The Goal

Families come in all sizes and shapes. So do their problems. Ministry has shown you that every phase of married life brings unique challenges. They start before a couple can say "I do," and keep coming after children arrive, turn into teenagers, leave the nest, and the 'golden' years arrive. The seasons of life are an obstacle course that every family must navigate. But not all families are successful. You long to help these families. You want to equip every family to meet the challenges of every stage of life. Talbot can help.

Videos

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The Strategy

Year One: Healthy People (Johnson, Thurman)

In the first week of this residency we focus on your personal wholeness. In the second week we focus on how to develop communities of transformation and healing. We will help you see that real change occurs within small groups of people working together, through various issues, over an extended period of time.

Year Two: Healthy Marriages (Johnson)

Healthy marriages are the basis of healthy families. We will learn how to develop and foster growth within your own marriage as well as how to cultivate a ministry of reconciliation in the marriages around you. In the second week you will gain an ability to develop ministries designed for the unique context of your church, ministries that bring healing to broken marriages and families.

• viable counseling models
• non-traditional family structures
• appropriate referral strategies
• common ethical issues

Year Three: Healthy Communities (Johnson)

Like Jesus, we want to reach out to our hurting world. We will show you how to reach out redemptively to your community through family ministries. During the first week, Dr. Gary Strauss will explain how to minister to people suffering from addictive bondage. The final week will feature Dr. H. Norman Wright teaching how to reach out to individuals and families in the wake of crisis, loss, and trauma.

The Faculty Mentor

Dr. Rex Johnson is the Director of Talbot's Pastoral Care and Counseling Program as well as the Associate Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership.

Dr. Johnson founded and for 10 years directed Ministry Associates, Inc., a counseling ministry. He is actively involved in curriculum development and teacher training ministries in the former Soviet Union countries, Africa, and the Pacific Rim. He conducts marriage and family workshops and ministries. Besides contributing to many Christian magazines, journals, and texts, Dr. Johnson has published several books, including Communication: Key to Your Parents and At Home with Sex. Dr. Johnson also co-authored Building Positive Parent-Teen Relationships; Communication: Key to your Teens; Characteristics of a Caring Home; Life at the Crossroads; and Foundations of Christian Ethics.

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