All Christians

Sleep is one of the most important things someone can do for their health, but in first-world nations, we are struggling with it. So much so that many mental health professionals believe that billions of dollars are lost every month because of poor sleep that leads to domestic and parental conflict, poor work and education performance, sleep, mental health, and substance use disorders, and poor moral, legal, and spiritual choices. So this video by TED gives 6 tips for better sleep.

First off, I want to say that I love Joni Eareckson Tada, and so with this video, I want to say a short prayer for her. This pandemic has been hard on everyone and so for someone to struggle with depression during this time is understandable. And if you are in a place where you need to reach out, do so. Take care of yourself and find peace and strength in Christ.

For those that have attended the 2020 Church Mental Health Summit and would like to access to all of the resources and statistics I discuss in this presentation, you can access it here. Use them for your sermons, to educate your volunteers, staff, and parents, or utilize them to start up an mental health inclusion ministry. (If you missed it, you can go catch the All-Access Pass here.)

Right now is a whole list of uncertainties all around the world. Here in the United States, it has been COVID-19 shutdowns, protests with violence, what will learning look like for students, will I get lose my job or find one to replace what I lost, and now what will happen with the election of the president. Dealing with uncertainty has many layers to it that I want to open up and identify with regards to how we as Christians can healthily and unhealthily approach it.

We love our friends over at Grace Alliance and so when they put out a video that talks about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’s negative thoughts and how it relates to to spirituality with God, we knew we had to share it. Go check out a great talk by Joe Padilla on how these two things integrate and how pastors and therapists can work with the whole person and not just something spiritual or cognitive/emotional.

Recently I attended a two-day training for mental health and substance use providers who are partnering with Child Protective Services to better serve adults and youth who are involved in courts due to abuse or neglect. In that time, a video jumped out as not only inspiring and joy-filling but hits at a core tenet that God commands to Christian families, that fathers be involved in their children’s lives.

At the beginning of the year, we were excited to talk to you about three different conferences we would be at, one of them we announced, and the other two that were canceled before any material was published. The pandemic has really changed the landscape of a lot of things, including the conference scene.

If you didn’t know, September is National Suicide Awareness Month and one of the leading Christian voices in this area for the Church is Kay Warren who has her own life experience after her son committed suicide over seven years ago. She has made it her mission through her ministry Hope4MentalHealth to bring awareness about suicide and suicide prevention.

She just released a video with Dan Adams who is with Sources of Strength, a youth suicide prevention program using social media to educate teens and communities about suicide, bullying, and substance abuse.

I’m part of several youth and senior pastor groups that have been struggling with this time during the pandemic with burnout and exhaustion. In fact, I’m concerned that many people have found themselves to the point of being traumatized. Webinars, low attendance, letting go of staff, being fired yourself, and conflict due to masks or politics that make it feel as if Jesus is not at the forefront of the conversation.

Just because ministry is your calling does not mean you can avoid burnout. I’ve seen too many good ministers make bad choices because they hit a point of exhaustion.