Customer Reviews

Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on the Streets

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have ever searched for a tender God in the teeth of an angry God, you will find the tender God in this book by Congregational minister Craig Rennebaum who often walks the streets of Seattle searching for anyone who seems to be lost. The rest of us fuss over homelessness as a civic or sociological or psychological or moral problem that is inconvenient and should be swept away for our sake. But Craig Rennebaum sees the homeless person as someone he may be able to help if he plays his cards right. Each homeless person is a story he wants to read. His stories of reaching the unreachable are my favorite parts of this book which also serves as a factual answer to the whys of homelessness today.

Chapllain Rennebohm is first of all a great story teller. Through these stories and his reflections we come to know and care for persons who experience a mental illness. In Craig's patience with those whom he meets on the street, we learn the value of patience in our lives also. As he reports the working of the Spirit, we can find the Spirit at work in our lives as well. An engaging and inspiring account.

Rev. Bob Dell
Pathways to Promise - Ministry & Mental Illness

The book did a great job of conveying the sacredness that exists in everyone and the need for dignity, love, community, and the help of the Holy Spirit. It hits the point how one can establish companionship, and while focusing on the mentally ill in many of the stories, I find that it is appropriate for a better understanding of dealing with the homeless in general. The book makes its points and opinions through real stories filled with reality, compassion and love, and is does not preach or talk down to the reader. A quick read.

I know Craig Rennebohm--this book is like sitting down and hearing him speak. He was my internship supervisor for grad school, and when I went to interview with him at the beginning, I was in an emotionally fragile place myself. I asked him how he has maintained hope over the years of working with ill, wounded people, and he spoke about how the Spirit had intervened in his own life at a critical point (a story he expands on in the book), and that his work was about watching & waiting for the Spirit to show up at any moment--thus his hope. I told him I could believe at least that this had happened for him, and thus began my internship with homeless mentally ill women.

It's more than 3 years later, and now I work with that same population. I need this reminder of who God is just as much now. If you ever struggle with believing you are loved just where you are, read this.

Terrific book for deepening your understanding of the plight of the homeless. Breathes humanity and soul into any preconceived notions you have about why people are homeless and the struggles they face.

This is an excellent book that is both inspiring and insightful about people with mental illness. The author does a great job of weaving information about people with mental illness with personal stories. A must read for people in the mental health field and everyone involved in ministry.

Deacon Tom Lambert
Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Commission on Mental Illness

In Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, Craig Rennebohm draws on thirty years of ministry on the streets of Seattle to bring us into the world of street people who live with a mental illness. As Rennebohm introduces us to his characters with gentle respect, he enables us to look past the presenting signs of illness to see the humanity we share with them, always present and always potentially accessible.

Rennebohm teaches the ministry of companioning by example. His stories illustrate how he slowly builds trust with someone who presents an illness self that is withdrawn, terrified, or belligerent. He invites readers to experience the tender mercy of God as he leads us to identify with the fear, anger, and vulnerability of people we ordinarily keep at a safe distance. We receive in his stories the blessing of God for the weakest, most vulnerable parts within ourselves.

I commend the book to anyone seeking to understand a loved one with a mental illness and to all who are involved in ministry among people who are homeless, mentally ill, or otherwise deeply vulnerable. Beyond these audiences, I believe the book has much to offer readers seeking to understand how God is present in a disturbing and broken world. I join with the authors in their hope that these stories "will help demystify mental illness and encourage efforts to build communities of openness, understanding, and care, with active participation and leadership from local congregations."