All Christians

There is no defeating addiction. For those who subscribe to the disease model with substance use, we know that remission of symptoms does not mean it cannot flare up again in the future. For someone struggling with cancer, they may still have just as many doctor’s appointments to see if cancer has come back in the first five years of their post-treatment due to relapse with cancer. The same is true with those struggling with substance misuse. We know even Church leaders struggle with addiction.

For those that do not know, Beth Moore I am a fan of hers. I respect her work, agree with her stance about the #MeToo movement, and even the politics about faith echo in my heart. She has created several Christian books, devotionals, prayer guides, and bible studies. I have fond memories of my mom reading some of her books, seeing women at college doing over her devotionals to improve their faith lives, and being challenged to grow stronger in my faith from sermons that quoted her.

The world of mental health has a strong, healthy reliance on evidence-based practices that has led to some very effective therapy models. Christianity historically has not relied on research, but tradition, culture, and values. When we marry the two into Christian mental health, we need to hold both in reverence that I believe furthers the other. That’s why we have created a whole page to the research we have found on faith and mental health that furthers the cause of better data to inform better mental health practices for individuals within a faith tradition and support faith within mental health.

I recognize this topic is not as fun, inspiring, or motivating as much as other topics, including the actual research topics themselves. But the necessity of fundamentally good research data and interpretation of the research is imperative to making lasting change beyond our casual observations.

[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from one of the counselors that is part of my church’s mental health team as part of an article written for May’s mental health awareness month for the congregation members. Enjoy!]

Although I have not experienced an unexpected death in my family, I have experienced loss and grief in other areas of my life.  As my husband and I have led the “Grief Share” groups at Crossroad’s Community Church, my heart has ached for the difficult emotions, questions, and feelings of helplessness the attendees share.  

In a world overflowing with information, finding reliable and engaging content can be a daunting task. However, what if you had access to exclusive content, free downloads, and a way to support a blog you genuinely enjoy? Well, look no further! By signing up for our newsletter, you can gain all of this and more.

Pretty big sell! We actually mean it, in fact we have written more newsletters than last year combined and plan to share several more that hopefully add value to your life and your ministry. Plus, we have some good things finalizing to be released that will come out to you guys first.

This website is dedicated to talking about the intersection of Christianity and mental health. Our hope is in identifying how the Church can go to serve those with mental illness as well as their families and clinical counselors can integrate Christian theology and practice into the counseling session with their clients. The book Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson may be a bit more niche as he looks at the intersection of neuroscience and faith.

[This article is part of a youth ministry series we have been writing about for years. Click the link to check out all of the other articles we have here.]

For those that may not have heard, the American Psychiatric Association released a health advisory on social media this month. They have completed extensive data-gathering, recognizing that this can impact parents, youth, teachers, churches, health care officials, and more. The study has come up with ten concerns that I think the Church should seriously take note of. (Side note: want some social media images we made on the beatitudes? Go download them for free here and share them online)

If you are on our Church and Mental Health newsletter or seen some of our latest social media posts, I’m sure you’ve heard me talk the Thrive & Cultivate Summit. It kicks off kicks off on Thursday, May 18, 2023. I’m excited to announce I’ll be one of the Day 2 speakers within the Self-Care and Resilience for Church Leaders section talking about 99 Self-Care Techniques for Christians.

For those that do not know, May is mental health awareness and one of the best ways we can bring about awareness within ourselves is through our dedication in prayer. I want to give you a list of things to pray for over the next 31 days with regards to mental health. Give 2-3 minutes of time of prayer on the topic, meditating how it may be impacting your community and how you can be a advocate to this population. If you need more to pray about it, seek out a mental health professional, pay for their coffee, and ask them what further areas you could pray about.