Where Lighthouse Network Came From
Since I was a kid, decision-making skills, emotions management, and practical life skills development have intrigued me. My passion then, as it is now, was to learn how to function more effectively and to help others to do the same.
Though I grew up in the Church and learned about God, salvation, heaven, sin, and hell at an early age, I rarely heard anyone teach on how to function in ordinary life. What I was taught in church seemed great for Sunday mornings, but it seemed to make little difference on Mondays or the rest of the week.
My confusion about and desire to understand more of the workings of faith and life drove me to pursue a career in medicine. I trained first in biomedical engineering (wanting to create a bionic brain), then as a medical doctor (MD), and finally specialized in psychiatry. This training, in addition to my growing understanding of God and theological issues, has broadened my understanding of how the Bible and its doctrines address daily functioning and practical life skills better than any other book or text.
What I failed to learn in my spiritual life alone during my growing up years I discovered through a developing realization that healthy functioning comes not just from the spiritual issues of the soul, but also through the thought and emotional processes of the mind and the physical implications of the body and brain chemistry.
Spirit, mind, and body must work together for optimal health. When we address all three spheres, we can learn to develop life-transforming, health-inducing daily management skills for both now and eternity.
In my medical practice, I help people understand that God designed them as spirit, mind, and body, and that these three aspects of human nature function together and inter-relate—both positively and negatively. As my clients and patients learn how their triune natures work, they are better equipped to apply biblical truth to everyday situations. As they do, they experience triumph over issues like never before.
I’ve seen the power of applying the Bible to real-life situations in my own life, and in the lives of the thousands of patients I’ve treated and organizations I’ve worked with.
Lighthouse Network is the fulfillment of a dream that began thirty years ago. As a young teenager, God nurtured in me the dream of developing a way to integrate the care of the spirit, mind, and body in ways that would help us maximally glorify God through superior functioning.
May God use Lighthouse Network to be an instrument of His glory, of God-honoring life change in His children, and of redeeming impact on the world.
by HIS grace,
Karl Benzio, MD
Founder and Executive Director, Lighthouse Network
