Care for the Chronically Wounded
Matthew Woodley
January 1, 1997
Pastoring the deeply wounded is actually a gift. It exposes my impatience.
—Matthew Woodley For the third time in a week, Ed Hastings burst into my office with a health crisis—only this time, it was really serious. He threw his arms around me and began to weep. "Pastor Matt," he choked, "you better start planning my funeral. I think I have AIDS." As it turned out, Ed had never engaged in high-risk behavior nor had he been tested for AIDS. It was simply Ed's way to up the ante on his personal problems. So as he clung to me sobbing and shaking, I began to mentally list his other ailments. Over the past seven years, Ed had called the Mercy Ambulance crew for half a dozen alleged heart attacks (one during a worship service), two cases of dehydration (he forgot to drink), an ulcer, and a possible hernia (it was just a pulled groin muscle). I also recalled my tri-weekly sessions to deal with Ed's depression, addictions (including pot, sex, alcohol, prescription drugs—to date), suicidal thoughts, relational crises, employment struggles, family problems. For six years I had pastored Ed through every crisis, praying with him in countless hospitals and emergency rooms. But his "AIDS crisis" was the last straw. I finally realized that Ed's soul functioned like a sieve: the more I poured in, the more he leaked out. After dozens of crisis counseling sessions, Ed was still looking to me to fill him up, and my arm was weary from pouring. Whether we like it or not, Ed represents a growing subgroup in our increasingly dysfunctional society. Carl George calls them EGRs—the Extra-Grace-Required parishioners. Gordon MacDonald prefers VDPs—Very Draining People. I like CWN—the Chronically Wounded and Needy parishioner. Who Are CWNs?
Like Ed, every CWN ...
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