Category: Mental Health in the Church

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A special thanks to Jed Jurchenko for bringing this guest blog to ChurchTherapy.com!

Be sure to check out his blog: www.CoffeeShopConversations.com

“Jed, how do you reconcile the study of psychology with your faith in Jesus Christ?” I was first asked this question ten years ago, while enjoying coffee with two close friends. The story behind their inquiry goes like this:

A few years after graduating from seminary, I began studying psychology. I quickly learned that psychology and the Bible are perceived as being at odds with each other. And there are many reasons for this. Freud, the father of modern psychology, had some interesting views. He hyper-sexualized most everything. Freud, was outspoken about being anti-faith. Although, he did soften somewhat in his later years. In fact, many of the founding fathers, held an atheistic, humanistic, worldview.

Why I Don’t Reconcile My Faith with Psychology

Today, I have the honor of serving as a psychology professor at Southern California Seminary. The psychology classes I teach have a combination of Bible majors and psychology students–making for very insightful classes. Each year, students ask me how I reconcile my faith with my passion for psychology. At this point, you may be wondering the same thing, and I’m glad you asked. The bottom line is that I don’t.

The reason I don’t reconcile my faith in Christ with psychology is twofold. Let’s begin with Freud. Freud is the father of modern psychology, and faith in Jesus cannot be fully reconciled with modern psychology. It can only be filtered. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” When modern psychology is filtered through the truth of Scripture, what remains are powerful relationship tools that are confirmed by science and very much in alignment with a biblical worldview. In fact, as psychology progresses, much of the conflict is dissipating. In many cases, science is confirming what God has already said in His Word.

But it gets even better. It’s important to note that Freud is not the father of psychology. He is only the father of modern psychology. The title indicates that Freud brought attention to an area of need that humanity had pushed to the side.

The Beginning of Psychology

Psychology is the science of human behavior. Think back for a moment to your high school science classes. Do you remember doing science experiments? First, the scientist forms a hypothesis, or an educated guess. Then, he or she conducts a carefully crafted experiment, in a controlled environment, in order to test the accuracy of that guess. Science is a way of:

1. Using the sound minds that God has given us (2 Timothy 1:7).
2. Seeking out wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-5).

Now, let’s examine the moment when psychology began. To do this, we’ll need to travel back much further than Freud. Surprisingly, the very first relational experiment takes place in the book of Genesis. Shortly after creating Adam–the very first man–God modeled relational science for humanity by assisting Adam with an experiment.

Isn’t it interesting that God could have simply created Eve? But he didn’t. Instead, God walks Adam through a scientific process of elimination. God presents every animal He made before Adam, and He asks Adam to name each one. After the final creature passes, and no suitable bride is found, God creates Eve.

Incredible!

• God could have fashioned Adam and Eve at the same time.
• God could have simply told Adam that he would not find a suitable bride within the animal kingdom–this certainly would have saved a lot of time.

But instead, God walked Adam through a process of discovery. Adam’s need for Eve was confirmed through a relational experiment, a process that we now call psychology.

Redeeming Psychology

The reason I don’t reconcile psychology with my faith in Jesus Christ is that psychology and faith don’t need to be reconciled. Psychology needs to be redeemed. When it comes to psychology, God created it and used it first. I would propose that while Freud is the father of modern psychology (and Freud truly did make some very positive contributions), God, Himself, is the the father of psychology. God modeled the use of relational science from the beginning of creation. Sadly, there was a time when modern psychology attempted to push God out of the picture. Fortunately, things are changing.

When I teach our Theological Foundations of Counseling class, I sound like a broken record. This is because history repeats itself. With the discovery of each new counseling theory, there is a moment when the founder suggests that he has discovered the answer to humanity’s problems. Then, a few years down the road, it is recognized that although the theory is helpful, it is not the final solution.

In the end, psychology confirms what God has already said. While you and I can use key principles from science to bring some relational healing, full healing will only occur on that glorious day when Christ returns.

The Power of Psychology and Scripture

I grew up within the church community. I also network extensively within other therapists. I’ve observed two unfortunate extremes. Our jails are filled with hurting people, whom the best and brightest psychologists have not been able to help. These men and women need a spiritual healing. In short, they need Jesus.

On the other hand, I’ve watched hurting Christ followers pray, study Scripture, attend church, tithe and practice the spiritual disciplines, while searching for relational healing. The end result is strong a strong spiritual life and an abundance of messy relationships. In order to thrive, these passionate Christ-followers need guidance from wise men and women who are well trained in the science of human behavior.

The imagined rift between psychology and theology has resulted in hurting people not getting the support they badly need. The good news is that we can be a part of the solution. Will you join me in redeeming psychology?

 

If you have found help in both psychology and Scripture, I would love it if you would leave a comment below. As more Christ-followers share their experiences of successfully integration of sound, relational science, with their faith in Christ, the perceived rift between psychology and theology will fade away.

About the Author

Jed Jurchenko is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and seminary professor. Jed lives in San Diego, California with his wife and three daughters. Jed is a speaker and author of two books that provide practical tools from the Bible and psychology for everyday life. He also loves spending time at the beach with his family, BBQing, and is an avid reader.  He blogs at www.coffeeshopconversations.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@jjurchenko).

 

 

Check out my guest post on The Cave Place blog, a great resource on mental illness for young adults.

 

Imagine a world in which your mind slips in and out of reality. A world where at times it seems like everyone and everything is against you. Imagine a mind that becomes so overwhelmed you simply shut down. Only those automatic functions like breathing and a beating heart remain, yet even those feel disrupted.

Such is a life for those with a chronic, severe mental illness, particularly when untreated. In her book, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission (InterVarsity Press, 2013), Amy Simpson describes her mother’s world of schizophrenia. Simpson shares her own feelings of helplessness in moments when her mother would slip back into a catatonic state, unable to even walk to the car to go home. Not only were there very few who offered to help, but there were few who did not contribute to the shame and judgment of her mother’s bizarre behavior during these episodes.

Mental illness is real, and so is the stigma that so many continue to face today. Simpson’s description of the church’s response to mental illness is absolutely spot-on. As more statistics become available on the prevalence of mental illness, many such as Simpson are sounding the alarm to the church that has continued to ignore or stigmatize those suffering in our midst. On page 104 Simpson writes,

“In many churches, intentionally or unintentionally, the overriding emphasis is on ‘victorious Christian living,’ with the basic assumption that real Christians don’t have problems–or at least not crippling, persistent problems that a prayer or two won’t cure.”

Because of the general lack of understanding of what constitutes a clinical mental illness, many Christians deny the reality of mental illness. There is a prevalent view that feelings and behaviors can or should be controlled, and those that find their emotions or thinking out of their control must have a spiritual problem. Those who find they cannot “pray away” their symptoms are left without any answers and quickly turn to self-blame.

Simpson is gracious and empathic to pastors and lay leaders who often cannot respond because those with symptoms are not making their needs known. Because of shame and stigma, those suffering with mental illness frequently do not come forward to their pastors, thus perpetuating the cycle in which there is a lack of help offered.

Simpson offers ideas for pastors and church leaders on how to improve the response to those with mental illness. She suggests the creation of peer-led groups within the church, where those facing mental health challenges can come together for support. Another step all churches can take is to become more open to broken and hurting people. Jesus dwelled in the muck and mire, and we as Christians must do so as well. Don’t try to make the problem go away–just be there and walk alongside offering support and help where needed. Christians can also talk about mental illness, sharing their personal stories. Pastors can do this from the pulpit, church members can do this in small groups or within natural relationships. Talking about your own experience or the experiences of a loved one gives validation and acceptance to those quietly suffering. Finally, Simpson encourages those in the church to become familiar with the mental health resources within their own communities. Having a friend encourage your mental health treatment is a major factor in the follow through and ultimate success of that treatment.

Troubled Minds is a must-read for every Christian. Every single one of us needs to be engaging in this conversation to counter the false messages permeating the church today. Blame, stigma, shame, and marginalizing need to end within our walls. A simple conversation can go a long way towards changing your church’s attitudes and culture around mental illness.

To those who are called into the field of Christian counseling, I would add this message: come back to the church. Our churches need to have professionally trained and licensed counselors on staff, ready to respond with accessible services where people are most likely to come for help. Being on a church staff gives you a platform to change the church culture, a voice to educate the church about mental illness, and a partnership with the pastors that is only possible when you work closely together day-in and day-out. Read more about the Church Therapy model here and become a part of the movement to bring quality mental health care into the church setting.

Keep up with the conversation! Follow me (@ChurchTherapist) and Amy Simpson (@aresimpson) on Twitter. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for more articles on mental illness in the church.