Episode description

In this episode, Mom joins Dad to tell the story about the day he reached his breaking point as the minister to the Steele Avenue Church of Christ in Ashland, Ohio. Before that day, Dad seemed to have at least some small sense that he was trying to do too much and that, sooner or later, something had to give. Then, on a normal workday in July 2003, Dad had a total breakdown. All systems in his body and brain just…stopped working. He curled into the fetal position on the couch in his basement and waited to succumb to whatever had him in its grip.

Those scary moments in the basement finally got Dad to admit that he needed help, but when help presented itself, would Dad take it?

This is the story of how one minister’s extraordinarily successful 22 years with the congregation he loved collapsed into a painful end. This is Minister in the Making Episode #30: Fetal position.

To participate in the upcoming live retrospective episode on Dad's time with the Steele Avenue Church of Christ, please email your questions and thoughts to bt@btirwin.com by Monday, January 24, 2022. 

Please be sure to check out Dad's book, We Are God's Masterpiece, at amazon.com.

Updates on Dad's cancer treatments and prognosis are here.