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christian counseling today
Vol. 21 no. 2
He had a deep passion for God, but would then
spiral down into these seasons of a diagnosed
bipolar disorder. The struggle was so intense he
would end up disconnected emotionally and
mentally, unable to function in day-to-day living.
Even after crying out to the Lord and reading the
Psalms, he would say, “God help me in the midst
of this!” Neither of us knew how to respond to
his condition.
As a 25-year-old, I had heard mental illness
was just something people needed to pray
about, which we did. Never had I seen a man
pray harder to be set free from such tormenting
cycles than this man, but he was not delivered.
In the end, he took his own life. His family was
left confused, in pain, and deeply grieving. As
a pastor, though certainly not dealing with the
same level of grief or pain they were, I came to
grips with the reality that I was unprepared to
effectively address mental health issues within my
congregation.
A New Awareness
Thankfully, many Christians and clergy members
are now taking mental illness much more seri-
ously. Numerous ministries and church leaders
are working to equip pastors and congregations
to handle emotional and psychological distress.
One way we can be prepared is to better under-
stand these realities that surely exist among our
churches across the country.
LifeWay Research,
®
where I serve as Executive
Director, conducted a survey in partnership with
Focus on the Family
®
and an anonymous donor
to gauge the perceptions of pastors, churches and
those suffering from mental illness on a wide
range of related topics. The following is a brief
synopsis of what we uncovered:
Pastors’ Views on Mental Illness and the
Church.
When we surveyed Protestant pastors,
the first thing we discovered is that they do,
in fact, have experience with mental illnesses.
Approximately three out of four pastors said
they knew at least one family member, friend or
congregant who had been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder. Close to the same number (74%) said
they knew someone diagnosed with clinical
depression. More than half (57%) said they knew
at least three people who fell into that category. In
terms of counseling, almost six in 10 (59%) said
they had counseled at least one person who was
eventually diagnosed with an acute mental illness.
Perhaps even more important, 23% of pastors indicated they had battled
a mental illness of some kind on a personal level, including 12% who said
it was formally diagnosed. These findings are confirmed by the National
Alliance on Mental Illness and similar numbers within the general popula-
tion. Because of that, I am thankful for many leaders who have recently
come forward and are more willing to be transparent about their own
struggles. Last year, Phil Ryken used his presidential speech at the convoca-
tion ceremony of Wheaton College to share his battle with depression. Mark
Dance, Associate Vice President of Pastoral Leadership at LifeWay, shared
how he almost walked away from the ministry due to clinical depression, but
was helped through the process by his doctor and a therapist.
The vast majority of pastors today, unlike myself in the early days
of ministry, recognize the issue as being more complicated than simply
praying away the mental illness. Only 1% said medication should never be
considered as a treatment option or only be viewed as a last resort, and that
psychological therapy should never be used. More than seven in 10 (71%)
said it should be used in conjunction with spiritual principles.
Pastors indicated they wanted to help and believed the Church should
be a resource. Almost three quarters (74%) disagreed with the notion they