Vancouver, Canada—At the monthly gathering of UPF-Vancouver on May 27, over a dozen UPF members and friends heard Dr. Stefano Piva, a local Baptist minister, share his life story in which he honestly described his difficulties with depression. Dr. Piva has studied the contemporary and historical literature on the subject, looked into the Scriptures, and conducted interviews with seasoned preachers. In so doing, he learned some of the common causes of this phenomenon.
Among the lessons learned from this challenging condition, Dr. Piva suggested that God could use it as the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12) to strengthen and deepen one’s ministry.
A question-and-answer session followed his talk, and he gave participants a copy of his book, Pastoring and Depression.