Barnabas File

My wife and I like to watch mysteries.  We have recently been getting up to date on Vienna Blood, a PBS series that features Max Liebermann, a young neurologist in early 20 th  century Vienna, who is a disciple of Sigmund Freud.  In addition to solving crimes with his police colleague,  Detective Oskar Rheinhardt , Liebermann is an advocate of talk cure or therapy—dealing with psychological challenges and trauma through conversation.   There are many ways to think of the situation that many churches find themselves in these days.  I suggest that one option is to think of the church as the victim of trauma.  COVID, financial difficulties, burned-out clergy, departing members—all are traumatic experiences that need to be processed.  One way to address these is through conversation.   As we engage in such conversations, we are not only hearing the personal stories of individuals, but we might very well be hearing the voice of the Spirit of God.  In conversation with a trained therapist,