“I shared my family’s hurt and pain of feeling excluded and unaccepted by the very church that I, as its pastor, am called to love and serve. I shared offensive words shared with me regarding my autistic son’s needs. I shared how these actions created a wall between our family and the church. We felt unwelcome.” Shannon Blosser shares about church hurt, and where the church can grow.
Beth Golik and Sandra Peoples give a Disability & the Church 2024 Conference Recap that happened this past week in Orlando, FL.
Dr. Steve Grcevich sits down and interviews Dr. Lamar Hardwick on his new book How Ableism Fuels Racism. This is Part 1 of a 3-part series! Dr. Lamar Hardwick will be speaking at Disability & the Church 2024 Conference in Orlando, FL May 1-3. Go to www.keyministry.org/datc2024 to register now!
Recently, Catherine had a conversation with Dr. Jim and Heather Sells, authors of the new book “Beyond the Clinical Hour: How Counselors Can Partner with the Church to Address the Mental Health Crisis.” Jim, Heather and their co-author Dr. Amy Trout offer a valuable resource to both mental health professionals and ministry leaders as a way to meet the heartfelt mental health needs impacting both churches and our culture. Take a listen to this thought-provoking conversation.
“I am disabled. For years that was so hard to admit. I couldn’t mention out loud my neurodivergence. I whispered about my post-traumatic stress disorder, insisting ‘I’m better now.’ I was a champion for the disabled who didn’t want to talk about her own disabilities. It was disingenuous, but I didn’t know how to come to terms with the fact that I was disabled. I was still scared that admitting my disability publicly would convince people I was not able to do anything.” Joanna French writes on her experience with disability.
By the numbers, Linda shouldn’t be here. Everything seemed to be stacked against her by worldly standards, and still seems that way. How could bullying, struggles with education, and psychiatric hospitalizations work for His plan? In part 2 of this series from Linda Bunk, see exactly how God is powerfully using all of these struggles to minister to people in Ukraine.
Many people seem to believe they are too bad, broken, sad or worthless to be accepted by God. In our outrage culture, people who have been rejected or treated poorly often end up hating those who have hurt them, particularly when the hurt comes from a person who is supposed to represent God. But what might happen if your church explicitly communicated that mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and more are not a barrier to finding a shalom-building relationship with Christ?
I had an appointment with my doctor, to adjust to my medication for an ongoing health condition, and to get a prescription for depression. When the doctor asked why a pastor would want to take depression medication, I responded, Who wants a pastor who can’t care for the sheep because I’m just too depressed? An important post about the need for pastors to care for their mental health needs.
Since 2005, I have served on my church staff to provide clinical mental health counseling services to our congregation and others in our area. I have known people who wanted counseling but couldn’t get it, and others who had access to counseling but didn’t get it. I’ve known pastors who burned out without even considering seeking mental health treatment, and I’ve also known pastors who sought periodic counseling just as a personal self-care routine. Why is it that some people with symptoms of a mental illness go to counseling while others don’t?
When I think about the scripture that exhorts Christ-followers to number our days correctly, I kind of get the meaning backwards. I think about things from a natural human perspective, when what I really need is God’s perspective. The verse isn’t so much about the volume of what I accomplish, but the quality and the purposefulness of what I do. It’s also what I let ministry do to change me. Without anyone reminding me, do I actually see the personal dignity of every person?
