What you wish your pastor knew about mental illness…
In the past few years, I have realized that there are a lot of churches out there who want to help people who struggle with a mental illness, but they don’t know how. Before Michael’s struggle with bipolar disorder, I had no clue how much a person’s mental illness could affect a whole family. It is so important to have a support system and the church should be the best place to find this support.
Sadly, many people think that they will be judged by the church so they never tell anyone about their struggles. The more I talk with people whose lives have been touched by mental illness, the more burdened I am to help churches to establish mental health ministries.
So, here’s my question for you: What do you think is the most important thing that clergy should know about mental illness? In other words, what do you wish your pastor knew about mental illness? If you don’t want to post publicly, you can email your responses to [email protected]
That depression and hopelessness is not a lack of faith.
That you can't always "pray your way" out of a mental health situation. Tell me you've heard Marybeth Chapman speak–she always gives 3 cheers for anti-depressants!
Great point!