ruins your relationships
- Glorying in your weaknesses
- Turning away from any voice that’s not God’s
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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People are finding it harder and harder to trust, and this leads to isolation, loneliness, and even affects our relationship with God. How can we fix the trust epidemic?
Today, we talk about trust. We define it, share some statistics on it, and explain why some people find it harder to trust than others. We discuss why trust is needed, and we note that there’s no fear in love. We explain why our weaknesses are actually opportunities for trust. We point out the link between trust, humility, and admiration, and we note that you can be a trusting person without being naive. We explore the danger of isolation, cautioning that it makes you vulnerable to the devil’s temptations. We distinguish between solitude and loneliness, we share Henri Nouwen’s story of a trapeze artist he once met, and we point out that you need to trust God to trust others.
“You shouldn’t be willing to trust everyone. That doesn’t mean you should trust no one.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The definition of trust
- Why you should trust
- Why lack of knowledge is an opportunity to trust
- The link between trust, humility, and admiration
- Believing that most people are doing the best they can
- The dangers of isolation
- Solitude vs loneliness
- Henri Nouwen on trust
- The power of acknowledging the presence of God
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Despondency is hard to identify, but it’s everywhere. Between the values pushed in our society and the pressures caused by things like Covid 19, it’s not easy to find joy, even if you have faith.
Today, we talk about how to combat despondency. We define it, noting that we can think of it as the reverse of joy. We talk about the ways it manifests and its impact on the different parts of our lives. We explain what the problem is with self-centeredness, noting that it combats love--even when it’s disguised with terms such as “self-love”. We share David Seamands’ 6-step Biblical approach to defeating despondency, noting the power of forgiveness. We talk about how to get to the root of a perceived problem with the help of the Holy Spirit, and we note the power of playing.
“Our society’s response to all of these problems is to look within yourself. ‘Just follow your heart,’ which means you’re completely staring at yourself. You’re constantly are taking your own pulse of, ‘How do I feel about this? How do I feel about that? What’s my identity in this? What’s my identity in that? How do I relate to this?’ And it’s all me, me, my, my, mine, mine. And we get sick of ourselves. And if we don’t know that there’s something greater out there for us to be a part of, we completely miss out.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Defining and defeating despondency
- The impact of despondency
- The 6-step Biblical approach to defeating despondency
- The importance of facing your responsibility
- Why not everyone wants to be healed
- Facing fears and the power of forgiveness
- Why God is proud of you when you’re working to defeat despondency
- The importance of playing
Resources mentioned
- Healing for Damaged Emotions by David Seamands
- Healing for Damaged Emotions - Workbook
- The Shepherd and the Shrink - Episode 32: World Methodist Evangelism with Kim Reisman
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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As we head into our third year on the podcast, we focus in this episode on the power of listening, asking the question: what does it really mean to win an argument?
Today, we talk about how to listen well. We note that there’s a shortage of good listeners today and talk about the meaning and relevance of epistemology. We discuss the power of role models and talk about what it means to be a good listener. We note that religion is not an opiate; constant noise is, because it lulls us into living without really listening to ourselves or others. We also share the best question to ask to tune into how someone is really doing.
“You can’t understand anything or anyone until you’re willing to stop talking.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“When someone disagrees with you, they are not attacking your existence.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The meaning of epistemology
- The power of role models
- Being a good listener
- Why people are generally doing the best that the can
- Constant noise as the opiate of the masses
- The best question to ask to tune in to how someone’s doing
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Love is easy to talk about, but it’s much harder to live. In this episode, we talk about what it means to love your enemy and how to lay down your life for someone else on this side of death.
Today, we talk about marriage. We discuss why marriage is so hard, note the importance of communication, and explain why relationships shouldn’t be competitive. We talk about why the key to a successful marriage is striving to outdo each other in acts of love and service, instead of focusing on what you get out of the relationship. We talk about what it means to lay down your life for others in a world where it’s rare to need to do so literally. We note the power of just being there for someone, and we talk about what it means to say, “Love never fails.”
“If your love’s gonna be complete, it can’t be just for the people who adore you.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why marriage is hard
- The importance of communication
- Why relationships aren’t a power struggle
- What it means to lay your life down for someone
- The meaning of acedia
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
The lone hero is a popular figure in media. Particularly in the United States, we tend to value independence as the key to happiness. But the truth is, human beings are meant to live in community. We need each other.
Today, we talk about the importance of relationships. We share statistics on the power of relationships, noting that we’re not meant to be alone. We share what the Bible has to say about our need for community. We explain why the key to happiness is not independence, note the importance of just trying, and talk about what to look for in good relationships. We also note that we’re not meant to fight our spiritual battles alone.
“The truth is, you absolutely have to have other people in your life if you're gonna be all that God wants you to be.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The importance of relationships
- Statistics on the power of relationships
- Why we’re not meant to be alone
- Ecclesiastes on the power of community
- Why independence is not the key to happiness
- What to look for in relationships
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Nikki Calloway is an independent consultant and district manager with Arbonne, a high school field hockey coach, and the full-time plant manager of a chemical manufacturing facility in Dexter.
Today, she joins us to share her testimony on healthy eating and living. She talks about what your goal should and shouldn’t be, and she explains that healthy living doesn’t mean giving up everything you like. She notes that many people don’t realize how terrible they feel on a daily basis until they go through a cleanse process, and she stresses her prioritization of progress over perfection. She talks about how to identify the triggers that affect your body, and we discuss our ability to be proactive instead of reactive with our health. She discusses the 30-day rule, and we note the power of personal choice.
“You’re not just forming a habit; you’re breaking an addiction.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Input vs output goals
- Nikki’s testimony on healthy eating
- The power of progress over perfection
- Identifying the triggers that affect your body
- Proactive vs reactive healthcare
- The 30-day rule
- The power of personal choice
Resources mentioned
- Email Nikki at callowaynlc55@gmail.com
- Text Nikki at (734) 649-3488
- Nikki's Website
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We know the lessons from God on how He wants us to live our lives and how those lessons will genuinely help. But knowing and learning are two very different things. We may read the Bible and study the many life-enriching things within the text, but achieving those things may not be something you are doing. So, how do you do what you know? How can you transfer those lessons of being peace-loving, merciful, and submissive into your daily life? Doing what you know sounds simple enough, so why are we not doing it?
Today, I discuss Casey Stengel, the legendary baseball coach, and the many brilliant quotes he said that can help everyone. I share how the book of James can guide you on how to live your life with God and how the lessons will raise your spiritual wellness. I explore how society almost encourages negativity in certain people and how your attitude affects everyone around you. I also discuss the real meanings of being submissive, forgiving, merciful, and peace-loving and how living what you know with God will enrich your life.
"We spiritually grow up, or we spiritually wither up, depending on our ability to forgive others." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why Casey Stengel is one of my favorite personalities in all of history
- How we raise our spiritual IQ
- How we can learn from the Book of James
- Why the way you live shows your spiritual wisdom
- What are the consequences of spiritual wisdom
- How society is encouraging a strain of people who oppose everyone and everything
- How your attitude affects those around you
- What you can do to move towards a peace-loving attitude
- How choosing forgiveness will help you move towards God's wisdom
- What being submissive means and why it can help you
- The ways of measuring spiritual wellness
- What it means to approach someone with mercy and how that raises your spiritual IQ
- How living what God said and doing what you know changes your heart and your life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Life can be exhausting and overwhelming, and we often make it worse by trying to push ourselves past our limit. This isn’t healthy and it isn’t what Christ wants for us. Instead, He commands us to set aside a full day every week for Him. Your first thought might be, Who has time for that? Join us today as we talk about why YOU do, and why it’ll actually help you to be more productive in the long run, not to mention more healthy, more at peace, and closer to God.
That’s right, today we tackle the Sabbath. Join us as we talk about the importance of resting, the ways in which the Sabbath strengthens our relationship with God and others, why it stems from God’s love for us, and why even the busiest person needs it. We discuss the purpose of the Sabbath, diving into how God’s creation is a gift for us and how the Sabbath is our time to stop everything to enjoy it and partake in it. We discuss the effects of keeping the Sabbath holy, including the feeling of safety we so often crave, the rhythm it instills in our life, the rejuvenation, and the improved spiritual and mental states.
“God’s not coming to take time away from us. He’s coming to give us time.”
Dr. Martin Fletcher
“We think that God doesn’t understand the 24/7 world that we live in, but it wasn’t easier back then.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“Your real issue is not with the Sabbath. It’s over the authority of Christ in your life.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“God rested to delight in his creation and enjoy it.”
Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The holiness of the Sabbath as set apart for God
- Enjoying the product of our work
- The lightness of Christ’s yoke
- Christianity as a relationship.
- God’s sovereignty over time
- Learning to put yourself to bed
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
When Christmas comes around, we’re all looking for something. In this episode, I (the Shepherd) talk about how striving to experience Christ in Christmas is the answer we’re seeking.
Today, I talk about what it means to experience Christ in Christmas, noting that He appears in different ways. I discuss the meaning of Christmas, especially in the context of our recent Identity Crisis Series, and I name the lie that has been around since Christ’s time: that those who are being served the most are the most important. I discuss the different Gospel accounts of the nativity story, and I explain what it means to empty oneself. I note that Christmas is about God’s journey of downward mobility in emptying Himself for us, and I explain why, as His disciples, it’s now our turn to empty ourselves for Him.
“Self-emptying is the key to God’s entrance in the Christmas story.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The meaning of Christmas
- Experiencing Christ in Christmas
- Being served vs serving
- God’s journey of downward mobility
- What it means to empty yourself
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We live in a time of inordinate stress, rush, and busyness. We find ourselves pushing beyond our limits physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but this isn’t how we’re meant to live. The answer to this problem is to create margin in our life.
Today, I (the Shepherd) talk about margin: the space between your load and your limit. I explain what it is and why we need it, noting that we’re not meant to use up every bit of time and energy doing things. I talk about why creating margin is active, not passive, and I share steps for building margin in your life, explaining why it’s important to accept your human limitations, set boundaries, and make peace with the fact that life is difficult. I share an analogy of a car driving down the freeway, and I call on you to stop trying to make busyness take the place of faith.
“If I don’t make time for my wellness, I’m gonna be forced to make time for my illness.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“Faith, not busyness, is what gets the job done.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The importance of actively pursuing margin
- Statistics on our overloaded condition
- Why friendships start in the margin
- Steps for building margin into your life
- Accepting your human limitations and setting boundaries
- The power of accepting that life is difficult
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Erin Moore is a friend of Marty’s from another life. She is a healthy living strategist who focuses on holistically helping women live happier, healthier lives through improving their physical health.
Today, Erin joins us to talk about her mission. She explains what it means to be a healthy living strategist and notes the importance of going back to the basics to counteract information overload. She explains why too much information is unhealthy, she defines health, and she notes that food intake affects the brain. We discuss the link between body, mind, and soul, noting that pursuing good physical health is the gateway to good mental and spiritual health, and also that a healthy mental state plays a huge role in the journey to a healthy physical state. She talks about the power of getting out of your head, explains why forbidding yourself to eat certain things is usually counter-effective, and shares her insight on getting off of the guilt-shame cycle. We discuss the many reasons you shouldn’t shame yourself, and she notes the power of self-talk, positing that mind can create matter. She notes the importance of setting appointments with yourself, explains why you should treat time with yourself like an emergency, and shares why it’s okay to mess up. She tells why the journey to health is a one-step-at-a-time journey, and she discusses the fact that, as Christians, we have just one judge.
“Everyone for everything will always say, ‘I don’t have time.’ But yet, the moment someone else needs something...we drop it all and we’ll run to that, even if it’s not a true emergency.”
- Erin Moore
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is health?
- The link between body, mind, and soul
- The power of peace
- Humble confidence
- The importance and power of getting out of your head
- Getting off of the guilt-shame cycle
- The power of self-talk
- Being okay with messing up
Resources mentioned
- Erin’s website
- Erin on Facebook
- Erin on Instagram
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Self-love is both crucial and easily misunderstood. Disproportionate numbers of people view themselves as a burden, seeing everything bad that happens to them as a result of their flaws and thinking that they don’t deserve anything good. Overcorrecting, people often encourage complete self-acceptance and total rejection of the possibility of flaws.
Today, we talk about real self-love, which is actually often founded in pride. We note that God’s voice never belittles. We talk about the dangers of envy, and how the talented people around us don’t take anything from us; they just add good to the world. We note that St. Paul doesn’t care about what anyone but God thinks of him, and discuss why we should look to him for an example. We emphasize our identity in Christ. We talk about knowing your boundaries and how to react to judgmental people. We end with a call to accept God and give up the things keeping us from Him.
“We learn to love ourselves the way we are loved.” Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The vulnerability of children
- The danger of comparing ourselves to others
- The difference between self-love and radical self-acceptance
- Discerning instead of automatically accepting the judgment of others
- Being pleasantly dissatisfied with yourself
- Knowing your boundaries
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, we talk about our sixth problematic identity--thinking we’re beyond meaning and purpose--and we wrap up our Identity Crisis Series.
Today, we talk about meaning: why we think we’re beyond it and how to find it. We note the importance of facing up to the truth, and we talk about what it means to fit ourselves into God’s life instead of trying to fit Him into ours. We define meaning and talk about the three things Viktor Frankl says that we struggle against in our meaning crisis. We point out an inordinate focus on personal perception in our society and we define epicureanism. We discuss what we can learn from Paul when he approached the Athenians, and we note that human beings are religious creatures. We discuss the three things we need to be to combat our identity crisis, we note the meaning and power of hope, and we posit that our meaning is found in God.
“Every human being worships something. Don’t fool yourself.”
- Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Marty Fletcher
“Our identity, I believe, is found in God. We just have to discover it. We don’t have to create it.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The definition of meaning
- The three things Viktor Frankl says we struggle against in our meaning crisis
- What we can learn from how Paul approached the Athenians
- How to identify what you worship
- Being meaning-makers, truth-tellers, and faithful friends
- The power of a Christian worldview
- Finding love
Resources mentioned
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, we talk about our fifth problematic identity: thinking we’re beyond God.
Today, we talk about the ways that we as a society think we’re beyond God. We note that many people today don’t just think of God as antiquated, but as immoral. We share a brief history of the roles of various philosophers and scientists in bringing about today’s skepticism and we explain how our consumer mindset fuels it. We discuss the reasons people don’t look to God and we list the effects of this choice. We note the importance of focusing our attention deliberately and we explain what it means to pray ceaselessly. We list the things the world needs to know about God, and we note that He is not fragile. We also explain why miracles are not far-fetched.
“God has not been nudged aside from the center of the universe; only from the hearts of men and women.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How the consumer mindset affects our relationship with religion
- Why people aren’t looking to God
- The meaning of acedia
- The power of a prayer spot
- What it means to pray ceaselessly
- Why you shouldn’t treat God like He is fragile
- Why you don’t have to get freaked out by miracles
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, we talk about our fourth problematic identity: the moral relativist.
Today, we talk about what’s wrong with relativism. We give a brief review of the Identity Crisis Series so far, and we discuss our tendency to think of ourselves as being beyond right and wrong. We discuss the danger of following your feelings unreservedly, we offer a definition of postmodernism and explain its problems, and we note that issues of right and wrong are unavoidable. We explain why pursuing happiness is wrong, noting that it’s a way of traveling, not a destination. We discuss the damage of the self-esteem movement, note how much love God has for us and why that matters, and explain why sin is not just an action. We discuss the sin of acedia, we explain why following God is freeing, we emphasize the power of love, and we call you to do good things simply because they’re good.
“The problem with happiness is that it’s not a goal. It’s nothing that you can aim at. It’s a byproduct.”
- Dr. Martin Fletcher
“Christian faith is not about just decent living. It’s about rebellious men and rebellious women being restored and healed to their loving, heavenly Father through the death of His Son in their place.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“You’ll know what you worship because your attention will be on it.”
- Dr. Martin Fletcher
“God doesn’t just want to be top on my list of priorities...He wants to be the center of my life, out of which radiates every other priority.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The problems with postmodernism
- Why we’re not aiming for happiness as our destination
- Why we are not all good or all bad
- Why sin is not an action but an attitude
- The definition of acedia
- Why following God is freeing
- The power of the two greatest commandments
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, we talk about our third problematic identity: the self-focuser.
Today, we talk about what it means to be self-focused individuals. We note the roles of pride, shame, and guilt in this self-focus. We contrast humility and low self-esteem, and we talk about the confidence that comes with the knowledge that there’s something greater than you. We discuss what it means to be humble, and we explain why pursuing excitement can be a problem. We distinguish between pleasure and excitement, sharing how to identify the good kind of pleasure. We talk about what C.S. Lewis has to say about putting first things first, and we share why you shouldn’t be afraid of pain. We note that not all pleasure is good and not all pain is bad.
“Don’t look to other people to meet needs in your heart that they were never designed to meet. Even your wife or your husband or your kids or your parents--they make good people, but they make terrible Gods.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The correlation between self-focus and depression
- Humility vs low self-esteem
- Why we can’t stifle our religious instinct
- Why preoccupation with the self breeds preoccupation with pleasure
- Why the purpose of life is not to avoid suffering; it’s to learn how to suffer
- You’ll be a slave to something; why not Got?
- Why man’s place is between the sacred and the profane
- The stability of real love
- Pleasure vs excitement
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, I (the Shepherd) talk about our second problematic identity: the spectator.
Today, I talk about what it means to be a spectator and explain why that’s a problem. I share some troubling stories that emphasize that we’re becoming a world of spectators, and I note that boredom is largely a result of the Industrial Revolution. I talk about why multimedia puts our brains in low gear and share a snorkeling analogy. I list the three main ways that being a spectator is harmful, and I emphasize what it means to accept that God is a seeing God.
“Realize [that] God is absent in 99% of what you watch, although the evidence of the quest for God is everywhere in what you watch.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What it means to be a spectator
- The effects of constant entertainment
- Boredom as a product of the industrial revolution
- The effects of multimedia
- Why constant entertainment picks apart our souls
- What it means that God is a seeing God
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Welcome to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. It’s clear that we’re not happy with our identity, and in this episode, we talk about the first way that manifests itself: consumerism.
Today, we talk about what’s behind our need to pursue the newest, latest, and greatest. We share some statistics and a brief history of consumerism. We define manufactured obsolescence and discuss how consumerism plays into our spiritual lives. We talk about the importance of seeking God instead of just a certain experience of Him. We talk about what Solomon says about consumerism and define philosophic materialism. We note the importance of attention, discuss the meaning of shalom, and mention our tendency to try to fit God into our lives instead of fitting ourselves into His. We note that even atheists have a religious instinct, and we share a sneak peek at next week’s episode.
“I’m not just a consumer. That is not where I’m gonna find my ultimate reality.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- A birthday song for Marty
- The search for meaning and identity
- Manufactured obsolescence
- How consumerism plays into the spiritual life
- Solomon’s words on consumerism
- The importance of attention
- The meaning of shalom
- Why even atheists have a religious instinct
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Mark Sutter is a Christ-follower, a friend, and the recently retired CEO of Terumo Corporation, one of the largest medical device companies in the world. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Terumo is a half-a-billion dollar company that has thousands of employees around the world. Mark ran the company for seventeen years until his retirement.
Today, Mark joins us to share the story of how he found Christ and took Him into the rest of his life. He shares the story of his conversion experience, and we note the gradualness of spiritual development. We talk about the different types of grace and we discuss the difference between knowing about God and knowing Him personally. We discuss the meaning of “shalom” and note that a spiritual experience is like nothing else. We talk about the relationship between spirituality and work, and Mark shares how he brought Christ into his work life and the effects this had. He shares his four-point approach to leadership and he explains why it’s not cutthroat to make a profit in business.
“I believe that God gave us a heart to love Him and to love each other, and from that we experience joy.”
- Mark Sutter
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Finding meaning in your work
- Spiritual development as a gradual process
- The different types of grace
- The meaning of “shalom”
- The relationship between spirituality and work
- Why it’s not cutthroat to turn a profit
- How it feels to have a conversion experience
- Mark’s four-point approach to leadership
Resources mentioned
- Terumo Corporation
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We hear a lot about the impact and power of attitude, but how often do we follow through on this message? Do we really understand how much of our lives is determined by how we react to events? In this episode, I--the Shepherd--talk about why your attitude is important and what attitude we should all strive for.
Today, I offer a Bible Study and reflection on what Scripture has to say about the power we have over our attitude. I note the power of humility and its role in leadership. I ask what it means to empty yourself like Jesus, and I share examples to show what this looks like. I talk about how attitudes are contagious, and I share the questions you should be asking yourself about your attitude. I talk about the practice of the First Fifteen, and I share some quotes on the power of attitude.
“The spiritual height of Jesus...is higher--and the depth that He descended is lower--than any point that you’ve ever been.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“Entire churches have thrived or died because they have not remembered that attitudes are that powerful.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The importance of looking inside yourself and recognizing the limits of your sphere of control
- The power of humility
- What it means to be a leader and the contagiousness of attitude
- What it looks like to empty yourself and why it’s so effective
- Famous quotes on the power of attitude
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
The world is full of unproductive conversations. In politics, personal relationships, and everything in between, discussions often end in nothing but hurt. How can we counteract this trend and open the floor to respectful, productive, and loving conversations?
Today, we talk about what makes a good conversation. We talk about the difference between male and female communication and how to take those differences into account. We discuss the importance of listening with the intent to understand, and we stress the importance of humility, noting that every person we encounter has something to teach us. We discuss the definition of narcissism, exploring the ways in which it tends to rear its head in our opinions. We talk about different ways to listen well to what someone is trying to say, and we explain what it means to steel-man another person’s position.
“Oftentimes when I sit down, especially with people close to me, they don’t need to know what I think about everything. They need to know how much I care about them.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“To me, a good conversation is discovery.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The difference between male and female communication
- The three steps to a good conversation
- The importance of focus
- Why every person you encounter has something to teach you
- The power of humility
- How to steel-man an argument
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Cindy Davis has spent nearly three decades writing screenplays for animated feature films and designing new lands, parades, and attractions for various Disney theme parks. As an anxiety-sufferer herself, she has spent over two decades researching and experimenting with every anti-anxiety technique and tool that she could get her hands on. Cindy, along with her business partner, Renee Thompson developed Shrink in a Box to help others learn more about how they can cope with anxiety.
In this episode, Cindy Davis returns to the show to talk about her work with school kids and how her Shrink in a Box kit helps them manage anxiety. We talk about some of the pressures that high school students feel and these pressures lead to major identity crises with students. We clarify what ‘worldly success’ is, how it pushes us to seek personal glory, and why we should pursue spiritual goals instead. We also discuss the importance of forgiving yourself and how self-care is vital to working with your anxiety.
“What I find most of the people I talk with need is self-care, and by having their anxiety get so huge that they can't function anymore, they are forced to care for themselves. That seems to be the thing they need permission to take care of: themselves.”
- Cindy Davis
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is Shrink in a Box?
- What pressures high school students experience today and where they come from
- The nature of anxiety
- How spirituality can help manage anxiety
- What “worldly success” looks like
- How anxiety stems from seeking personal glory
- The importance of forgiving yourself
- Why shame is such a destructive force
- Preventing school student suicide
- The identity crisis that is causing more anxiety
- Why self-care is so important in managing anxiety
Resources mentioned
- The Anxiety Interviews
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Connect with Cindy Davis
- Shrink in the Box
- Shrink in the Box Email:shrinkinthebox.llc@gmail.com
- Shrink in the Box Facebook
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
The Bible is a life-changing work in many ways. Even a single verse has the power to transform a life. Today, I--the Shrink--talk about the two verses that changed mine.
Today, I talk about the different ways a person can approach the Bible, and I explain my preference for the King James Version. I talk about the verse that helped me to stop worrying, and I talk about what mammon is. I ask how we know that we love Christ, and I talk about the power of action. I also note the importance of daily practice and repentance.
“You can pay attention to your finances and your career without fear. And what you want to replace the fear with, is faith.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Replacing worry with faith
- What is mammon?
- The effects of the Holy Spirit
- The power of practice
- The importance of repenting every day
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
With everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s easy to get caught up in the big news stories, but the fact is, there are many immediate problems that we are much more capable of solving. In today’s episode, we explore where it’s possible to see this lesson and many others in the story of the Wedding at Cana.
Today, we talk about the power of Holy Scripture and explore the passage recounting Jesus’s first miracle. We discuss the timelessness of Holy Scripture and talk about the need to “do whatever He tells you.” We note that knowing God and seeing His miracles requires personal and firsthand obedience, and we talk about why it’s helpful to study Scripture together with others. We talk about the dangers of sloth and narcissism and discuss the power of the practical stuff. We also talk about why living according to Scripture is mentally healthy.
“If you want to experience God, if want to be in on stuff, if you want to be in the know, the only ones who knew what had happened, who had seen how God worked, who had some sense that Jesus is more than we could ever know, were the servants.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The power of scripture
- What it means to “do whatever He tells you”
- What it means to be God’s servant
- Becoming holy through the practical stuff
- Sloth and narcissism
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Karl Jennings is the owner and one of the leaders of Borek Jennings Funeral Homes. He owns two other companies and is the author of When We Must Say Farewell. In this episode, he joins us to talk about what happens within us when we experience loss.
Today, Karl joins us to share his story. He talks about what went into his decision to go into the funeral industry and his family’s and friends’ reactions. He discusses his experience in mortuary school and notes the gap he observed in the industry between the theoretical wish to help people and the reality of product selling. He shares the two mega-trends that he sees complicating the funeral business, and he talks about the two integrated faces of a funeral. He explains why it’s counterproductive to bottle up your grief, and he offers insight into what to say to someone who has just experienced loss.
“[The experience of being with the dead is] surreal, it’s sacred, and it’s a little scary.”
- Karl Jennings
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Karl’s story and his decision to go into the funeral industry
- The two faces of a funeral
- Why you can’t fake empathy
- The power of human touch
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
From our point of view, death often seems like the end of life, but this is not the case. Rather, death is the beginning of something new. In this episode, we talk about this truth in the context of Marty’s own recent experience with the death of his father.
Today, we talk about how grief can be transformational. We discuss the three ways the Bible talks about death, and we explain why eternal life can begin now (as opposed to just when we die). We define justification and explore what Wesleyan theology has to say on the subject of grief. We talk about different types of grace, and we note that, the closer you come to death, the less you fear it. We discuss why this is, and Marty shares his testimony of the death of his father. We note that life is active, not passive, and we share the question that everyone should ask themselves.
“When you’re talking about human beings, death is not the end of life. It’s the beginning.”
- Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What it means for grief to be tranformational
- The three ways the Bible talks about death
- Why eternal life can begin now (and not just when you die)
- What is justification?
- Prevenient grace vs justifying grace
- Marty’s testimony of his father’s death
- What it means for something to be a mystery
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Narcissism is incredibly prevalent in our society today, and it’s not making the world a better place. Today, we talk about what narcissism is and why we need its antidote, humility.
In this episode, we define narcissism. We note that it’s a personality disorder and explain why that’s important. We note the role of social media in the encouragement of narcissism. We talk about the fear of being inadequate that often lies behind narcissism. We introduce the idea of humility and talk about why it’s not just putting yourself down. We note that humility actually brings relief and why it’s a step toward self-acceptance. We also explore humility in a Biblical context
“When you’re focusing on yourself, you’re being drawn away from others.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is narcissism and what’s behind it?
- How to tell if you’re with a narcissistic person
- The fear of being inadequate
- Humility and why it brings relief
- Why the world needs humble people
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
The power of our words is something that may not always be at the forefront of our minds. Many people speak or react without genuinely thinking about what they are saying and its effect on others. Speech is all around us, and the power within our tongues can rule our household. The words you use determines how you influence the world around you. So, how can you make sure what you are saying is received in the right way? How can you be more mindful of the way you build relationships through your language?
In today's episode, we discuss how words can take on a whole life of their own and why we should be careful about the language we choose. We explore how the terms we use can affect other people's feelings and why we need to think about the spirit in which something is said rather than the exact words used. We discuss negative language, cursing, and how withholding words can be an act of aggression. We share the lessons we can take from the Book of James and how our words are gifts from God. We also examine how our timing is crucial, why silence can be beneficial, and the things you can do to be more considerate in your comments.
"There is a direct connection between our heart and our words." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How our words can take on a life of their own
- How we can take hold of our words to explain what's going on
- Why we have to be very careful with our speech
- Why what’s behind the speech is a crucial part and how what we say influences how other people feel
- Why it's not always the message that matters but the spirit in which it is given
- How speech is often used to manipulate
- Withholding words as an act of aggression
- How you can learn to change the negativity in your language
- How the stories we read online are made to create a response
- How words can change the course of someone's life
- Why you need to pay attention to your words to guide your life
- The lessons we can take from the Book of James and how God has given us an incredible gift to use our words
- Why your spiritual attitude affects your words
- How the timing of your comments can be just as significant as the words themselves
- Questions you can ask yourself before speaking
- The benefits of silence
- What is gossip and why it's harmful
- The practice we can do to improve our words and how we use them
Resources Mentioned:
- Be Still and Know by Jenny Ho-Huan
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since the COVID pandemic hit the United States. It’s been a tough year for all of us, and like with so many other experiences a lot of us are looking to be “rescued” from it. Given this, what can we learn from it all?
Join me (the Shepherd) today for a Bible study to explore what St. Mark might have to say about this question. I talk about the mess Mark got himself into and how he needed to be rescued by God, then went on to write one of the four Gospels. I note that our God is a God of second chances. I discuss the importance of reconciliation, forgiveness, and humility. I share the benefits of a good community, and I emphasize that it’s never too late to come back to God; He’ll never reject you.
“You can start now, but you can’t start two weeks from now, because you’re not there yet.”
“You can come back too.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Our need to be rescued
- The importance of reconciliation
- Why you can come back to God no matter how bad your situation is and no matter what you’ve done
- Why now is the time to come back to God
- The importance of community
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Kim Reisman is the world director of World Methodist Evangelization, with the World Methodist Council having over 84 million members globally. She has also written numerous books on Christianity and spirituality. She has been a close friend of Matt’s since they met in Cuba years ago.
Today, she joins the show to talk about her work and much more besides. We talk about the relationship between psychology and Christianity and how much good psychology can be found in the Scriptures. We talk about openness to God and being willing to give up control and explanations. We talk about the different ways Christianity manifests all over the world, and we discuss what prayer is. We talk about the necessary baseline of love in any conversation as well as the importance of rhythm, and we end on the note of looking up at God as opposed to in at ourselves.
“When things get rough like they are right now, we need to stop arguing about why they’re so rough and just start loving people.”
- Kim Reisman
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How Christianity picks up where psychology leaves off
- The willingness to experience and believe without having to understand all of the ins and outs
- The importance of recognizing that everyone is made in the image of God before engaging in any discussion about equality
- How to pursue spiritual formation
- The importance of putting good intentions into actions
- The many faces of Christianity worldwide
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
- World Methodist Evangelism website
- Embrace: Showing and Sharing the Love of Jesus
- World Methodist Evangelism on YouTube
- Plain Truth video series
- Real Faith, Real World podcast
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Mario Bueno is a published scholar, transformational speaker, and reform expert. Mario was released from prison on January 22, 2014. He graduated from Wayne State University in 2016 with a Bachelor in Business and then spent time as a legislative aide for the Michigan House of Representatives. Today, his non-profit LUCK, Inc. employs certified, formerly incarcerated men to train and mentor at-risk youth and returning citizens in an attempt to safeguard the community.
Today we discuss the transformational power of pain. Mario shares his experiences in prison that helped him surrender to God and how he has transformed his life. We talk about the impact trauma has on children and how that trauma changes people's perspectives. We also talk about how young men are disconnected from their communities and the cornerstone of criminality. We also discuss the importance of being able to adapt and accept the corrections God sends us.
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” Mario Bueno
“People want a testimony, but they don’t want a test.” Mario Bueno
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The impact of traumatic events on children
- Being forgiven in the eyes of God vs being forgiven by society
- How young men are becoming disconnected from their community
- What it means to be “born again”
- The deal Mario made with God when in prison
- Becoming the best version of yourself
- How God uses the people around us to help correct us
- Mario’s experience transitioning from prison to the real world
- The transformational power of pain
Resources mentioned
- Book: The Interlinear Bible
- Ceasefire Detroit
- Book: The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
- Book: Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl
Connect with Mario
- website
- Connect with Mario on Facebook
- Connect with Mario on Instagram
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Everybody wants to know the secret: What’s the secret to prayer? Jesus, himself, said that the secret to prayer is ‘secret prayer.’ The power of prayer is far-reaching, and it can benefit your life in many ways. But, when many people pray, they often feel like it's not working or they need to do it differently to be effective. Prayer is a very personal thing; it's between you and God. How do you make sure you are praying the right way, and what does that even mean?
Today, we discuss how prayer can help us through these challenging times and look at the statistics of those who choose to pray. Martin shares how prayer is assisting him through a busy schedule, and we explore some of the preconceptions many people have about prayer. We explore the importance of privacy in prayer, how some people experience emotions that others don't, and why it's OK either way. We also share how you can get started with bringing prayer into your life - even if you don't have the words - and why where you pray is important.
"Globally, in every culture, people pray.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How prayer can impact our experience of current events
- Statistics on prayer and the people that choose to pray
- How prayer is helping Martin through his hectic schedule
- The preconceived notions many people have about prayer
- Observations from recent protests
- What is prayer and how to do it according to God's will
- How loss can bring you closer to God
- Why the privacy of prayer matters
- How what we do in public is shaped by what we do in private
- The physiological effects of prayer
- How secret prayer safeguards you from pride
- How prayer deepens with practice
- Why you don't need to worry about your motivations for prayer
- Why many people experience a raw emotional response when they pray
- How Science and Faith are not in opposition to each other
- Why the self-conscious emotions, such as shame, are painful
- What prayer has done for Matt's life
- Why it's ok if you pray and don't have emotions
- How you can pray even when you don't have the words
- How you can get started in prayer with confidence
- Why where you pray is important
- How Jesus taught us to worship and what the prayer He gave us means
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Anger and division are at a high in our country right now, and the problems stem largely from hate. Political discussion is fueled by a want for revenge and an attitude of one-upmanship. Love is missing, and we need to bring it back.
Today we talk about loving your enemy. We define love and note that it’s not just a strong form of liking your enemy. We talk about the importance of treating your enemies with dignity instead of attempting to strip them of it. We discuss the need for making sure our opinions about people are based on something we’ve discovered for ourselves, not something we’ve been told about them. We talk about the dangers of grouping people into a bunch instead of viewing them as the individuals they are, and we end by distinguishing between love in words and love in actions.
“Loving your enemies is the quickest way to get rid of an enemy.” Dr. Matt Hook
“We’re talking about the human, not the ideologies.” Dr. Marty Fletcher
“Hate means you’ve got work to do.” Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The dangers of revenge
- Obstacles to loving your enemy
- Treating your enemy with dignity
- The importance of making sure you’re reading the situation correctly
- Showing your love
- Loving words vs loving acts
- Testimonials on the power of loving your enemies
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
A common misconception of Christians everywhere is that to love is to take on others’ problems. Actually, though, it’s destructive both to others and to ourselves when we try to do that, as well as when we try to get others to take on our problems. Boundaries are what help us to determine which responsibilities are whose, and today I (Dr. Matt Hook) talk about why that’s important. I do it in the context of the book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Cloud and Townsend.
In this episode I discuss virtue signaling, how to square saying no with being a loving person, and the dangers of being nice out of fear. I talk about why a lack of boundaries is unhealthy and why refusing to take on others’ problems is actually the more loving option. I talk about distinguishing God’s voice from Satan’s in the context of guilt, and the difference between responsibility to and responsibility for. I note that boundaries keep the good things in and the bad things out, and I finish with a note on how it’s okay that sometimes people won’t understand.
“There are some people here who have taken on way more than God ever wanted you to.”
“Boundaries are where I end and someone else begins.”
“Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to have other-control. Only self-control.”
“We are responsible to other people, and we are responsible for ourselves.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- When to say no and when to say yes
- Being nice out of fear
- The call to be a servant
- Why you shouldn’t take on other people’s problems
- Guarding your heart
- Why you shouldn’t keep the good things out and the bad things in because of feelings of unworthiness
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
We often hear the expression, “Walk in the Spirit,” but it can be hard to know what this means practically. Today, we go into the expression, talking about what it means and why it’s important.
In this episode, we dispel the notion that you can avoid all paths and explain why, since you have to choose a path, the path of the Spirit is the best one you can choose. We offer the beginnings of an explanation of the Trinity, and we note human beings’ reluctance to make choices. We discuss why CS Lewis says that the best way forward is backward when you find yourself walking down the wrong path. We note the importance of looking at the fruits of your choices, and we talk about the value of serving others. We talk about what it means for God to be merciful and loving, and we offer a few practical tips for walking in the Spirit. Finally, we discuss the significance of the word “walk” and share its implications.
“God is working with us, but not in us until we allow it.”
- Dr. Matt Hook
“Nothing connects you like serving other people.”
- Dr. Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What it means to walk in the Spirit
- An explanation of the Trinity
- Why we’re devouring one another through our division
- How to react when you realize you’re on the wrong path
- Why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask God what you need to fix about yourself
- Practical tips for walking in the Spirit
- The significance of the word “walk”
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Scripture has the power to bring our salvation. If we really believe that, then why do we reject it and instead inadvertently choose lies?
Today, we talk about the story of the first temptation. We discuss the distinction between lies and cognitive distortions, and we note the power of community. We discuss what the book of Genesis really is, and we discuss what the role of science should be. We talk about why Satan is characterized by deception, what it means to have your eyes opened to Christ, and how to overcome shame.
“Every evil thing has to disguise itself as something good. Otherwise, we’ll run from it.”
- Dr. Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Lies vs cognitive distortions
- The value of community
- What is deception?
- The dangers of doubt
- Overcoming shame
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Kristi Davis and Dave Boutette are a married couple of musicians who tour in their area and online, spreading hopeful music through their music and lyrics. Today, they share their story, and some music besides.
In this episode, we talk with Kristi and Dave about what they do. They introduce their story and talk about why courage might not be necessary for sharing your creativity with the world. We talk about the need to get a thing on its feet before worrying about its being perfect, and we talk about the benefits of turning your focus away from yourself. We note the power of music and where it appears in the Bible, and our guests intersperse the whole episode with their songs.
“There ain’t never been a day you can’t make go your way.”
- Kristi Davis and Dave Boutette
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Infectious positivity
- Creativity and the courage often needed to share it
- Necessity vs. courage
- The dangers of perfectionism
- Music in the Bible
Resources mentioned
- Long Legs and Tall Tales by Kristi Davis
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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It’s easy to forget in these crazy times, and in the calmer times too, that God has so much in store for you. As a human being made in God’s image, you are a creature of the future, and your future does not have to be determined by your past. Today, I--the Shepherd--talk about how you can turn your future into all that God wants for you through spiritual formation, specifically by reading the Scriptures.
In this episode, I go into what it means to be a human being and what it means to be made in the image of God. I talk about what spiritual formation is, and I explain why it can’t happen without God. I talk about the different ways to grow spiritually, and I note that their power lies not in themselves but in the fact that they all converge in Christ. I distinguish between love and niceness, and I note the importance of discipline. I discuss the inescapable power of the Bible, and I talk about its history. I explain how to approach the Bible, and I address its difficulties. I talk about what it means to be in a war for souls, and I talk about the weapon we need to fight it: the Holy Scriptures. I share what it looks like to pray the Scriptures, and I introduce the five steps of Lectio Divina, reading and meditating on a short passage from Luke. I talk about the importance of a listening heart and unhurried expectation, I note the value of short passages, and I end with a question for you to take into the rest of your day.
“If you were to realize that there is so much more to you than you realize, it would take your breath away.”
“Because of Jesus, your past does not have to equal your future.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- God’s great plans for you
- Being a creature of the future
- Spiritual formation and its convergence in Christ
- The importance of discipline
- The power, meaning, and history of the Bible
- How to approach the Bible
- What it means to be in a war for souls
- What it looks like to pray the Scriptures
- Lectio Divina and its five steps
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We know the lessons from God on how He wants us to live our lives and how those lessons will genuinely help. But knowing and learning are two very different things. We may read the Bible and study the many life-enriching things within the text, but achieving those things may not be something you are doing. So, how do you do what you know? How can you transfer those lessons of being peace-loving, merciful, and submissive into your daily life? Doing what you know sounds simple enough, so why are we not doing it?
Today, I discuss Casey Stengel, the legendary baseball coach, and the many brilliant quotes he said that can help everyone. I share how the book of James can guide you on how to live your life with God and how the lessons will raise your spiritual wellness. I explore how society almost encourages negativity in certain people and how your attitude affects everyone around you. I also discuss the real meanings of being submissive, forgiving, merciful, and peace-loving and how living what you know with God will enrich your life.
"We spiritually grow up, or we spiritually wither up, depending on our ability to forgive others." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why Casey Stengel is one of my favorite personalities in all of history
- How we raise our spiritual IQ
- How we can learn from the Book of James
- Why the way you live shows your spiritual wisdom
- What are the consequences of spiritual wisdom
- How society is encouraging a strain of people who oppose everyone and everything
- How your attitude affects those around you
- What you can do to move towards a peace-loving attitude
- How choosing forgiveness will help you move towards God's wisdom
- What being submissive means and why it can help you
- The ways of measuring spiritual wellness
- What it means to approach someone with mercy and how that raises your spiritual IQ
- How living what God said and doing what you know changes your heart and your life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Todd Koch is both an ex-cop and a veteran, and as such, he’s dealt with his share of trauma. He is a trauma expert and a devout believer. Today, he joins us to talk about trauma, a problem people often don’t even realize they have, and for which they sometimes don’t seek help.
In this episode, Todd shares the story of how he decided to focus his expertise on trauma, and he notes the importance of personal experience. We discuss how people with different perspectives and ages react differently to traumatic experiences. We explain why we think the term “trauma” is underused as opposed to overused, and we talk about the ACE studies. We note the importance of forgiving yourself. We list the health problems that can result from childhood trauma, and we note some of the science behind PTSD. We also discuss how going against God’s will can be a traumatic experience.
“If God can forgive us, why can’t we forgive ourselves?”
- Todd Koch
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The importance of personal experience
- Differences in reactions to traumatic experiences
- Trauma as an injury as opposed to a disorder
- The ACE studies
- Forgiving yourself
- The science behind PTSD
- Creating meaning around trauma as opposed to trying to erase it
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
We go through so much sorrow in our lives in so many things, and because of sorrow’s close connection to our ability to find meaning, it’s important to find a spiritually and mentally healthy way of coping with it.
Today, we talk about sorrow. We define it and note its connection to meaning. We talk about how incapable humans are of living without meaning, and we talk about how you can actually help a sorrowful friend and let them know you’re there for them. We talk about the toll COVID-19 has taken on us emotionally. We talk about why hiding your emotions is not a sign of strength but often just the opposite. We note the shortest verse in the Bible--“Jesus wept”--and talk about what it means for us. We talk about the best way to recover through allowing yourself to grieve. We note the dangers of watered-down Christianity and the importance of staying focused on God. Finally, we note that your life is your message and that it’s not enough to just say what you believe in if you don’t live it.
“If Jesus is our life, if He’s our pattern for living, if He’s our Lord, then we’ve been fed this lie if we somehow have this aversion to showing our emotions.”
- Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is sorrow?
- The importance of meaning
- Loneliness
- The strength of showing your emotions
- What is post-traumatic growth?
- Why the Resurrection shows us how important life is
- Your life as your message
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Narcissism is incredibly prevalent in our society today, and it’s not making the world a better place. Today, we talk about what narcissism is and why we need its antidote, humility.
In this episode, we define narcissism. We note that it’s a personality disorder and explain why that’s important. We note the role of social media in the encouragement of narcissism. We talk about the fear of being inadequate that often lies behind narcissism. We introduce the idea of humility and talk about why it’s not just putting yourself down. We note that humility actually brings relief and why it’s a step toward self-acceptance. We also explore humility in a Biblical context
“When you’re focusing on yourself, you’re being drawn away from others.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is narcissism and what’s behind it?
- How to tell if you’re with a narcissistic person
- The fear of being inadequate
- Humility and why it brings relief
- Why the world needs humble people
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Sometimes you hear people talking about spiritual warfare and think, “Aren’t they being a little melodramatic?” The answer is no, and in this episode, we talk about why.
Today, we discuss the meaning of spiritual warfare. We talk about how the battle starts in yourself and what it means to love God not just with your heart, but also with your mind, soul, and strength. We talk about what a spirit is and what the deal is with Christianity and science. We offer thoughts on distinguishing good from evil, and we note that we’re on God’s side as opposed to Him being on ours. We present the battle of Jericho as a spiritual battle and note that, often, we’re fighting the same battle as the Israelites. We note that, no matter what’s going on in the world, if you let it plant hatred and fear in your heart, the enemy is winning a bigger battle. We talk about how to respond when you’re feeling good and relaxed and how to prepare for battle in your downtime. We discuss why God sometimes delays the victory and why you should never just go through the motions.
“I couldn’t see the sin until belief came.” - Dr. Marty Fletcher
“Faith is belief in action” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Spiritual warfare
- What it means to love God
- The difference between the spirit and the soul
- The danger of hate and fear
- Preparing for battle in your downtime
- Why God delays victory
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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How can a good God allow suffering? No matter how many times we’ve been given textbook answers to this question, when we look at all the suffering and evil around us we sometimes can’t help but ask it. And as hard as it can be to find God in the suffering of those around us, it can be even harder to find Him in our own suffering.
Today, we explore this question and talk about how to find God in the midst of our own suffering. We discuss the warning signs that you’re letting go of God and we talk about the subtle forms of pride that can take hold without our realizing it. We talk about surrendering, and why it’s completely counter-cultural. We discuss the importance of complete honesty, as well as why it’s important to accept and enter into suffering instead of running away from it. We talk about what kind of emotion sadness is and why that matters. We have this whole conversation in the context of Marty’s testimony of his own experience.
“If this is what He has to do to purify me by fire, I’m gonna trust that it’s going somewhere better than when it started.” - Dr. Martin Fletcher
“Until I name what I’m surrendering, it means something is unsurrendered.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The importance of sharing your burdens with others
- Warning signs that you’re letting go of God
- What it means to surrender
- Trusting that God is in the midst of our suffering
- Why you shouldn’t passively wait for your suffering to go away
- What sadness is
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Kim Reisman is the world director of World Methodist Evangelization, with the World Methodist Council having over 84 million members globally. She has also written numerous books on Christianity and spirituality. She has been a close friend of Matt’s since they met in Cuba years ago.
Today, she joins the show to talk about her work and much more besides. We talk about the relationship between psychology and Christianity and how much good psychology can be found in the Scriptures. We talk about openness to God and being willing to give up control and explanations. We talk about the different ways Christianity manifests all over the world, and we discuss what prayer is. We talk about the necessary baseline of love in any conversation as well as the importance of rhythm, and we end on the note of looking up at God as opposed to in at ourselves.
“When things get rough like they are right now, we need to stop arguing about why they’re so rough and just start loving people.”
- Kim Reisman
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How Christianity picks up where psychology leaves off
- The willingness to experience and believe without having to understand all of the ins and outs
- The importance of recognizing that everyone is made in the image of God before engaging in any discussion about equality
- How to pursue spiritual formation
- The importance of putting good intentions into actions
- The many faces of Christianity worldwide
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
- World Methodist Evangelism website
- Embrace: Showing and Sharing the Love of Jesus
- World Methodist Evangelism on YouTube
- Plain Truth video series
- Real Faith, Real World podcast
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Everyone looks for hope, purpose, and peace, and many seek help from a therapist to find them. While this is an important and incredibly helpful step, many people don’t know about the mental health benefits of a relationship with Jesus.
Today, Pastor John Reed joins us to talk about the hope, purpose, and peace that come from following Jesus. We discuss mental health in the Church and note the importance of fellowship and community. We talk about the importance of recognizing that flaws are nearly universal to humans--even St. Paul. We discuss the most effective way to evangelize, as well as why kindness to others doesn’t need to mean that you condone their decisions and beliefs. We also offer three pillars of evangelization.
“Understand where you were and who you were, and what He did for you anyway.” Pastor John Reed
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why we know ourselves best through others
- Mental health in the Church
- The importance of community
- Accepting who God says He is instead of who we want Him to be
- The three pillars of evangelization
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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Many of us are born into a world of chaos where silence is uncomfortable. From a young age, we’re taught that, to get what we want, we need to make noise. Jenni Ho-Huan, a resident of Singapore--which she describes as similar to New York City in many ways--knows all about this problem. She is the author of Be Still and Know, a book on the power of silence.
Today Jenni joins me (Dr. Matt Hook) to talk about her book and what’s behind it. She talks about why silence seems to be counter-intuitive in our world of noise and why this assumption reveals our incorrect dichotomization of noise and silence. We discuss the importance of developing curiosity about things and not letting ourselves become desensitized to our faith. We talk about the meaning of peace, something that is largely foreign to us, and how silence can lead to peace and become transformative in your life.
“God is [in the silence] with you, and you're actually going there to be with yourself, also to be with God, so that you can come out of that space strengthened, cleansed, nourished, healthier, stronger. Maybe by very small increments, but trust me, it is happening.”
- Jenni Ho-Huan
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How Jenni came to write her book
- The meaning of the verse “Be still and know that I am God.”
- Why anxiety is not your fault
- Finding peace in silence
- Overcoming our fear of silence
Resources mentioned
- Be Still and Know by Jenni Ho-Huan
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since the COVID pandemic hit the United States. It’s been a tough year for all of us, and like with so many other experiences a lot of us are looking to be “rescued” from it. Given this, what can we learn from it all?
Join me (the Shepherd) today for a Bible study to explore what St. Mark might have to say about this question. I talk about the mess Mark got himself into and how he needed to be rescued by God, then went on to write one of the four Gospels. I note that our God is a God of second chances. I discuss the importance of reconciliation, forgiveness, and humility. I share the benefits of a good community, and I emphasize that it’s never too late to come back to God; He’ll never reject you.
“You can start now, but you can’t start two weeks from now, because you’re not there yet.”
“You can come back too.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Our need to be rescued
- The importance of reconciliation
- Why you can come back to God no matter how bad your situation is and no matter what you’ve done
- Why now is the time to come back to God
- The importance of community
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Self-love is both crucial and easily misunderstood. Disproportionate numbers of people view themselves as a burden, seeing everything bad that happens to them as a result of their flaws and thinking that they don’t deserve anything good. Overcorrecting, people often encourage complete self-acceptance and total rejection of the possibility of flaws.
Today, we talk about real self-love, which is actually often founded in pride. We note that God’s voice never belittles. We talk about the dangers of envy, and how the talented people around us don’t take anything from us; they just add good to the world. We note that St. Paul doesn’t care about what anyone but God thinks of him, and discuss why we should look to him for an example. We emphasize our identity in Christ. We talk about knowing your boundaries and how to react to judgmental people. We end with a call to accept God and give up the things keeping us from Him.
“We learn to love ourselves the way we are loved.” Dr. Marty Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The vulnerability of children
- The danger of comparing ourselves to others
- The difference between self-love and radical self-acceptance
- Discerning instead of automatically accepting the judgment of others
- Being pleasantly dissatisfied with yourself
- Knowing your boundaries
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
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We’ve just entered into Lent, and while most of us have some vague idea of what that means, we don’t usually stop to think about it too deeply, and so we don’t get as much out of it as we could. What does it mean? Why is celebrating it such a rich tradition? What spiritual benefits does it have?
Today we dive into answering these questions and more. We discuss the meaning of suffering. We talk about what repentance really is and why it’s not the same as apologizing. We talk about recognizing the voice of the Holy Spirit, and we note that the voice of God is not a voice of condemnation. We discuss the transformation that comes from true repentance and we talk about how you can reflect that transformation in your actions. We talk about forgiveness vs. reconciliation. We discuss the importance of keeping things in their proper order, and we talk about why it’s okay to be sad but we should never worry.
Reconciliation takes two people; forgiveness takes one....God has forgiven the whole world, but the whole world has not reconciled with God until they own their sin, until they repent and believe.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“God wants nothing to do with belittling you.” Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The meaning of the Christian calendar
- The meaning of suffering
- What it feels like to repent
- How Lent helps you to become the person God meant you to be
- Why repentance is as much about the future as it is about the past
- What is fasting, and why do it?
- What is hope?
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Anxiety is more of a problem now than ever. Sometimes it’s due to COVID and employment-related problems, sometimes it’s due to the regular stresses of everyday life, and sometimes it’s just there. It can range from mild to severe and it can come in all kinds of different forms, triggering all kinds of different emotions. Therapy is an important and healthy step towards defeating it, but we often need little daily tricks and reminders to get us through the day.
Today, we’re joined by Cindy Davis and Renee Thompson, the creators of Shrink in the Box, a company that makes personal anti-anxiety kits. We talk about their extraordinary stories--Cindy has struggled with severe anxiety in her own life, and Renee has walked alongside family members with the same struggle--and we discuss what anxiety is in all its forms. We talk about the importance of ritual and discuss the link between overcoming anxiety and living your faith. We note that it’s what you practice that you get good at, so you want to practice positive thinking and other healthy habits. We talk about the importance of loving yourself, and why self-hate just doesn’t make sense. We talk about the inherent value of the human person, regardless of what that person does or doesn’t do. We also discuss the importance of advocating for yourself.
“In order for compassion to be completed, to have integrity, it has to be everywhere. It has to be compassion for self and others.” - Dr. Marty Fletcher
“You have to advocate for yourself even when you feel like you’re not worth advocating for.” - Cindy Davis
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Combating futility
- What is anxiety
- The spiritual aspects of anxiety
- The importance of ritual
- Stepping away from the world and looking for peace in the most important things
- Loving yourself
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Shepherd and the Shrink Patreon
- Shrink in the Box
- Shrink in the Box Email: shrinkinthebox.llc@gmail.com
- Shrink in the Box Facebook
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.
Mario Bueno is a published scholar, transformational speaker, and reform expert. Mario was released from prison on January 22, 2014. He graduated from Wayne State University in 2016 with a Bachelor in Business and then spent time as a legislative aide for the Michigan House of Representatives. Today, his non-profit LUCK, Inc. employs certified, formerly incarcerated men to train and mentor at-risk youth and returning citizens in an attempt to safeguard the community.
Today we discuss the transformational power of pain. Mario shares his experiences in prison that helped him surrender to God and how he has transformed his life. We talk about the impact trauma has on children and how that trauma changes people's perspectives. We also talk about how young men are disconnected from their communities and the cornerstone of criminality. We also discuss the importance of being able to adapt and accept the corrections God sends us.
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” Mario Bueno
“People want a testimony, but they don’t want a test.” Mario Bueno
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The impact of traumatic events on children
- Being forgiven in the eyes of God vs being forgiven by society
- How young men are becoming disconnected from their community
- What it means to be “born again”
- The deal Mario made with God when in prison
- Becoming the best version of yourself
- How God uses the people around us to help correct us
- Mario’s experience transitioning from prison to the real world
- The transformational power of pain
Resources mentioned
- Book: The Interlinear Bible
- Ceasefire Detroit
- Book: The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
- Book: Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl
Connect with Mario
- website
- Connect with Mario on Facebook
- Connect with Mario on Instagram
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Geoff Black is the campus pastor at Northridge Church, and today he joins me (Dr. Martin Fletcher) to discuss the state of mental health in the Church. This is an important issue today more than ever because, due to many factors (including the COVID-19 pandemic), mental health is currently a pressing problem both in the Church and in the world.
Today we discuss mental health in depth. We talk about many Christians’ perception of it and how it relates to the Church. We talk about the importance of a constant and supportive community, even for introverts. We discuss the peace and hope that comes with Christianity, as well as forgiveness (both the giving and receiving sides of it). We talk about humility and note that, in Christ, failure isn’t final. We discuss the importance of a real relationship with Christ and talk about how an hour on Sundays isn’t enough to form one.
“God created us to be in relationships.” Geoff Black
“We don’t have to keep focusing on the temporary, because we have the eternal.” Geoff Black
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Mental health as it relates to the Church
- Practical application of the Bible
- The importance of a constant, supportive community
- Forgiveness and Humility
- How our failures and shortcomings don’t define us
- Obedience in action vs obedience in spirit
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Care Ministries
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
In what seems to be a chaotic and out-of-control world, it seems irresponsible and heartless not to be caught up in the feelings that come with focusing on all of the problems. But the truth is, for the most part, things are okay. And most of the things that aren’t okay are the things of this world. God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Today, we talk about doing just that.
Mindfulness might have the connotation of flaky spirituality for some Christians, but today we discuss why that’s not the case. We define it, note its long history, and discuss its many benefits. We talk about our negativity bias, which prompts us to focus on one bad thing over many good things. We talk about the role of the media in playing up our negativity bias, and we discuss the dangers of being led by your emotions. We look to Paul for an example of mindfulness in the middle of chaos, and we talk about why angry emotions aren’t productive. We mention the role of gratitude and talk about why mindfulness is the most proactive approach you can take.
“God is more real, past, present, and future, than anything that’s floating across my screen.”
Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Mindfulness vs. mindlessness
- The benefits of mindfulness
- Overcoming your negativity bias
- The role of gratitude in mindfulness
- The importance of loving-kindness
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Anger and division are at a high in our country right now, and the problems stem largely from hate. Political discussion is fueled by a want for revenge and an attitude of one-upmanship. Love is missing, and we need to bring it back.
Today we talk about loving your enemy. We define love and note that it’s not just a strong form of liking your enemy. We talk about the importance of treating your enemies with dignity instead of attempting to strip them of it. We discuss the need for making sure our opinions about people are based on something we’ve discovered for ourselves, not something we’ve been told about them. We talk about the dangers of grouping people into a bunch instead of viewing them as the individuals they are, and we end by distinguishing between love in words and love in actions.
“Loving your enemies is the quickest way to get rid of an enemy.” Dr. Matt Hook
“We’re talking about the human, not the ideologies.” Dr. Marty Fletcher
“Hate means you’ve got work to do.” Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The dangers of revenge
- Obstacles to loving your enemy
- Treating your enemy with dignity
- The importance of making sure you’re reading the situation correctly
- Showing your love
- Loving words vs loving acts
- Testimonials on the power of loving your enemies
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
In this age, people fear death for many reasons. Two major contributing factors are the dissipation of Christianity in our society and the attempts of the scientific community ultimately to prevent death. The more we try to put death off, the scarier it looks. The more we detach ourselves as a society from religion, the more detached a discussion of religion becomes from healthcare. But the truth is, healthcare and religion are deeply linked. Numerous studies show that, overall, religious people have a longer life expectancy, as well as better mental and physical health, than non-religious people.
Today, we talk about these studies and discuss why this is the case. We explore the freeing effects of not conforming to the world and talk about how open discussion of religion in hospitals could improve healthcare. We refute the idea that Christianity is a negative religion that restricts, showing its positive, freeing side. We go into the history of Judeo-Christian beliefs about the body. We discuss the importance of treating one’s body well. We close with a discussion of the importance prayer and selflessness.
“The Christian worldview inserts us into an eternal story.” Dr. Marty Fletcher
“I follow Jesus not just because I might die tomorrow, but because I probably won’t.” Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Fear of death
- The link between religion and health
- Detachment from the world
- The need for spirituality in healthcare
- The role and importance of the body
- How viewing the human race as one spiritual body frees us from comparing ourselves to others
- The role of prayer
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Beliefs and Attitudes of Hospital Inpatients About Faith Healing and Prayer
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.” It’s easy to say, but what does it really mean? What is the kingdom of God? How do we seek it? Will it really pay off, and does it really matter if it does? The Sermon on the Mount sheds light on these questions and more, and today we take a look at the answers.
Join us as we talk about the kingdom of God. We talk about entrusting tomorrow to God, remaining peaceful, and acting on an attitude of service. We discuss the dangers of outrage, which is productive much less often than most people think. We also cover topics such as the characteristics of the kingdom of God, the importance of a nonjudgmental attitude, using compassion as a benchmark to judge our actions and solitude. We end with a warning that we can’t serve both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world, and we call you to choose once and for all which you will serve.
“Every good thing, when it is under the kingship of Christ, becomes a better thing.”
“If you want to be successful, don’t work on being wonderful...If you want to be successful, make yourself useful.”
“If anything interferes with compassion, stop. Back it up.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is the kingdom of God?
- Trust vs. worry
- Holding your peace in any circumstances
- Why outrage is often counterproductive
- Being unoffendable
- Renouncing the kingdom of the world
- The eyes as the lamp of the body
- Really seeking the kingdom of God
- Solitude
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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The contentious election and COVID-19 are just two of the things causing strife in our society, and loneliness and depression are just two of the results of that strife. Division and hurt are at a high, and many people are struggling to find happiness. It’s safe to say that a lot of people are not living abundantly. Society is sick, so what’s the cure?
Today I (Dr. Matt Hook) talk about living a God life. I discuss what it means to be a Christian in a secular world, how social media is not the answer, and the importance of both a private and communal spiritual life. I talk about loneliness and the purpose of growth. I get into how love of God allows you to transcend manipulation, lies, your past, and more. I finish by listing four tips to help you grow your God life.
“The Gospel is not a hammer. It’s good medicine.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Christianity in a secular society
- Living abundantly
- Living a God life both privately and publicly
- Loneliness
- How loving God allows you to love others more.
- Four tips for living a God life
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Life can be exhausting and overwhelming, and we often make it worse by trying to push ourselves past our limit. This isn’t healthy and it isn’t what Christ wants for us. Instead, He commands us to set aside a full day every week for Him. Your first thought might be, Who has time for that? Join us today as we talk about why YOU do, and why it’ll actually help you to be more productive in the long run, not to mention more healthy, more at peace, and closer to God.
That’s right, today we tackle the Sabbath. Join us as we talk about the importance of resting, the ways in which the Sabbath strengthens our relationship with God and others, why it stems from God’s love for us, and why even the busiest person needs it. We discuss the purpose of the Sabbath, diving into how God’s creation is a gift for us and how the Sabbath is our time to stop everything to enjoy it and partake in it. We discuss the effects of keeping the Sabbath holy, including the feeling of safety we so often crave, the rhythm it instills in our life, the rejuvenation, and the improved spiritual and mental states.
“God’s not coming to take time away from us. He’s coming to give us time.”
Dr. Martin Fletcher
“We think that God doesn’t understand the 24/7 world that we live in, but it wasn’t easier back then.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“Your real issue is not with the Sabbath. It’s over the authority of Christ in your life.”
Dr. Matt Hook
“God rested to delight in his creation and enjoy it.”
Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The holiness of the Sabbath as set apart for God
- Enjoying the product of our work
- The lightness of Christ’s yoke
- Christianity as a relationship.
- God’s sovereignty over time
- Learning to put yourself to bed
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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A common misconception of Christians everywhere is that to love is to take on others’ problems. Actually, though, it’s destructive both to others and to ourselves when we try to do that, as well as when we try to get others to take on our problems. Boundaries are what help us to determine which responsibilities are whose, and today I (Dr. Matt Hook) talk about why that’s important. I do it in the context of the book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Cloud and Townsend.
In this episode I discuss virtue signaling, how to square saying no with being a loving person, and the dangers of being nice out of fear. I talk about why a lack of boundaries is unhealthy and why refusing to take on others’ problems is actually the more loving option. I talk about distinguishing God’s voice from Satan’s in the context of guilt, and the difference between responsibility to and responsibility for. I note that boundaries keep the good things in and the bad things out, and I finish with a note on how it’s okay that sometimes people won’t understand.
“There are some people here who have taken on way more than God ever wanted you to.”
“Boundaries are where I end and someone else begins.”
“Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to have other-control. Only self-control.”
“We are responsible to other people, and we are responsible for ourselves.”
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- When to say no and when to say yes
- Being nice out of fear
- The call to be a servant
- Why you shouldn’t take on other people’s problems
- Guarding your heart
- Why you shouldn’t keep the good things out and the bad things in because of feelings of unworthiness
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Before creation, the Holy Spirit hovered over the chaos. It often feels like the chaos is still here, but today we hope to remind you that the Holy Spirit is still here too. Since God doesn’t force Himself on anyone, though, you need to accept Him. Join us today as we talk about the ways the Holy Spirit can transform your life and nudge you, bit by bit, to Christ.
Today’s discussion hovers around who the Holy Spirit is, how He turns chaos into peace, what it means to live a life in the Spirit, and the meaning of Pentecost. We cover topics such as how to trust the Holy Spirit with everything, overcoming obstacles between us and Him, the role of thankfulness in our relationship with Him, and more.
“Our problem is, we trust God with some things some of the time, when we’re designed to trust God with all things all of the time.” DMH
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The breath of God
- Overcoming chaos through the Holy Spirit
- Harmony
- The meaning of Pentecost
- The Fruit of the Spirit
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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We all know how easy it is to get caught up in the problems of the world. With a pandemic and a divided nation and a million other things, the temptation has never been greater. But no matter how much we get shaken up, one thing never changes: God’s love for us. Today, we hope to remind you of that.
Join us as we talk our way through the struggles of accepting with grace whatever comes our way. Our discussion goes down all kinds of avenues including anger, loneliness, fear of change, grief, a personal testimony from Marty, and more. In all of this, we hope to leave you with the conviction that, in the end, change is simply an opportunity to find God in new places. Will you look for Him?
“Anger in and of itself is not justification for being right.” - Dr. Matt Hook
“What does a Jew do if their temple is gone?” - Dr. Matt Hook
“There’s transformation that can come though a major loss.” - Dr. Martin Fletcher
“Sheep don’t run away. They nibble themselves lost.” - Dr. Matt Hook
“I’ll cut to the chase: God wins.” - Dr. Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The pandemic
- Defeat, denial, and resistance
- The effects of the media
- Humble confidence
- What it means to be a child of the King
Resources mentioned
- Overcome Anxiety and Defeat Your Loneliness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Traffic jams. Squeaking doors. Interruptions. Long lines. Flat tires. What do these all have in common? They’re all triggers of impatience. When was the last time you thought about the link between patience and peace? Questioned your sense of entitlement? Examined your gratitude for the things you have? Patience is easy to talk about, but the real thing is no Disney movie.
Today, we explore patience and talk about its link with peace. We talk about how patience involves an acceptance of reality, and how it can help us to escape our addiction to consistency and a sense of entitlement. We explore the link between patience and gratitude and give personal testimonies about the effect of patience on our lives. We end by sharing several practices that help to cultivate patience, as well as a reflection on the price of a pearl.
“Patience is a reminder that our faith is to be lived out in real life.” -Dr. Matt Hook
“Impatience interferes with the contemplative life.” -Dr. Martin Fletcher
“When there is a huge problem with today, I say ‘God, you’ve got a huge problem. I’m going to bed.’”
-Dr. Matt Hook
“Patience is optimistic because it means I am not a slave to my current circumstances.” -Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is patience
- Keeping the bigger picture in sight
- Patience as acceptance of reality
- The importance of listening
- Slowness to anger
- Giving up control
- The role of humor
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Love is something that we seek but do we know what love truly is? Love is enriching in every way, but finding the wrong type of love can be harmful. We may aim to be a more loving person, but how do we achieve that daily? When you think about love, what do you see? We may have a movie-like vision of love, but it’s not always the way it looks on the screen. There are many aspects to love, and when we explore what it truly is, we can lead a more fulfilled life by learning to love unconditionally.
Today, we continue to explore what agape love means and how kindness is a real strength. We discuss the transformational effects of agape love and why it's not always a 50/50 thing. We explore the impact of competition and contempt in relationships and how a self-seeking attitude affects your ability to love. We share why forgiveness and sacrifice can lead you to a proper form of love. We also discuss how mercy for ourselves is essential for living with love and share a daily reflection you can use to help you be more loving.
"Love is a verb, don't go looking for it. Start producing it and you will be amazed at what shows up in your life." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is agape love
- Why kindness takes great strength
- How agape love is transformational
- Why agape love is not the 50/50 give and take we expect in relationships
- Why competition in relationships is not always helpful
- How contempt causes issues in relationships
- What is contempt, and what it does to a marriage
- Why a self-seeking perspective does not help your ability to love
- How sacrifice and forgiveness leads to real love
- Why keeping score or a record of wrongs harms our relationships
- Why we need grace and mercy for ourselves
- A meditation we can use to help us be more loving
Resources Mentioned:
- Episode 8 - Forgiveness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Love is something that can enrich our lives and elevate our experience in many ways. There are various types of love, and while we may wish to aim to be more loving, how do we do that in our daily lives? When we talk about love, what do we mean? We think we know what love is but it's not always the way it looks in the movies. There is so much more to love and exploring what it is and how we can lead a more fulfilled life when we learn to love unconditionally.
In today's episode, we discuss how we are still seeing a lot of love, even though the world is going through some testing times. We explore the different kinds of love and how our actions help us to realize real love. We look at how the New Testament shows us the transformative effects of love and the lessons we can take from 1 Corinthians 13. We discuss agape love, what it is, and how it may not be what our preconceptions are of relationships. We also share how having grace and mercy for ourselves helps us love others and a meditation or reflection exercise you can do each day to help you be more loving.
"Be the kind of person that you think you would want to be with, live that out yourself." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How there is a lot of love even in the most challenging times
- How love is realized through action
- The different forms of love
- Why the love in the New Testament is transformative
- What we get out of love
- Understanding what agape love is
- The lessons of love in 1 Corinthians 13
- Understanding what patience is and how you can be more patient
- What is kindness, and how you can be more kind to yourself and others
- The distinction between envy and jealousy and how to deal with it
- What pride is in the spiritual sense
- Why agape love is not the 50/50 give and take we expect in relationships
- How contempt causes issues in relationships
- Why a self-seeking perspective does not help your ability to love
- How sacrifice and forgiveness leads to love
- Why we need grace and mercy for ourselves
- A meditation we can use to help us be more loving
Resources Mentioned:
- Episode 8 - Forgiveness
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Possession may conjure up the many images from movies and cartoon-like visages of the devil. There are many references in the Bible, and it can be a struggle to relate concepts in the scriptures to today. Even though these are ancient teachings, they are still very much relevant today. So, what is possession? Does it still happen in this day and age? How do you recognize the signs, and what can you do to guard yourself against evil in the world?
Today, we discuss how outside influences can become part of us and how we can often feel bound by them. We explore the differences between ideological and demonic possession and how it is not always the instant process we may think. We discuss how a healthy sense of sin is helpful and why we should not hate ‘evil’ people. We share how spiritual problems are not correctable with human solutions and why the Bible's teachings are still relevant today. We also discuss the power of belief, how you can deal with the feelings of being bound, and your best weapons against the modern world's evils.
"There's always something that you can't see, controlling something that you can." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Do outside influences truly possess us
- How all belief has a metaphysical element
- How symbolism helps to reflect the true meaning of faith
- How we can feel bound by outside things
- The difference between demonic and ideological possession
- Why possession is not the quick or instant process we may think it is
- How healthy guilt or a sense of personal sin can stop things from getting out of hand
- Why an unsubmitted will can allow evil in
- Why evil people are not to be hated
- How we can follow scripture to mock the devil in the world today
- The story of possession in Mark 5:1 and how it relates to modern times
- How we entomb ourselves with things that are not life-giving
- How spiritual problems can't be reconciled with human solutions
- Why the teachings and actions in the Bible can help with the modern conditions we see in others
- How we can change our view to look above what the world shows us
- The power of belief and how it shapes our world
- How you can deal with the feeling of being bound
- What are demons, demonic possession, and your best weapon against it
Resources Mentioned:
- The People of the Lie - by M. Scott Peck
- The Road Less Traveled - by M. Scott Peck
- The Screwtape Letters - by C. S. Lewis
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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The power of our words is something that may not always be at the forefront of our minds. Many people speak or react without genuinely thinking about what they are saying and its effect on others. Speech is all around us, and the power within our tongues can rule our household. The words you use determines how you influence the world around you. So, how can you make sure what you are saying is received in the right way? How can you be more mindful of the way you build relationships through your language?
In today's episode, we discuss how words can take on a whole life of their own and why we should be careful about the language we choose. We explore how the terms we use can affect other people's feelings and why we need to think about the spirit in which something is said rather than the exact words used. We discuss negative language, cursing, and how withholding words can be an act of aggression. We share the lessons we can take from the Book of James and how our words are gifts from God. We also examine how our timing is crucial, why silence can be beneficial, and the things you can do to be more considerate in your comments.
"There is a direct connection between our heart and our words." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How our words can take on a life of their own
- How we can take hold of our words to explain what's going on
- Why we have to be very careful with our speech
- Why what’s behind the speech is a crucial part and how what we say influences how other people feel
- Why it's not always the message that matters but the spirit in which it is given
- How speech is often used to manipulate
- Withholding words as an act of aggression
- How you can learn to change the negativity in your language
- How the stories we read online are made to create a response
- How words can change the course of someone's life
- Why you need to pay attention to your words to guide your life
- The lessons we can take from the Book of James and how God has given us an incredible gift to use our words
- Why your spiritual attitude affects your words
- How the timing of your comments can be just as significant as the words themselves
- Questions you can ask yourself before speaking
- The benefits of silence
- What is gossip and why it's harmful
- The practice we can do to improve our words and how we use them
Resources Mentioned:
- Be Still and Know by Jenny Ho-Huan
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Everybody wants to know the secret: What’s the secret to prayer? Jesus, himself, said that the secret to prayer is ‘secret prayer.’ The power of prayer is far-reaching, and it can benefit your life in many ways. But, when many people pray, they often feel like it's not working or they need to do it differently to be effective. Prayer is a very personal thing; it's between you and God. How do you make sure you are praying the right way, and what does that even mean?
Today, we discuss how prayer can help us through these challenging times and look at the statistics of those who choose to pray. Martin shares how prayer is assisting him through a busy schedule, and we explore some of the preconceptions many people have about prayer. We explore the importance of privacy in prayer, how some people experience emotions that others don't, and why it's OK either way. We also share how you can get started with bringing prayer into your life - even if you don't have the words - and why where you pray is important.
"Globally, in every culture, people pray.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How prayer can impact our experience of current events
- Statistics on prayer and the people that choose to pray
- How prayer is helping Martin through his hectic schedule
- The preconceived notions many people have about prayer
- Observations from recent protests
- What is prayer and how to do it according to God's will
- How loss can bring you closer to God
- Why the privacy of prayer matters
- How what we do in public is shaped by what we do in private
- The physiological effects of prayer
- How secret prayer safeguards you from pride
- How prayer deepens with practice
- Why you don't need to worry about your motivations for prayer
- Why many people experience a raw emotional response when they pray
- How Science and Faith are not in opposition to each other
- Why the self-conscious emotions, such as shame, are painful
- What prayer has done for Matt's life
- Why it's ok if you pray and don't have emotions
- How you can pray even when you don't have the words
- How you can get started in prayer with confidence
- Why where you pray is important
- How Jesus taught us to worship and what the prayer He gave us means
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Forgiveness can feel like a huge thing to achieve and you may not fully understand the concept. We know it's important to forgive others, but how do we do that? The world we are in will always challenge us and people may not act the way you want or do the things you need. So, how do you handle that without harboring resentment and being weighed down by your expectations of others? Being unforgiving or having unforgiveness in your heart will shackle you and affect your life in many ways.
In today's episode, we discuss the current plague of unforgiveness in society and how it impacts people's lives. We explain how it can be easy to fall into the habit of debt collecting in relationships and why forgiveness is an equation. We discuss the obstacles that people need to overcome and why finding forgiveness is a courageous thing. We also talk about how you will know when you have truly forgiven someone, recognizing the signs you may need outside help to get there, and the true meaning of repentance.
"The unforgiven and the unforgiving person, they are plagued with guilt, they are plagued with resentment, but they end up spreading it." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How unforgiveness can be the cause of many issues with Martin's patients
- What we carry around if we can't get to forgiveness
- How resentment and anger lead to the desire to collect a debt
- Why it's dangerous to keep a list or play "emotional ping pong" in relationships
- How anger mixed with disgust causes so many issues
- Why forgiveness is an equation
- Why you need to forgive to receive God's forgiveness
- How forgiveness sets you free from the person that has done you wrong
- Why forgiveness is not minimizing the wrong or excusing it
- How unforgiveness is an obstacle to love
- The extent of the current problem with unforgiveness
- The obstacles you need to overcome to reach forgiveness
- Why the act of forgiving someone is courageous
- How to determine if you have forgiven someone fully
- How to recognize the signs of needing help to get to forgiveness
- What repentance is and how you can genuinely repent
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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As a psychologist, I need to be culturally sensitive. When sitting down with people, I learn about their spiritual beliefs because they are an essential part of an individual's life. A common thing I hear in my practice is, "I am spiritual, not religious." But what does that mean? Many studies show the benefits of leading a religious life, so why are people moving away from Christianity and choosing to be spiritual instead?
Today, I discuss what being spiritual means to people I meet and the reasons that have made them move away from Christianity. I share the many stories I hear about what it is in the Christian faith that causes people not to want to be part of it. I explain why the misunderstanding and misconceptions about being a "good Christian" and following the faith disciplines often drive people away. I also talk about how you can adopt Christian practices in your every day and how moving towards religion, rather than away from it, can truly benefit you in your life.
“Oftentimes, people have just not had good examples of professing Christians.” - Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink
- What does it mean to people to be spiritual?
- What I hear from people that makes them say they are spiritual, not religious
- Why the people I have spoken to choose to reject Christianity
- How the “rules” of the Church affect the way people feel about religion
- How American culture affects the way the Gospel is presented and perceived
- The disciplines and practices of Christianity that lead to transformation
- How simplicity can bring peace
- How you can use gratitude to bring you closer to Christian practices
- Why being religious doesn’t mean you have to be Christ-like
- Why people resist the path of Christianity
- How the misunderstanding about following Christian disciplines makes people reject the Church
- How true Christianity can benefit your life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Everyone experiences moments of sadness - grieving over the loss of a loved one or feeling sad over a lost opportunity. We often categorize sadness as a ‘bad’ emotion - creating stigmas and misconceptions. But the truth is: feeling sad simply means that you feel life deeply. How we deal with these moments of sadness is the key to rediscovering inner peace, grace, and love.
Today, we discuss the truth about sadness and how society misperceives this emotion as ‘bad.’ We discuss why it's important to understand that every emotion you experience - including sadness - aims to complete itself so you can discover renewed peace and equilibrium. We explain how sadness is considered an attachment emotion and why accepting and making peace with your sadness is crucial for your relationships and mental health. We describe the difference between hyper-emotions and hypo-emotions and the various ranges of emotions you can experience. We also discuss the difference between compassion and empathy and highlight how social media can influence our emotions.
“Your emotions are signals from God - even the ‘bad’ ones.” - Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How society leads us to believe that sadness is a ‘bad’ emotion
- Understanding that every emotion, including sadness, wants to ‘complete itself’
- Why we consider sadness as an ‘attachment emotion’
- The implications of refusing to accept and make peace with your sad emotions
- Common fears around feelings of sadness
- The connection between grace, love, sadness, and nostalgia
- Dealing with grief and feelings of loss
- The difference between compassion and empathy
- How philanthropy and serving others can help you cope with feelings of sadness, loss, and grief
- How social media influences our emotions
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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We know the lessons from God on how He wants us to live our lives and how those lessons will genuinely help. But knowing and learning are two very different things. We may read the Bible and study the many life-enriching things within the text, but achieving those things may not be something you are doing. So, how do you do what you know? How can you transfer those lessons of being peace-loving, merciful, and submissive into your daily life? Doing what you know sounds simple enough, so why are we not doing it?
Today, I discuss Casey Stengel, the legendary baseball coach, and the many brilliant quotes he said that can help everyone. I share how the book of James can guide you on how to live your life with God and how the lessons will raise your spiritual wellness. I explore how society almost encourages negativity in certain people and how your attitude affects everyone around you. I also discuss the real meanings of being submissive, forgiving, merciful, and peace-loving and how living what you know with God will enrich your life.
"We spiritually grow up, or we spiritually wither up, depending on our ability to forgive others." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- Why Casey Stengel is one of my favorite personalities in all of history
- How we raise our spiritual IQ
- How we can learn from the Book of James
- Why the way you live shows your spiritual wisdom
- What are the consequences of spiritual wisdom?
- How society is encouraging a strain of people who oppose everyone and everything
- How your attitude affects those around you
- What you can do to move towards a peace-loving attitude
- How choosing forgiveness will help you move towards God's wisdom
- What being submissive means and why it can help you
- The ways of measuring spiritual wellness
- What it means to approach someone with mercy and how that raises your spiritual IQ
- How living what God said and doing what you know changes your heart and your life
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Throughout our lives, there will be challenging times, and maintaining calmness can be difficult. Today, it is more challenging than ever to find peace and have a calm state of mind. The chaos around us has a profound effect on our wellbeing, and finding serenity is not easy. So, how do you navigate your way through tough times and remain in a calm state?
How do you find a sense of peace... and what does that even mean?
In today's episode, we explore the meaning of calmness and how it differentiates from peace. We share how many people look for peace in the wrong places and how you can bring yourself into the moment to promote calmness. We discuss how the way we wait for what we want affects our peace and sense of calmness and why it's essential to help others. We also share how the story of the Prophet of Elijah is relatable to all of us today and the things we do each morning to promote calmness that we can take with us throughout the day.
"There is a strength in the midst of chaos; you can still be calm." - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- What is calmness and how is it different from peace
- Phenomenology and the exploration of the experience
- The scripture that changed Martin's life
- Why peace through hedonism is fleeting
- How we look for peace in the wrong places through judgment and division
- Why we need to understand that all people have to go through the same difficult path to God
- How being in the moment and seeing the truth helps to bring calmness
- What is the value of peace?
- How the attitude we take while we wait affects our peace
- How to help someone find a sense of calm
- How we can all relate to the Prophet Elijah
- How getting outside of yourself and helping others is beneficial
- Why confidence, peace, calm, and faith are all interlinked
- How Matt starts his day to create calmness
- How daily disciplines can train your peace
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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There is a pattern of division plaguing society today. From George Floyd’s death and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to political debates over the Presidential election and the way countries are handling the COVID-19 epidemic - there is a lot of turmoil, misunderstandings, and division taking place among individuals, communities, and governments around the globe.
What can we, as individuals, do to combat this division? How can we work together to encourage more inclusion, compassion, and understanding?
Today, we discuss societal injustices, judgments, and divisions that often occur based on our own cultural beliefs and biases and how the lack of compassion, understanding, and willingness to understand other people’s opinions often breeds hate, injustice, and exclusion. We discuss how the Bible addresses issues of hypocrisy, hate, judgment, and why it’s often easier to forgive others when we acknowledge our own mistakes and imperfections. We discuss what it means to live by the Kingdom of God’s values, how God views justice, and how a steady diet of social media and news often warps our view of reality. We also discuss the impact of social anxiety, self-loathing, and anger on our mental health, God’s views on justice, grace, and mercy, as well as how to adopt these views to create a happier, healthier way of life.
“People tend to get lumped into an entire group of people because of one idea that they have - and people tend to get labeled ‘enemies’.” - Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How the lack of compassion, understanding, and willingness to understand different perspectives leads to hate and division
- The role that news and social media currently plays in the division occurring across our country
- Why we believe some versions of Christianity is more cultural than biblical
- How people often justify their judgements and hatred of others based on their own cultural beliefs or ideologies
- Why forgiving others is often easier when acknowledge our own imperfections
- Why forgiveness has nothing to do with qualifying someone’s wrongdoings
- Recognizing and understanding that all sin is a sin against God
- Why it’s unrealistic and hypocritical to expect everyone to agree
- Living by the Kingdom’s values
- Understanding the difference between news and gossip
- How social anxieties impact mental health and the psychological effects of self-hate and anger
- The connection between passive-aggressiveness and anger
- The division of self and how humbling and forgiving yourself for your mistakes can help you avoid self-division and self-judgment
- Understanding your ‘place’ in social situations
- How ‘speck checks’ help increase your compassion and improve your views of justice
- God’s view of justice, mercy, and grace and how to embrace them in your everyday life
- Why most bad things come from ignorance, not malice
Resources Mentioned:
- Book: The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Welcome to the Shepherd and the Shrink Podcast! I’m your co-host and the “Shepherd” of the show, Dr. Matt Hook. I’m the Senior Pastor at Dexter United Methodist Church and I’m on two missions: To get into heaven and take as many people with me as possible, and to provide as many ministry opportunities for as many people as possible. I grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, earned dual-degrees in Music and Business at the DePauw University, a Master's degree in Divinity at the Garrett-Evangelical Seminary, and a Doctorate degree in Ministry from the Asbury Theological Seminary. After meeting my beautiful wife, Leigh, we moved to Dexter, Michigan with our four children: Hunter, Jillianne, Graham, and Joy.
In today’s episode, I share a little about who I am and why I am constantly challenging myself to live beyond my comfort zone. I describe how stepping out of your comfort zone helps you embrace God and invite him deeper into your life. I share examples of times I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone to embark on new experiences and how they have enriched my life while helping me learn more about God. I discuss why it’s critical for parents to encourage their children to live beyond their comfort zones and how it impacts the way they treat others and view the world around them. I also explain the importance of having the courage to allow God to guide your path in facing your challenges and why God is not the destination we seek, but rather the way to achieve our desires.
“To be a good human, you need to get beyond your comfort zone.” - Dr. Matt Hook
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- How being willing to step out of your comfort zone allows you to embrace and invite God into your life
- Memorable moments when I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and the amazing rewards I’ve experienced from doing it
- Overcoming the fear of stepping out of your comfort zone through prayer
- How opportunities to step out of our comfort zone are all around us
- Turning to the Bible for inspiration and courage
- Encouraging our children to live beyond their comfort zones
- Why everything you want for your life, and in your life, resides outside your comfort zone
- Why God is not the destination, rather, the way toward achieving what you want
Resources Mentioned:
- Book: Spiritual Parenting: An Awakening for Today’s Families by Michelle Anthony
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
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Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.
Welcome to the Shepherd and the Shrink Podcast, the show where theology meets psychology and mental health meets spirituality. I’m your co-host, Dr. Martin Fletcher, founder of Renew Hope Counseling, a private counseling practice for adults, children, and families based in Dexter, Michigan. I hold advanced degrees in clinical psychology and education. In 2019, I partnered with Dr. Matt Hook, Pastor of Dexter United Methodist Church, to address the growing mental health crisis and restore meaning and purpose to individuals, families, and communities through the unique approach of blending psychology with spirituality.
In this episode I share my personal and career background and why I pivoted my career from working in the software industry to becoming a clinical psychologist. I explain why I believe Christianity is a great form of psychology and why many people hold onto the disillusioned belief that the more things you own is a symbol of your true happiness. I also discuss the five key things that completely changed my worldview, how our views of the world around us impact the way we find purpose and meaning in life, and why I believe the rates for depression, anxiety, and suicide are on an upward trend in our society.
“For a radical transformation that protects you and makes you resilient in a world full of trouble, we have to go to the higher things - which is spirituality.” - Dr. Martin Fletcher
This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:
- The connection between Christianity and Psychology
- Why materialism often leads to the disillusioned belief of what happiness really means
- Why I believe the rate of anxiety, depression, and suicide are currently on an upward trend
- Understanding sin, forgiveness, judging, and repentance
- What it means to be a ‘spiritual being,’ walk in the spirit, and how to lead a Christ-like life
- How our modern culture has ‘colored’ our views of Christianity
- Lessons I learned from reading the Bible’s Book of Matthew
- How being disciplined can bring you peace and happiness
- What the ‘fruits of the spirit’ are and how to obtain them
- The importance of practicing forgiveness and loving your enemies
Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people, like you.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.