All Christians

A couple of weeks ago I was able to give a presentation on co-occurring statistics for college age students to a university who has a specific focus on addressing domestic violence on their campus. I feel like young adult or college pastors could also greatly benefit from this as there are some startling statistics with it. There are no college age statistics for co-occurring within the Church but we can at least correlate between the statistics.

[Read more…] about College Co-Occurring Statistics

Lamar Hardwick has become known as the Autism Pastor and in his most recent book Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion, Lamar first shares his own story, both with coming into his diagnosis as well as his minority status as a Black man, and how that impacted his faith. He then transitions to how to move towards diversity within the Church and make an inclusion ministry

[Read more…] about Disability and the Church [Book Review]

We are friends with Hope Made Strong who have been coming out with regular content on their YouTube channel. (You should go subscribe, for sure. We are.) Last month, she shared the 7 keys to building resilience. For those who need it, she defines resilience:

Resilience is the ability to bounce back or withstand adversity.  It isn’t the absence of struggle or pain.  It is the ability to come out of a time of suffering, quicker easier and perhaps with growth.

[Read more…] about 7 Keys To Building Resilience [Video]

Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry by Amy Simpson is a book on the mental health topic it’s titled after. It explores as Christians how we are to respond to situation and personal stories of anxiety, noting that the easy “Christian quips” of “just pray more” are not helpful and then gives Scripture and practical advice on how to proceed. The personal nature of this book makes it feel authentic, giving insight into big concerns like her experience of coming toe to toe with a bear in Alaska, but also trying to control how her day or week may go in a stressful week.

[Read more…] about Anxious [Book Review]

A year ago, I put together a list of goals that I would have loved to see for myself. But who could have predicted all the events that happened this year and put a wreck to anybody and everybody’s plans for the future. Some of it I accomplished, others I had to pivot because of the circumstances and set aside what I had hoped for.

[Read more…] about 2021 Yearly Goals

This year has been a struggle for sure. Pandemic, racial tensions, uncontrolled fires in Australia, and an election in the United States that has caused deep divides. In the midst of this, many people are struggling with motivation.

One way we previously recommended dealing with this frustration was to reframe 2020 and not resent it. But what if you just do not have the motivation?

[Read more…] about Just Blame It On COVID

This year we have talked to churches, Christian counselors, and individuals with mental illness or other disorders on how they can find wholeness and restoration through faith and mental health. But there is one category of people we do not want to overlook who are a huge part of the lives of those with mental illness: the caregiver. We put all of our focus on those with mental illness but need to be supporting and caring for the caregiver too. So this article is for you.

[Read more…] about Caregiver Mental Health

Mental health is making a turn towards people actually seeking help and wholeness which started first by building awareness. But to maintain this progress of people restoring their health, awareness needs to keep building. One way to do so is with national international awareness events that dedicate days, weeks, or a month to building awareness. Below is a list of all the types of awareness being promoted.

If you are wanting more resources to not only build awareness to topics of mental health, but incorporate prayer, Scripture, and involvement in Church, check out our mental health awareness cards.

[Read more…] about 2021 Mental Health Awareness Events

We know that the holidays for mental health can be a very tough time, even more so with COVID in the holidays. So my church has decided that this year we are going to talk about it for the holidays with a series titled Christmas Feels. This is not the first time my church has used the pulpit to address faith and mental health, last year dedicating a whole month during May with mental health awareness month.

[Read more…] about Christmas Feels [Videos]

Brett Ullman is a person with lived experience with mental illness and being a Christian, talking about what this looks like for his own spiritual and emotional walk. Honestly, the video below doesn’t say anything new with what we already talk about on here, but it’s powerful because it’s from his own lived experience and so I urge you to take the 8 minutes to watch how your church can become a safe place for those with mental illness. If you want to see more about what he has to say about mental health, check out his website here.

[Read more…] about Is Your Church A Safe Place? [Video]