Brian Charette - The Stress Factor: Finding Rest in an Uneasy World

I recommend The Stress Factor for every pastor and spouse, especially young pastors who often face overwhelming stresses with few resources. Yet this work is for more than pastors; it is an engaging work that will serve as an oasis-like guide for anyone walking through the arid desert of a stress-filled life.

Dr. Phil Fuller
Superintendent, Virginia District Church of the Nazarene

I highly recommend this book to everyone because everyone is affected on some level by stress. Further, the dangers to our mental, spiritual, and physical well-being are more than most of us realize. The Stress Factor works. Why? Because it is firmly grounded in biblical truth, and truth frees us.

Brad Huddleston
International Speaker
Author of The Dark Side of Technology: Restoring Balance in the Digital Age and co-author of Forty Voices

Pastor Kerry and Brian have done a masterful job of demonstrating how kingdom resources might be applied to everyday stressors. Im grateful for this resource to share with friends and clients to help them respond to stressors that come their way. We dont get to choose them, but we can decide how to respond to them and find real rest.

Mark L. Sensabaugh
Licensed Professional Counselor

My friends and colleagues, Dr. Brian Charette and Pastor Kerry Willis, are outstanding communicators of compelling truth. This book is filled with rock solid truth attesting to our deep need for rest and renewal in a time of turmoil and uncertainty. I highly recommend this book!

William F. Evans, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, James Madison University

Copyright 2013
by Brian Charette and Kerry Willis and
Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City

2013 eISBN 978-0-8341-3133-0

Printed in the
United States of America

Cover Design: Arthur Cherry
Inside Design: Sharon Page

Scripture quotations not otherwise designated are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Permission to quote from the following additional copyrighted version of the Bible is acknowledged with appreciation:

The Message (TM). Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotation marked kjv is from the King James Version of the Bible.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Charette, Brian.
The stress factor : finding rest in an uneasy world / Brian Charette, Kerry Willis.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8341-3002-9 (pbk.)
1. Stress (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. 2. Stress management Religious aspectsChristianity. 3. RestReligious aspectsChristianity.
I. Willis, Kerry W., 19691- II. Title.
BV4509.5.C443 2013
248.86dc23
2012045073

To Pam, Suzanne, and Aubreythe best stress management crew a husband and dad could ever have. Pam, you have always been a treasure to me. Im grateful for your patience as I walked through this project. Youre amazing. Family, may the Lord give me the words to communicate accurately my deep love for you always.
Brian

To KimI am grateful to you for your love and your loyalty to our loving Lord and to me. In all the stresses of life, we know our blessings of love are much more plentiful.

To Graysonthanks for all the front-porch talks.

To Allisonthanks for lightening lifes load with your laughter.

To The Oreo Pupthank you for being a friend, my beloved beagle.
Kerry

Thanks to Sharon Hardy for her willingness to tackle this project as our initial editor and Judi Perry at Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City for her patience and wise counsel throughout. The two of you made us better. As always, Mark Sensabaugh was there from the very beginning with important advice. Jennifer Testa provided much-needed encouragement at a critical time. Ultimately, it was clear to me from the start that this was a God project. This book came about because of His faithfulness. For that Im deeply grateful.

Brian

I wrote my first book a few years ago and honestly was pretty happy for it also to be my final book. (I signed up to preach, not to punctuate.) Yet I am delighted to be partnering with Brian Charette on this manuscript for the glory of our loving Lord and for the good of those He died to save from sin and stress. This stress book happened because Bonnie Perry believed it should and Brian Charette said it could. Thanks to Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City for believing in us and to the One who lives in us. I am grateful.

Kerry

We both want to express indescribable gratitude to our local church family, First Church of the Nazarene of Harrisonburg, Virginia. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord. Unity! (John 17)

Stress is a daily challenge for a lot of people. Having served as a pastor for more than forty years, I know something about the daily grind, and I remember the stress I experienced in leading a church. I was thrilled when I learned that Brian Charette and Pastor Kerry Willis were going to write a book to help those who live with stress.

I love the approach of the book and the centralized focus on Chris Seals journey toward health, healing, and happiness. It is practical, instructive, and helpful for those who feel the pressure of living and working in the twenty-first century.

With the expertise of Pastor Kerry Willis, known as the ultimate encourager, and the wisdom of Brian Charette, who shares counsel and the latest research, The Stress Factor is destined to become an oasis in the stressed-filled daily life of Christians.

I deeply appreciate the biblical approach of the authors in dealing with the matter of stress. Every Christian reader should fill his or her mind with the scriptures that have been sprinkled throughout the pages of this book and with the confidence of 1 Peter 5:7, which encourages us to cast all our cares on the Lord.

Read and relax in faith!

Stan Toler

Author and General Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene

Youre likely thinking, It cant be! Not another book about stress relief or stress management. Arent there about a million of these books? Thats exactly what we were thinking when we initially prayed about whether another one was truly needed. Type stress in the amazon.com search field, and you get 93,356 hits. Yikes! For years, stress has been an issue that has been observed, studied, and written about.

So why another book? Isnt the horse already dead?

Thats the question that drove us. Despite the millions of words that have been written on the subjectwhether by scientists, counselors, pastors, or theologiansthe negative effects of stress havent gone away. The American Institute of Stress refers to it as Americas number-one health problem. Maybe your family doctor has even told you that at least one of your ailments is a pure manifestation of stress.

As we write, stress is alive and quite well, contributing to personal hardships, diverted destinies, health issues, and significant levels of frustration. People need answers. Perhaps you need answers.

Since you have this book in your hands or on your screen, you or someone you love is likely dealing with issues of stresssickness, weariness, burnout, anxiety, fear, pain.

Why is this still a problem? Why havent we figured out how to allow God to provide healing here? What are we missing? Those are the questions we asked as we began the research and prayer that would lead to our work. We discovered three important tenets for approaching stress.