Disillusionment with God is something psychiatrist Dwight...

Disillusionment with God is something psychiatrist Dwight L. Carlson knows about--from his clinical practice and from raw personal experience.

The author of “Overcoming Hurts and Anger” and “When Life Isn’t Fair” will draw upon both realms when he presents an evening teaching series beginning Sunday at Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena.

“My aim is to help hurting and disillusioned Christians rekindle, rejuvenate and renew the passion of their spiritual lives and walk with Christ,” Carlson said.

Carlson, who was born again at age 9 at a tent revival meeting in Alhambra, sees “a lot of people who have personally made a decision to accept Christ in their lives” in his private practice in Torrance. Disillusionment with God, he said, is a recurring theme, cropping up in 20% to 30% of his patients.

“ ‘If God is good,’ they ask, ‘why am I suffering so?’ ” he said.

Part of the problem, he says, is that most people formed a simplistic concept of God when they were children, and still look upon the Supreme Being as a kind of fairy godmother.

“Modifying our expectations--of life, God, church, spouse, career and friends--can help us get things in balance,” he said.

Carlson himself has faced deep despair--after his brother, a missionary, was killed during a wave of revolts in the Congo in 1964, when he battled “my own personal bout of depression” in the late ‘70s, and again 10 years ago, when doctors diagnosed his daughter with acute leukemia and said she would not live more than a few months. (Now 31, she received a bone-marrow transplant from her father--even though doctors were opposed--and has been healthy ever since.)

“There are moments when I’ve been tempted to be angry with God, to despair, to argue with God or bargain with him,” Carlson said. “In every instance, I yielded to the Lord and found him more than adequate for every need that I’ve had.”

Carlson has asked himself whether he would feel the same way if his daughter had lost her battle with cancer.

“I think it would have taken longer to work through it,” he has concluded, “but, ultimately, I would have felt the same.”

Carlson’s lectures, followed by discussion, will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. for the next five Sundays at Lake Avenue Congregational Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, Admission is free; no tickets are required. (818) 795-7221.

DATES

* Johns Hopkins medical researcher and internist Donna Willis, who also is health editor of NBC’s “Today” show, will address the Southern Area Clergy Council at a 9 a.m. breakfast meeting Thursday at New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Admission is free. Reservations recommended. (310) 769-0522.

* “The Human Condition: Our Stories as Told on Film” will be held at Holliston Church in Pasadena on four Sunday evenings in July, beginning this Sunday, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Gary Reece, a clinical psychologist who received his doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary, will screen one film each week and lead a discussion about how film has become a modern-day vehicle for transmitting our civilization’s traditions and values. The film titles and discussion topics are: “Cinema Paradiso,” Community and Relationships (Sunday); “The Fisher King,” Guilt, Forgiveness and Redemption (July 17); “Equus,” Madness and Healing (July 24), and “Jesus of Montreal,” Love, Betrayal and Sacrifice (July 31). Cost for the series is $20 if purchased by the first event; an individual night’s admission is $7. 1305 E. Colorado Blvd. (818) 793-0685.

* Sociologist Michael Ben-Levi will speak on “The Historic Reunification of the Yiddish Language” at a meeting of the Society for Humanistic Judaism at 7:45 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church Annex, 10479 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Refreshments follow. Admission is a can of food for the needy. (213) 891-4303.

* University Synagogue of Irvine will hold creative services in preparation for Tisha B’Av, the holiday that laments the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C., at 8 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. next Saturday. Both will be led by rabbinical student Josh Plaskoff. 4915 Alton Parkway. (714) 553-3535.

PERFORMANCE

* Grammy-winning keyboardist-singer-songwriter Billy Preston and the Ministers of Music will perform at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Miracle City Church in Altadena. Tickets are $10 at the door. 2333 N. Lake Ave. (818) 398-5427.