That deep sense of “sentness” applies also to giving visionary leadership to EHD in her mission to “transform church culture through the multiplication of deeply changed leaders and disciples” as well as delivering weekly EH Leader podcasts and occasional speaking at EHD events and webinars. Intentionally, laser-focused mentoring for pastors/leaders through a leadership course and cohorts. Jesus refused to separate the practice of the presence of God from the practice of the presence of people. When pushed to the wall to separate this unbreakable union, Jesus refused. He summarized the entire Bible for us: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40). (P. 171.) While Scazzero does use one valid Bible passage in building his doctrine of suffering, as usual he quotes favorably and gives more space to “John of the Cross,” which precedes the James verse. Who is John of the Cross? Britannica describes him as “one of the greatest Christian mystics” and “a patron saint of mystics and contemplatives” (bold added). [3]

Pete launched New Life Fellowship Church, first in English in 1987, and then in Spanish (Iglesia Nueva Vida) in 1991, serving as lead pastor of both congregations. Julio Rodriguez took the leadership of Iglesia Nueva Vida in 1996, expanding that work and planting over twenty new churches throughout Latin America from that time till today. One significant distinctive of New Life was her location in Corona/Elmhurst, Queens and her commitment to bridge racial, cultural, economic and gender barriers through the power of the gospel. As a result, the church became well-known as one of the most multiracial churches in the United States with people from over 73 countries. Instead of Jesus’ two commandments, Scazzero has three commandments. His third strongly implied commandment is to be “loving ourselves.” Scripture does not teach self-love, either directly or implied.Making the link radically transformed their personal journey with Christ, their marriage, their parenting, and, ultimately, New Life Fellowship Church. Pete and Geri, along with the NLF leadership team, then embarked on a journey of research, study, and intentional personal growth over the next twenty-six and a half years. They dedicated themselves to studying and researching this link between emotional and spiritual maturity – in Scripture, historical theology, church history, family systems theory, monastic movements and spirituality, contributions from the global church, marriage and family studies, interpersonal neurobiology, ministry to the poor and marginalized, and Quaker spirituality. Their goal was simple – to move from a traditional discipleship model to a transformative one in which people experienced deep change in Jesus for the sake of the world. Lastly, Scazzero, as noted already, undermines the authority of Scripture. His constant comments in the vein of ‘Bible studies are not enough’ are compounded by his minimal use of Scripture in the book overall. He quotes much more extensively from popular culture (novels/ films etc) and personal experience than from scripture. A typical line of argument is as follows: Pete hosts the top ranked, Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast and is the author of a number of bestselling books, including The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. Pete and his wife Geri also developed The Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Course (Part 1 and 2), a ground-breaking Course being used by over 1400 churches in North America along with many others around the world. His books and materials have been translated in over 25 different languages. The book is probably best considered in terms of the concepts of diagnosis and cure. In diagnosis we are given a wealth of stories and biographical material to consider. Scazzero shares story after story of woe – church splits, marital strife, bitter pastors, etc…. So what was the problem? Why all this failure? Interestingly, Scazzero lays the blame squarely at the feet of a church culture of “emotional repression” (55). He says,

Bible Gateway interviewed Peter Scazzero ( @petescazzero) about his book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World (Zondervan, 2015). Contemplative prayer differs from Christian prayer in that the intent of the technique is to bring the practitioner to the center of his own being. There he is, supposedly, to experience the presence of God who [already] dwells in him. Christian prayer, on the contrary, centers on God in a relational way, as an independent power apart from oneself but realized intimately through the Holy Spirit.In today's podcast episode, my wife Geri and I share more about the skill of emotional discovery we call "Explore the Iceberg" in Emotionally Healthy Relationships.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Col 2:8.) [2] In today's podcast episode, my wife Geri and I share more about the skill of emotional discovery we call "Explore the Iceberg" in Emotionally Healthy Relationships.

The God Who is [Already] There

A few major events expanded New Life into the fastest growth rate of her history. We formed a 3 person preaching team, moved from 2 to 3 services, and expanded the ministry of EHS to over 60 countries with the support of the Willow Creek Association. Our New Life Community Development Corporation established a permanent home here in our church building in Elmhurst. To this day, New Life CDC serves thousands of Elmhurst/Corona community residents each month through its adult & youth programs. Through being united with Christ, a Christian has died to the old life of sin and their lives are now gloriously united with Christ. Sinning Christians are Christians who have lost sight of the gospel. There is one important word that describes what psychotherapists strive to attain in their counselees, and that is “transparency.” Although he does not use the word transparency in his book, Scazzero learned transparency in counseling by being transparent with the counselor (p. 27). Psychological transparency is one of the major unbiblical techniques Scazzero promotes in EHS. Yet, in over 4 decades of leadership, I've found that so much of this pain is completely UNNECESSARY. Scazzero says that his way to Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is a painful process, which requires much hard work: