DON'T SHUT OUT THE SHUT-IN=++

The shut-in can be involved in ministry for the Lord, =+
and you can show them how.=+
by=+
Wendell E. Miller=+
Q. I have an elderly Christian parent who is a shut-in. How
can I minister to him more effectively? =++

A. Biblical counselors help counselees  to learn God's answers 
for spiritual and emotional needs, and they look to
counselee's personal physicians to care for any physical
problems that may affect their general health or emotions. =++

Even though this is not a medical advice column, there is some
practical advice that can be of help to family members who
have the responsibility for elderly parents or relatives. =++

You should review your father's problems with his personal
physician. He may want to run some additional medical tests to
determine if other medication or treatment is indicated. =++

If your father does not have a particular physician to look
after all of his medical needs, you should attempt to find one
who is interested in older people and who will care for all of
his medical needs personally, or who will advise you
concerning any other treatment that is recommended or supplied
by others. =++

Ask the doctor about the medications that your father is
taking and the importance of continuing them. Ask about
possible side effects of each one. =++

It may be that various doctors have added one medication after
another until your father is over-medicated. Or, since older
people's kidneys are not as efficient at excreting
medications, it may be that he is no longer able to tolerate
the level of medication that was originally prescribed. It may
be that he is over-medicated by a moderate dosage of even a
single medication. =++

Elderly people often lose their appetites and even their sense
of taste so that they become malnourished. Your father's
physician may want to give his nutrition a boost with some
supplements. =++

Be sure that his eyeglasses, dentures and hearing aid are
functioning optimally. Does his telephone have an amplifier so
that he can communicate with friends outside the home? =++

If your father is in a health care facility, check with the
nurse periodically to see that his medical care is following
the doctor's prescriptions. There may have been an inadvertent
change to his medications. =++
Now with regard to your father's spiritual and emotional
needs, be as sure as you possibly can that your father is
really saved by grace rather than his depending on his good
works (Eph. 2:8,9). If he is saved but lacks assurance of his
salvation, use such verses as Hebrews 7:24,25; 10:12-14; John
6:37; John 10:28,29; and 1 John 2:1 to give him assurance. =++

It may be that he is carrying a load of guilt and has not
learned, or does not remember, that he will receive
forgiveness by confessing his sins (1 John 1:9). It may be
that he is holding resentments against many people, so that he
needs to practice forgiveness (Mark 11:25) Honoring him as
your parent, talk to him as tactfully as possible about these
spiritual matters. =++

Your father may be feeling worthless, helpless and hopeless.
He may be frustrated, discouraged and disheartened. =++

While considering your father's needs and how you can minister
to him, we will consider his needs as typical of a large
number of the elderly and shut-ins,  and we will consider you
as typical of those who want to minster effectively to others.
=++

Many churches, Sunday school classes, schools and civic groups
present programs to shut-ins in health-care facilities. To the
extent that these programs bring some joy into lives, it is
good. To the extent that these programs present biblical truth
that is needful, helpful and edifying, this is better. To the
extent that these programs help believers worship their
Savior, this is even better.  =++

The value of this type of ministry depends to a great extent
on whether the shut-in feels like he is a participant or just
an observer. The shut-in may feel that those conducting the
program are strangers who do not know him, and who do not
really care about him.=++

 A second, and higher, level of ministry is to minister to the
elderly and shut-in personally. In this type of ministry, good
and helpful things are done that meet individual needs. These
may include playing cassette tapes of church services for him,
arranging pictures on the wall, writing letters for him,
reading the Scriptures to him, and praying with him. =++

Ministering on this second level to the elderly and shut-ins
must include listening to them. Many of the elderly have
wisdom to impart, an edifying testimony of their faith, and
interesting experiences to relate. To be interested in someone
inherently includes listening to them. =++

However, some may not be able to talk to you. Do not assume
that a person is without understanding or that God is not able
to use scripture in the person's life if he is unable to
respond intelligibly, if he gives no signs of understanding,
or even if he is comatose. =++

Always read scripture to those who are in any of these
physical conditions. Use the Scriptures that teach salvation
for the unsaved and that give assurance and comfort for the
saved. =++

The third and highest level of ministry to the elderly and
shut-ins is helping them to minister to others. One who is
really ministering to the elderly and shut-ins will allow, and
will encourage, that person to be a help and a blessing to
others. =++

Help them to experience the truth that there is more happiness
in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35). Help them to
minister effectively for their Lord and to earn rewards at the
Judgement Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3: 11-15).  =++

To a great extent the elderly and shut-ins are ignored. They
seem to be considered obsolete. They seem to be thought of as
little value to society or to their Savior, by both individual
Christians and churches. Some are given TV sets and encouraged
to let their spirituality deteriorate while they stare at "the
box." What a waste!  =++

As a Christian, the shut-in can have his most productive years
of ministry as he edifies his own spiritual life and reaches
out to others in prayer (Col. 4:12,13). =++

It could well be that there are enough elderly and shut-in
Christians in our country to "pray in" a Supreme Court that
would interpret the Constitution of the United States from
God's perspective, and that would end the legal slaughter of
unborn babies. =++

I was counseling a shut-in who spent each day sitting in his
chair into the living room. He was so frail that he was taken
to the living room in the morning, ate all his meals there and
was taken back to bed at night. =++

He felt useless. He would have liked to have the strength to
serve the Lord. What he really wanted to do was mow the church
lawn. But God had far more valuable things for him to
do--things that he could do with the physical strength that
remained. He had been "too busy" to serve the Lord earlier in
his life, but now he had the time. =++

He could see everyone who passed by on the sidewalk. As his
counselor, I assigned him the ministry of praying for every
child who went past his window. Could it be that he was the
only one who had ever prayed for some of these children--or
who would ever pray for them? =++

As a biblical counselor I hear many grievous things. The
burdens many counselees bear are most difficult, and it is
difficult for me to bear their problems with them. =++

It would be helpful to have others praying for them, knowing
their names and their needs, and praying specifically for
them.=++

However, we are extremely careful to maintain confidentiality
(except when required to do otherwise for some compelling
reason such as church discipline or civil law). So I have been
reluctant to divulge sufficient information to others for them
to help by specific prayers. However, I have enlisted the help
of a spiritually mature Christian to help bear the load of
praying for some of the most difficult counseling situations.I provide this person with enough information to pray
knowledgeably, but I withhold information that would identify
the counselee or others who are involved. Unless the situation
is public knowledge through the newspapers, my helper has no
way of recognizing the identity of the counselee.=++

Her name is Donna White. She is a blind paraplegic living in
a nursing home and spending most of her waking hours listening
to Christian radio programs and Christian tapes. She is now an
important part of the counseling ministry as she sits in her
wheelchair, praying for counselees. She is faithfully
interceding in lives where only spiritual power can avail. =++

There must be thousands upon thousands of "Donna Whites" who
are ready and available for Christian service. There must be
other multiplied thousands who should be built up in the faith
and put to work ministering to others in prayer. =++

Some of the elderly and shut-ins may be relatively immature
Christians. They should be discipled and put to work
ministering for their Lord. =++

Some have poor memories. Give them edifying Scripture verses
in large print on cards. Give them prayer requests in large
print on cards. Build them up in the faith through the
Scriptures. Put them to work in prayer. =++

After Donna knew that her help in prayer could be an important
and effective part of the counseling ministry, she said, "It
is the first time in a long time that I have felt worthwhile." 
=++

Others like her long to be of service. Other ministries need
the help of Christians like her. =++

Minister to the elderly and the shut-in! Put them to work
ministering to others! This is the best way to minister to
them.=++

 Copyright 1987 by Wendell E. Miller=+
Downloaded from http://www.biblical-counsel.org=++

May be reprinted and distributed in quantities if distributed free or at cost, and if=+
copyright, download, and permission information is included.
=+
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