Archive for the 'Bible Studies for Life' Category
Ministry Among Those with Mental Health Struggles
The evangelical world mourned in April 2013 with the news that Rick and Kay Warren’s son, Matthew, had committed suicide. News that Matthew had dealt with mental illness his entire life caused many to consider how ministry might be done to help people like him. Less known, but just as painful, was the suicide of Frank Page’s daughter, Melissa, in November 2009. Page wrote a memoir bearing her name in which he explores A Father’s Lessons from a Daughter’s Suicide. Page, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, hopes to turn his tragic experience into healing for as many as possible.
What research tells us
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 10 adults in the United States suffer from depression.1 A study from LifeWay Research found 64% of those who identify as born-again, fundamentalist, or evangelical Christians believe churches should do more to address suicide. The same study found only 21% of people who attend church once a week or more believe most churches would welcome them if they had a mental health issue. Fifty-five percent of those who do not attend church believe the church will help them. Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research expressed concern that evangelicals “forget that the key part of mental illness is the word ‘illness.’ In a typical evangelical church, half the people believe mental illness can be solved by prayer and Bible study alone.”
Christians and mental illness
It is a problem in our churches when we view mental illness differently than physical illness. Very few if any evangelical Christians would advocate prayer and Bible study alone for the victim of an automobile accident or a child with a broken leg. This attitude is unhelpful for those dealing with mental illness and those trying to minister to or with them.
Family and friends of those dealing with mental illness or those who have ended their own lives have a place of refuge themselves. There is power in the word of God to bring peace and assurance in the goodness of God. Frank Page provides helpful encouragement to people suffering in times like those: “It’s easy to become bitter toward God and blame Him (or others) for what happened. Thankfully, I chose to turn to our Heavenly Father in my time of need. Words of Scripture I had memorized long before came to my heart bringing both compassion and comfort.”2
What God’s Word says to us
God’s word says in 2 Corinthians 1, “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.”3
If you know someone suffering from mental illness, most definitely pray for them and don’t stop, but also encourage them to get professional help. If someone you know is depressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, please encourage them to get help and take them if necessary. God can and will bring comfort and often healing, but we should respond with all the provision God has made through the medical field as well.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
1– Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “An Estimated 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Report Depression,” http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdepression/
2– Bible Studies for Life, Ministry in the Face of Mental Illness, Frank Page
3– 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, HCSB
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Overcoming the Wrong Mindset
Has anything ever happened to you that you thought was bad when it happened, but realized later it had happened for good? Have you ever had an experience like Job where you lost everything only to find God sufficient? Have you ever had an experience like Joseph where suffering gave way to God’s blessing? Most followers of Christ have had some kind of experience like these.
God’s perspective on life and events
The challenge during times like this is to remain focused on things above, not things on the earth. In other words, we need God’s perspective on life and its events. ANY perspective we have apart from God’s results in a “wrong mindset.”
When Joseph was approached in prison by the Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker to interpret their respective dreams, Joseph asked, “Don’t interpretations belong to God?”1 Two years later when Pharaoh was startled by dreams, he sent for Joseph and asked for an interpretation. Joseph responded, “I am not able to. It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”2 When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, whose very lives depended upon his mercy, he informed them, “God sent me ahead of you to preserve life…God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.”3
Set your mind on things above
When Jesus instructed His disciples to pray, He mentioned the heavenly view of life. “Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”4 When Paul addressed the Colossian believers about perspective, he wrote, “So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.”5
How you see things determines your reaction to them
The perspective through which we view the events of our lives in large part determines our reaction to them. If we believe God is in control of everything, we may find it easier to believe He is purposeful in His actions. If we believe things just happen, trusting God in the middle of those things will be challenging.
Romans 8:28 also provides us with this assurance, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (HCSB). This is a verse that brings us perspective about everything that happens in our lives.
God always has a plan for you
Nothing is accidental. Nothing is haphazard. Everything in the life of a child of God works out within the framework of His plan. There are no accidents. We may not understand everything, but we can have understanding when we try to view life as God does, believing that His way is best and His plan perfect.
This is what we learn from Joseph. At every turn of his life, Joseph looked for the heavenly perspective rather than the earthly perspective. We should do the same.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
1– Genesis 40:8
2– Genesis 41:16
3– Genesis 45:5, 7
4– Matthew 6:9, 10
5– Colossians 3:1, 2
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.