Spiritual Warfare and Mental Health: A Christian Counselor’s Perspective
This article examines how spiritual warfare influences mental health and how believers can confront these challenges through biblical wisdom, insight, and compassionate care.
Articles for tag: Mental Health
January 1, 2024
Weeds in My Garden
HOW A SERMON SERIES ON MENTAL HEALTH BROUGHT HEALING TO A CHURCH A perceived need among church leaders and church members led to a survey on mental health, which led to a dynamic and transformative sermon series. By Clayton Hentzel During the pandemic, I regularly participated in Zoom calls with pastors from across the country. One of those calls was with The Solomon Foundation. Early in the pandemic, Doug Crozier, the CEO of TSF, put counselor Dr. Wes Beavis on retainer. Dr. Beavis briefly shared some mental health tips on each weekly call. He provided everyone with a little help
January 1, 2024
Investing in Your Leader’s Mental and Emotional Health
By Tim Harlow It’s worth pointing out that I was not asked to write about a deep doctrinal issue, or leadership, or how to respond to a difficult social problem. No, I was asked to share about the benefits of therapy for Christian leaders. I own it. I needed therapy. I need therapy. I have had very few seasons of my life when I had my stuff together. In fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the occasional counseling help I’ve received, specifically from the good folks at Blessing Ranch Ministries. I’ll share a specific example from a
January 1, 2024
The Chemistry of Mental Health
By Dr. Wes Beavis The church has shown a growing openness to conversations about mental health. I have been privileged to speak on the subject “Faith and Mental Health” at many Restoration Movement churches across the United States. Recently, Clayton Hentzel of The Crossing in Quincy, Illinois, developed a teaching series called “Weeds in My Garden” that has become a tremendous resource to Restoration Movement churches across the nation. It is encouraging to see churches tackle the subject of mental health. But I am aware of an underlying concern among believers that Christian theology and doctrine are being replaced by
September 1, 2023
Why Progressives and Conservatives Hope in the Same Thing
By Tyler McKenzie Neither the hopes of ideological progressives nor those of conservatives are biblical because both locate their hope in the same place . . . humanity. While God has imbued humanity with awesome dignity and seemingly endless potential, grounding our ultimate hope in ourselves will always disappoint. Progressives’ Hope Progressives ground their hope in the advancement of human reason and ingenuity. The 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries have seen Western cultures driven by this vision that human progress in areas like technology, science, medicine, economics, and politics will bring us closer and closer to utopia. Every generation will
July 1, 2022
What Should the Church Do about the Mental Health Crisis
By Ben Cachiaras We have a problem. Emotional well-being is in serious decline. It’s a palpable crisis that was bad before the pandemic. The isolation, social upheaval, polarization, and massive changes with work, school, and life have exacerbated the crisis, creating an extended ambiguity and heightened stress that’s a perfect cocktail for burnout and emotional struggle. (I first heard it put that way by Paul Alexander, president of Hope International University.) No wonder the World Health Organization’s recent scientific brief states that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased 25 percent since the pandemic’s arrival in early 2020.
November 1, 2021
How Churches Are Serving Their Communities
By Kent E. Fillinger Some churches create “holy huddles” that are internally focused and address only the needs of their own members. Their mantra could be, “Us four, no more, close the door!” Other churches are more externally focused and spend time, energy, and resources serving their local communities and meeting practical needs. Church leaders should periodically ask, “If our church were to close today, would our community realize it and miss us?” Answering that question will help a church assess where they fall on the internally focused versus externally focused spectrum. Local Community Involvement Our annual church survey for
September 15, 2021
Safe Parking Ministry Helps Segment of Homeless Population
Overlake Christian Church's Safe Parking Ministry—for people who don't have homes but do have cars—has been helping with the spiritual and material needs of this segment of the homeless population since 2015.
July 1, 2021
Esther: Choosing the Right Thing Even When It’s the Hard Thing
No matter the outcome, choosing the right thing when it’s the hard thing is always a good thing.
May 1, 2021
The Power of Human Touch
There's an incredible connection between in-person church attendance and spiritual, mental, and physical health.
December 23, 2020
News Briefs for Dec. 23
Compiled by Jim Nieman Victor Glover, an astronaut now serving a six-month mission on the International Space Station, recently was chosen as one of 18 members of NASA’s Artemis team, which the space agency said “will help pave the way for the next astronaut missions on and around the moon,” the Christian Chronicle reported. Glover is a member of a noninstrumental church of Christ in the Houston area. In an earlier article, the Chronicle wrote that Glover sent up Communion cups and a Bible to the space station before blasting off on his mission Nov. 15. _ _ _ In
November 22, 2020
The New Year, No Fear Challenge
How You Can Begin 2021 with Courage and Understanding This year-end article was written in mid-September. Due to the magazine’s production schedule, I simply don’t have the luxury of knowing if we’ve made strides toward loving each other well, who won the election, the state of the economy, or whether there is a coronavirus vaccine. As I type these words, my mother is suffering from COVID-19. She’s older, in poor health, and already fighting cancer, so I have no clue whether she will survive or go to be with the Lord. Remember the old saying, “hindsight is 20-20”? If
November 22, 2020
The Anxiety Antidote (A Study of Luke 2)
Two Announcements of Peace and How We Live In Between And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:8-10). What a sweet story. We can almost hear Linus recounting the entire passage in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” We see images of sweet children in a
March 25, 2019
SPOTLIGHT: Real Life Church, Valencia, California
Multisite in a New Light By Justin Horey The multisite model has been gaining momentum for years among large churches and megachurches nationwide. But when Real Life Church in Valencia, California, embraced the multisite model of ministry, it did so differently than many other churches. Real Life launched two new campuses in 2018, both in nontraditional ways: one campus was created through a merger/acquisition, and one campus was designed to reach people online. For more than a decade, Real Life Church had a close relationship with Discovery Church in nearby Simi Valley, California. Both churches were planted by Shepherd of
February 13, 2019
Church Coping with Suicide (Plus News Briefs)
A few weeks after losing one of his pastors to suicide, Rusty George of Real Life Church in Valencia, Calif., spoke on radio station KHTS’s “Aging With Power” program about coping with the suicide of a loved one. “It was shocking for all of us, and it was devastating,” George said of campus pastor Jim Howard’s suicide Jan. 23. George said Howard had struggled with a mental health issue and was on and off medication for years. “We react the way everyone reacts with something like this—with sadness, with a bit of anger, a bit of guilt. And we just
July 13, 2016
Give Yourself a Break
By Jim Tune I heard about a pastor who took a day off. He set his e-mail to respond automatically with this message: “I”m out of the office today. I”ll respond to your e-mail upon my return.” When he returned to work, he found this e-mail: “Don”t bother. You”re a loser for taking a day off. People will probably die and go to Hell because you thought you needed a day off. Do you think God takes a day off? Are you better than God?” Of course, the e-mail was a joke. The man who wrote that e-mail is a
February 5, 2016
Happy New Year?
By Joe Boyd So, a few weeks into 2016, how”s it going? Will it be a happy year or not? Sometimes happiness is counterintuitive. At 42 years old, I have come to realize I can drift toward unhappiness. There”s a lot that plays into this for me. My personality type (INTP) tends toward melancholy with a chemical propensity to depression. But I”ve also found I can make choices that increase my capacity for happiness. Here are some practical steps I have taken over the last decade that have helped me. Maybe they will help you too. 1. Exercise. I know,
August 1, 2014
Real Issues, Real Talk
By Jennifer Johnson After Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, FL) began broadcasting its weekend services on a local TV station, it started brainstorming ideas for a second show. “So much Christian TV is so lame, and we didn”t want to create something like that,” says Marc Naugler, creative video director, and Chris Gingrasso, communications pastor at Real Life. “Our church name reflects who we are””real people talking about real issues in a real way and helping people find real faith. Real Talk extends those values in a new format to a new audience.” Justin Miller, Real Life”s lead pastor, hosts
June 25, 2012
My Thorn
By Matt Rendulic Severe bipolar affective psychosis. It”s a condition I”m learning to live with. It”s a weakness I”m learning to thank God for. It”s a companion to every day of my ministry. Paul seems a bit anxious and reluctant as he starts the 12th chapter of his second letter to the Corinthian church, “This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord” (v. 1).* Then Paul begins to describe a time he was caught up into Heaven. Upon initial reading, one probably says, “Awesome! I wish
August 15, 2011
Lesson for Aug. 21, 2011: Empowering the Needy (Ruth 2:8-18)
This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for August 21) is written by Janet McMahon, community life director with Restore Community Church, Kansas City, Missouri. ____________ Empowering the Needy (Ruth 2:8-18) By Janet McMahon It started with this challenge from my friend John: “Why don”t you do something for someone who can never repay you?” Wow, that was a challenge for sure. Serving my friends and family was easy and natural for me most of the time””and often they would serve me in return. But finding someone who could never repay me was something new. Shortly after that
