BBC Interview with Shannon K. McCoy - Author of "Help! I'm a Slave to Food"

The Biblical Counseling Coalition ran the following Q & A with NANC counselor and author, Shannon K. McCoy. Shannon wrote a very helpful booklet to help believers and biblical counselors overcome life-dominating food issues, which I will review in the upcoming weeks. The booklet is available on Amazon, as well as through the BCC site. It is indeed a pleasure to find and recommend other soundly Scriptural resources that help Christians walk free from eating disorders!




The BCC Author Interview Q & A with Shannon Kay McCoy

As part of our BCC vision, we want to help you to get to know gifted Christian authors and their books. This week we’re highlighting Shannon Kay McCoy as she talks about her booklet Help! I’m a Slave to Food. Her booklet is part of the series Living in a Fallen World.

BCC: “Why did you write a booklet on overeating?”

SKM: “First, my interest in this topic is very personal. There have been times in my life when I felt I was a slave to food. I tried to use food as a balm for unwanted emotions and to distract me from undesirable responsibilities. It brought a false sense of pleasure and satisfaction, only to end in confusion and betrayal. Then I discovered God’s empowering grace and I am now walking victoriously in the words of Jesus that “life is more than food” (Luke 12:23) and “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Second, I am concerned about the effectiveness of the Christian church. Excessive overeating, which is called gluttony in the Bible, can no longer be considered a subtle, respectable, and silent sin. It is hindering the spiritual growth and effectiveness of many Christians.”

BCC: “Why did you choose to include the word ‘slave’ in the title?”

SKM: “The word ‘slave’ describes what an overeater really feels. A slave is a person held in servitude or bondage resulting in loss of freedom. A slave is completely subservient to a master. The master has ownership, authority, power, and control over the life of a slave. The overeater feels like food is her master, and that she is completely helpless to set herself free from its prison.”

BCC: “In your approach, how important do you think it is to identity overeating as a sin?”

SKM: “Identifying overeating as a sin means there is great hope because Jesus has overcome sin for us. By faith the overeater acknowledges her sin and seek God’s grace through Jesus Christ who then delivers the overeater from this sin.”

BCC: “Why did you not choose to use the term ‘addiction’ with overeating?”

SKM: “The danger in labeling overeating as an addiction is that it undermines the personal conviction of sin. If sin is not the problem, then you will be looking for solutions in a system of theories and not in the person of Jesus Christ.”

BCC: “How is your booklet different from other materials that address this subject?”

SKM: “This booklet is not a diet plan, but a compass directing the reader to the heart of the problem and to the only solution: Jesus, the One who can bring you out of slavery into freedom.”

BCC: “What are some of the practical helps that your booklet offers?”

SKM: “The booklet offers personal application projects that can be done individually or with a group.”

BCC: “Who should read your book?”

SKM: “Anyone who may be struggling with the sin of overeating or knows someone who struggles with this sin.”

BCC: “Thanks, Shannon, for helping our readers to ponder biblical principles for victory over the temptations we face in our daily Christian life—especially related to overeating.”

"Body Gossip" Clip

Motivational recovery short from British celebrities about walking away from an eating disorder and rejecting the lies the obsession causes one to believe.

Where to Buy "Redeemed from the Pit"

Dear Readers:

As many of you know, judging from the many e-mails I have received, Amazon.com has been out of stock of my book, "Redeemed from the Pit: Biblical Repentance and Restoration from the Bondage of Eating Disorders" for several months. I am a bit upset about this, as many people (including counselors) have been trying to get the book and cannot. I spoke with the publisher last week, and Calvary Press is out of stock, as well. It is due to go into a second print run, but I do not know when and I am a little frustrated at the way things are going. As in-demand as the book is, the supply is not keeping up with the demand.

Currently, I have 31 copies left in my own inventory, but with upcoming speaking engagements and several conferences this fall, I do not want to run out.

HOWEVER - I have found several vendors online which still have the book in stock (at a discount, no less!), including Vision of Hope's resources bookstore, Faith Baptist Resources.

You can purchase the book below, at several dollars off the publisher's retail price:

http://store.faithlafayette.org/redeemed-from-the-pit-p1448.aspx (Vision of Hope)

also available here, through Grace & Truth Books.

It is not yet available on Kindle, although I was told it would be soon. Please feel more than free to contact the publisher at calvrypres@aol.com with questions and comments, or to request a Kindle edition. I'm sure he would appreciate feedback on my book, and the demand for it.

As always, if you are OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES and are interested in the book, contact me directly at marie4thtimemom@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your support!

Conference Presentation - "God's Solution to Eating Disorders: Total Transformation"

Last weekend I spoke at the "Authentic Beauty" conference for teen girls at Monadnock Bible Conference in Jaffrey, NH. My workshop, which I gave twice, was entitled "God's Solution to Eating Disorders: Total Transformation" and was based upon Romans 12:1-2, the key passage on being transformed through the renewal of our minds.

It was a very successful and edifying time, well-received by the young ladies in attendance and enthusiastically recommended to their friends. What struck some of the girls the most was the truth that when a shameful secret such as bulimia is brought out into the light, it begins to lose its power to enslave. Also, the concept of no longer being slaves to sin (and therefore having the choice to repent of a life-dominating sin) was new to some of the girls. Several mentioned never having thought about eating disorders as something that could be overcome by "re-programming the mind" with God's thoughts.

All in all, it was a fruitful time of ministry, and the conference director asked me to come back to give the same presentation at conferences for adult women. If you are interested in purchasing and downloading my Power Point presentation and notes for use in your own church or ministry, (or my e-book, "Redeemed from the Pit",) please e-mail me at marie4thtimemom@yahoo.com. The presentation is a full hour and is available for $9.99.

More Medical Evidence Disproving the "Chemical Imbalance" Theory

Eating disorders are still not caused by "chemical imbalances", folks. Is there a chemical basis for "mental disorders"? Nope.

Peter Breggin, M.D. (1997), was formerly a teaching fellow at Harvard Medical School and full-time consultant with the National Institute of Mental Health. As author of Brain Disabling Treatments In Psychiatry, he declares that "there are no known biochemical imbalances in the brain of typical psychiatric patients" (p. 5). Breggin was also on the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. William Wirshing (1999), a researcher and professor of psychiatry at UCLA, stated to a room full of psychiatrists that “we have been lying to everyone for years concerning the chemical imbalance model.” No one in the audience challenged him.

In an article approved for continuing education by the American Psychiatric Association, the author states, “We don’t know how psychotropic medications really work” (Khan, 1999).

Dr. Ty Colbert, President of the Center for Psychological Alternatives to Biopsychiatry states: “Believe it or not, it is freely admitted even within the ranks of psychiatry that no conclusive evidence exists to show that any form of mental illness is biologically caused…

In contrast, there is considerable scientific evidence to show that psychotherapy can be more effective than psychiatric medication for disorders such as depression, mania, ADHD, anxiety, and even schizophrenia.”