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There is a lot happening in the church/mental health world, largely because there are some growing divides within the biblical counseling movement. I am still wading through some recent videos and posts by Heath Lambert, Brad Hambrick, and others in order to write a comprehensive response. One question I want to tackle today is related to the sufficiency of Scripture. This question is common in the world of biblical/Christian counseling: to what degree is the Bible sufficient as we counsel others?

What is Scripture For?

The Bible is sufficient for all people from a spiritual standpoint. The Scripture reflects God’s choice to reveal aspects of himself to us through words that can be read. If he wanted us to know more, he would have said more. So in that sense, the Bible is sufficient for all of us. Also, the Bible helps us understand why the world is the way it is. We know how sin entered the world, we know the results of sin, and we know that the only way out of this sin-cursed world is through Jesus. So the Bible is sufficient for understanding why we live in a world filled with disease and disorder, and understanding how to be rescued out of it. Scripture also offers a lot of wisdom for living. When a person needs spiritual wisdom to handle common life problems that we all experience, the Bible is sufficient in teaching us how to come closer to the heart of God and an imitation of Christ.

What Are We Talking About?

When it comes to counseling and the sufficiency of Scripture for conducting it, the problem with most of these conversations is that we talk about different things as if they are the same thing. Sometimes, for example, it is not clear if we are talking about giving “wise counsel” (spiritual advice) or if we are talking about psychotherapy (a process of working with and healing the brain). Also, it is not always clear if we are talking about counseling people who are already Christians or those who do not know Christ. Thus, many debates become convoluted because different circumstances require different answers.

Different Roles, Different Functions

I have written before on the role of the pastor and how it is different than the role of a counselor. A pastor’s job can include direct evangelism to unbelievers, whereas a counselor’s job does not. (I did two posts on evangelism in counseling versus discipleship that fleshed this out.) There are many roles within the body of Christ, and all Christians play a role in advancing the kingdom. Ephesians 4:11-16 makes it clear that there are different roles and different giftings that work together to edify the church. (Interestingly, evangelists are listed separately from pastors, so even those roles can be and often are very distinct.)

When functioning as a counselor, one is not in a role of trying to convince or proselytize. Instead, the counselor meets a person where he or she is at and allows them to take the lead in exploring spiritual issues. Counselors are trained to assess a person’s psychological symptoms, whereas pastors are not. The Bible is not sufficient (nor is it attempting) to assess or treat biological disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia and others. The Bible also does not offer specific evidence-based treatment methods that can be used by counselors to effectively treat mental disorders.

What’s The Real Problem in Christian Counseling?

In the Christian counseling world, the word “integration” is often used to describe the process of synthesizing theology and psychology. I have been trained at integrationist programs and in some ways I fall into this category. However, the integrationists have a problem in that their theory often does not translate into integrated practice. They may have a biblical view of persons (made in the image of God), but many of these Christian counselors have chosen to work completely outside the framework of the Church or discipleship. I find this to be tragic, as many well-trained Christian counselors do not see it as their role to serve the Church. I believe that much of the biblical counseling argument is actually related to the fact that many Christians who are trained as counselors choose to function in a secular way. Their arguments are often not relevant to my understanding of what integration is; thus, they get tangled up in the wrong questions and dig their heels in in all the wrong places.

Bringing True Integration Into The Church

The Church Therapy model reflects true integration: Christian counselors trained in both theology and psychology serve the church in a professional capacity on a team with pastors in the work of discipleship. This therapeutic work is specifically for those who are already believers or seeking to explore their faith, so the work of evangelism has already been done. Emotional and spiritual growth happen together, and when people hit a wall in their discipleship process because of a mental health problem or emotional brokenness they can receive professional counseling within the church setting. Pastors must preach, teach, evangelize, and train. Counselors must listen, reflect, come alongside, and bring healing. When we ask, “Is the Bible sufficient?” we must also ask, “Is the Church bringing healing in every way possible?” Pastors cannot do it all, nor should they. Multiple roles are best done by multiple people. The Bible guides us all, but quality mental health care requires additional training and knowledge that licensed Christian counselors can uniquely provide.

My desire is for biblical counselors to continue to recognize that their training programs do not include courses or practical experiences on assessing/diagnosing mental health symptoms. Therefore, they (as well as pastors) cannot be the ones to decide what type of depression a person might be experiencing. Pastors who do biblical counseling also must recognize the complex power dynamics that occur when one tries to be both evangelist and counselor. On the other hand, my desire is for integrationist Christian counselors to recognize that integration can only truly happen when one is serving the body of believers (whether on a church staff or in a Christian center/practice). Helping someone spiritually without knowing how to assess and treat their mental health is not counseling. But helping someone heal emotionally without helping them spiritually leaves them stuck as well. When counselors engage in the work of healing to bring both mental and spiritual wellness, they are playing a significant role in bringing about the kingdom of God here on earth. Pastors, invite professional Christian counselors in and listen to our expertise on emotional and mental health. Christians who are professionally trained counselors, return to a place of serving the Church and re-engage in the work of discipleship. Perhaps then we can find a Church that is safe for everyone.

I am excited to welcome guest blogger Barry Pearman, a Christian mental health advocate from Auckland, New Zealand. His website Turning the Page aims to empower people’s mental health through faith, hope, and love. You can also follow him on Twitter @barrypearman. 

It’s Mental Illness Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This organization offers a wealth of information that can be of use to pastors and churches, in addition to offering resources for those who are facing symptoms of mental illness. On October 5, they are offering a free mental health screening at HelpYourselfHelpOthers.org.

Pastors and ministry leaders can check out NAMI’s website for links to amazing resources and ideas for participating in the work of advocacy. You could take the Stigma Free pledge as a church body, encourage your parishioners to share their stories, distribute fact sheets about mental illness on a Sunday morning, or offer use of the church facilities to a NAMI chapter meeting.

If you are looking specifically for Christian resources about mental illness to use with your congregation, you’will love On Edge: Mental Illness in the Christian Context along with its companion Leader’s Guide. You can lead an 8-week Sunday school class or small group about mental illness simply by following the detailed instructions in the curriculum.

Mental health advocacy does not have to be hard. It starts with one person. One voice is all it takes to say, “I’m stigma free.” Will you lead the way in your church? Pastors, will you lead the way in your communities? Jesus devoted a lot of his time to hanging around with marginalized people. Those who have mental illness face not only their symptoms, but also judgment and shaming. Let’s not let that happen in our churches and communities. Let’s love and advocate for those who need support.

 

Larry Crabb once wrote that the church should be “the safest place on earth.” He talks about a kind of community grounded in worship, filled with humility, and engaging in open dialogue. Certainly in Acts 2 we see the early church functioning in these ways and sharing everything they had. Miracles were ordinarily extraordinary.

So why don’t our churches always feel safe?

There are a lot of reasons why our churches often feel unsafe. It may seem at first that these groups of believers are only unsafe to outsiders or to those who are struggling. But if we look deeper, we see that these communities are unsafe for everyone. Pressure to look, say, and be a certain way keeps everyone from opening up. It is unsafe to outsiders because it is unsafe for insiders to be anything but insiders. This is hardly a reflection of the kingdom of God.

What would it take for our churches to be safe?

Discomfort. It may sound strange to claim that in order for churches to be safe they have to feel uncomfortable. But doesn’t that make it less safe? Ironically, discomfort as a form of suffering helps us grow. When we move our lives and relationships into the inner city or the third-world slum, we position ourselves to experience discomfort. When you become family with the poor and marginalized, it is hard to ignore their realities. In last week’s post I focused on humility as the key to mental health. It is also the key to the kind of church that Jesus prayed for in John 17.

What can I do?

Some people have been hurt by the church. Many with mental illness have been judged, shamed for seeking treatment, or even shunned. Some have walked away from the church, wounded and disillusioned. Zach Hoag wrote about the “nones” and the “dones” in his new book, The Light Is Winning. He offers hope and inspiration for the church to return to the way of Jesus. He paints a picture of a church that is safe for everyone who may enter. Read it. Live it. Reconnect with hope. Love your neighbor. Listen to those who have stories to tell. Instead of insisting that the church become safe for you, make it safe for someone else. Don’t give up, lean in.

 

 

 

 

As a counselor, I work with a lot of people who feel emotionally stuck. They want to know how to move forward. They want to know how to live in recovery and be well. Even when someone is facing a chronic condition, health and life are possible with treatment and wellness strategies. It’s an uphill climb for many, but I have watched so many inspiring people press through some very dark days in order to grow. And in walking alongside many, there is one common thread when people grow emotionally and spiritually: humility.

Humility comes when we fully accept all that we do not know. We enter humility when we accept the things we cannot change and become empowered to change what we can. Jesus himself offers the perfect model of humility, captured beautifully in Philippians 2. He gave up everything — status, power, comfort — to live with us. He joined our suffering. And when, in humility, we join in his suffering by humbling ourselves, we grow.

Pride tells us we have everything figured out. Pride tells us that we know better than others. Pride says we have arrived. Which is the opposite of a posture towards growth. Pride keeps us stuck because we believe we are all set. Or that we can’t get better. Or that there is nothing we can do to move forward.

Humility is what brings someone to an AA meeting for the first time. Humility is what leads us to dial the phone number of a counselor or psychiatrist. Humility is the risk we take when we share honestly about our struggles. Humility fully embraces how much help we each actually need.

Part of mental health is emotional and spiritual growth. Therefore, humility is central to your mental health. It is vital to your spiritual well-being. Some have mental illness, but we all need to attend to our mental health. The practice of humility will carry you to deeper emotional and spiritual places as you sit with yourself, God, and others and live with nothing to prove to anyone.

The word stigma is defined as “a mark of disgrace.” People who experience mental illnesses are often stigmatized. They are treated as inferior, and generally misunderstood by a society that prizes pulling-up-by-bootstraps kind of living. Those who appear weak are left out and have a harder time navigating the structures and systems of a society based on high productivity.

The church is a body of people who believe in something different. We believe in a loving and merciful God who has come to rescue us. We believe that we are all weak sinners who need a Savior. And yet in this very group of people there exists a stigma when someone is struggling with depression, anxiety or other clinical mental health disorders. How does this fit with the Gospel? How can there be second-class Christians?

Short answer: there are no second-class Christians. But there are some who judge others, and it hurts the cause of Christ. Colossians 3:12-14 says,

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” 

What if we acted with tender hearts when someone admitted they were struggling with suicidal thoughts? What if we showed mercy instead of judging what they “should” do? What if instead of answers, we sat with humility and were okay with answers like, “I don’t know”? What if we were patient enough to walk alongside someone with chronic depressive episodes? What if we made allowances for struggle and pain? What love-clothes could we wear that would bind us all together no matter what we were going through?

If we as the church did these things, I’ll tell you exactly what would happen: people would come in droves to find out who this Jesus-person is. And to be honest, the churches I know of that are living this out are experiencing significant growth. People want to be loved. They want to be accepted. They are already stigmatized and marginalized by the world. They want protection, not judgment. Stigma is the opposite of the Gospel because it judges instead of loves. It condemns instead of showing mercy. God has made allowances for whatever you are going through, can you extend that to a neighbor who has a struggle different from your own? May love begin to define us once again as we seek to follow Christ.