Some Stats
According to Lifeway Research
23%
of pastors acknowledge they have personally struggled with a mental illness
49%
of pastors say they rarely or never speak to
their congregation about mental illness
65%
of churchgoing family members of those with mental illness want their church to talk openly
about mental illness
53%
of churchgoers with mental illness say the
church has been supportive
59%
of those actually suffering from mental illness want their church to talk about mental illness
76%
of churchgoers say suicide is a problem that
needs to be addressed in their community
Problem #1
Burnout and disillusionment are real. Especially for those ministering to others. We must make space for our own questions and wrestling. Otherwise we’ll ignore the part of us that struggles to make sense of who God is and what He’s doing and we’ll settle for answers that don’t satisfy the soul.
Problem #2
exvangelical is a trending hashtag with over 100K posts and multiple social media accounts. This is not something to fear. However, it is a wakeup call to the Church. People are looking for answers to their relational, mental, and emotional problems. If the Church doesn’t know how to answer these questions well, then someone else will.
Problem #3
Soul care has been siloed into separate professional categories. While this makes sense academically, because we can’t master everything, it has resulted in the church avoiding holistic health conversations.
Problem #4
We think we have to figure out our walk with Christ alone. This is the biggest lie. We were made in community for community. We don’t always get community right, but believing that we are better off alone won’t get us anywhere in the grand scheme of things. We need each other.
The Solution
We realize there’s so much to say here. First, know that we’re not trying to put things in a nice, neat box. Because, let’s be honest, the mysteries of God are impossible to fully grasp, much less contain. We are, however, working towards a more holistic view of our walk with Christ. We don’t want to hold shame in our bodies, our hearts, our souls, our minds, or our strengths. Instead, we want to know what it means to love the Lord with all of our body, our heart, our soul, our mind, and all of our strength. And, then we want to truly talk about what it looks like to love our neighbor as ourself. With that in mind, the following are a few concepts that we believe are important if we are to have a meaningful conversations.