Christian faith values equally all facets of human life and experience. Physical wellness and activity are not “inferior” to intellectual or aesthetic qualities. It is in the balance, unity, and harmony of the entire person (or community) that true wellness emerges. For Christians,the ultimate goal of life is, through Christ, to be restored to complete unity with God—a harmony in which all the fragmentation and division that cause self-alienation and separates people from one another is finally overcome.
-- Robert R. Hansel
Who among us does not want to be well? Who would not pay to have their aches and pains disappear, their illnesses healed, their anxieties wiped away leaving no trace of worry. And who has not experienced disappointment as one solution after another reneged on its promise, and wellness remained beyond our grasp.
Yet, for Christians it's clear that wellness is part of God's intention. Jesus healed both body and soul. And Christ's message is one of transforming lives. Perhaps the problem with achieving wellness lies in our focus, how we define it, and where we look for healing.
Over the past 12 years, an organization called CREDO has held eight-day retreats to help participants come to a new understanding of wellness that is rooted in the reign of God and in union with Christ. Conference members practice self-reflection and renewal around the issues of
Identity - Who am I?
Discernment – Who is God calling me to be?
Practice – How am I responding to God’s call?
Transformation – How am I changing?
Out of the CREDO retreats has come a book organized around these four key areas of spiritual inquiry comprising essays from CREDO conference faculty members and researchers. All Shall Be Well: An Approach to Wellness, edited by CREDO Managing Director William S. Craddock, Jr., is intended to cultivate new thinking about wellness and spiritual peace in churches and communities by capturing the heart of the CREDO conference experience. More than a conference overview, All Shall Be Well underscores a progressive cycle of personal and vocational discernment that can enhance wellness and offers clarity at a time of challenge and change.
Book chapters and authors include the following:
Identity
“Values to Live By” by the Rev. Dr. Robert R. Hansel
“Toward a Theology of Wellness” by the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee
Discernment
“A Life of Discernment” by the Rev. Canon M. Renée Miller
Practice
“Practicing a Life of Prayer” by the Rev. Dr. Sam Portaro
“Emotional Well-Being: Finding Joy that Is Complete” by the Rev. Joseph A. Stewart-Sicking
“Permanent Wealth: You CAN take it with You!” by Phyllis T. Strupp
Transformation
“The Alchemy of Effort and Grace” by the Rev. Brian C. Taylor
“Fitness for God’s Mission” by the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr
As Robert Hansel wrote: "Lasting wellness and personal peace come only from the integration of all aspects of one’s life. In the end, of course, such renewal is the work of God alone. Our privilege is to offer resources, support, and assistance and then to get out of the Spirit’s way."
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