Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on theStreets (Hardcover)

~ (Author), David Paul (Contributor)
Key Phrases: family care residents, financial worker, words are medicine, Plymouth House, Spirit of God, Social Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. For decades Rennebohm, a Protestant pastor, has walked the streets of Seattle, making contact with mentally ill homeless people and slowly drawing them into circles of care so they can find safe housing, receive medical and psychological help and rejoin the human community.In this collaboration with Paul, Rennebohm interweaves themes of the Spirit working in desperate lives, the unshakable dignity of human souls and the necessity of companionship for healing as he vividly portrays the lost people he encounters.Always recognizing that medical treatment of mental illness is an essential part of the movement toward spiritual wholeness, Rennebohm is also sensitive to the vulnerability of the mentally ill to disordered religious ideas.The book's title, a response to Jonathan Edwards's famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, reflects Rennebohm's approach of gentle compassion toward people others reject.His call to find a better path leads him to Europe to study community-based approaches to treating mental illness and to initiate these in Seattle.As well as a guide to how others can help be healing presences to the mentally ill, this hopeful book is a meditation on faith in a broken world. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"For decades Rennebohm, a Protestant pastor, has walked the streets of Seattle, making contact with mentally ill homeless people and slowly drawing them into "circles of care" so they can find safe housing, receive medical and psychological help, and rejoin the human community. In this collaboration with Paul, Rennebohm interweaves themes of the Spirit working in desperate lives, the unshakable dignity of human souls and the necessity of companionship for healing as he vividly portrays the lost people he encounters. Always recognizing that medical treatment of mental illness is an essential part of the movement toward spiritual wholeness, Rennebohm is also sensitive to the vulnerability of the mentally ill to disordered religious ideas. The book's title, a response to Jonathan Edwards's famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," reflects Rennebohm's approach of gentle compassion toward people others reject. His call to find a better path leads him to Europe to study community-based approaches to treating mental illness and to initiate these in Seattle. As well as a guide to how others can help be healing presences to the mentally ill, this hopeful book is a meditation on faith in a broken world. " Publishers Weekly, Starred

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Product Details Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Beacon Press (May 15, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0807000426 ISBN-13: 978-0807000427 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
family care residents, financial worker, words are medicine

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Plymouth House, Spirit of God, Social Security, City Hall, United States, Harborview Medical Center, Sister Anne, Mental Health Chaplaincy, Roman Catholic Church, Plymouth Church, Peter Marshall, Good Samaritan, Holy Spirit, Christian Bible, Family Care Program

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6 Reviews 5 star:  (5) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars This book is for anyone who sometimes longs for a tender God, June 22, 2008 By  Barbara Huston - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    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. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Stories which give hope to our own vulnerability, May 12, 2008 By  R. B. Dell "preacher guy" (Northern Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    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 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars the real deal, September 3, 2008 By  Hanna (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews 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.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Touching Stories about the Homeless 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... Read more Published 4 months ago by Rory Starks 4.0 out of 5 stars Souls in the Hands of a Tender God 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. Read more Published 5 months ago by Steve Burk 5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book 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... Read more Published 16 months ago by Thomas C. Lambert Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807000426
• ISBN-13: 978-0807000427
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is for anyone who sometimes longs for a tender God, June 22, 2008

By	Barbara Huston - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories which give hope to our own vulnerability, May 12, 2008

By	R. B. Dell "preacher guy" (Northern Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the real deal, September 3, 2008

By	Hanna (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

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.