By Neil Earle
“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
In the immediate aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson, Arizona, mental health practitioners appeared on numerous talk shows and network programs. There was a hunger to find some rational explanation for the eruptive violence that stalks this land with sickening regularity.
To its credit Fuller Seminary in Pasadena had already scheduled an open pastoral seminar on the subject of mental health. It was led by someone who knows how to blend the Christian and the psychological aspects of this crisis. His name is Dr. Jim Stout and he is an ordained Presbyterian minister. In earlier days he pastored Richard Nixon’s church in Key Biscayne, Florida before leading a 5000 member mega-church in Newport Beach. Not long after all this… he tried to take his own life! His abusive childhood finally came screaming out of the past to take him down.
“I checked into a mental health center for five months and came out misdiagnosed as depressive,” Jim told about eighty pastors in Pasadena on January 25. “I went to another and was correctly evaluated as manic depressive. Bipolar is the name the pharmaceutical companies give to it.”
Pastor Jim reminded us of the basics on this sobering subject. One in 10 Americans suffer from serious depression. One in four families are affected by these mental disorders. “The three big ones are Bipolar disorders, Schizophrenia, and Depression,” he says. ”That last is almost unknown to the many who suffer from it.” The Bipolar condition gets its name from the sufferer’s tendency to fly speedily from manic, energetic, talkative “life-of-the-party” behavior to a self-condemning, people-rejecting inability to function. Hence the link to schizophrenia, from the Greek “schizo” (split) and “phren” (mind).
Ministers, says Jim, need to know two things – how to be a friend and how and when to use referral counseling. One statistic has stayed constant: fully 40% of people with severe mental illness – or their families – turn to clergy first for help. Clergy are sought out by a ratio of 10 to 1 over other (perhaps more competent) caregivers. Thus clergy are absolutely crucial to reaching this increasing number of sufferers and their families, sufferers who are almost shunned as modern-day lepers by society. Yet we know how Jesus felt about lepers – he healed them, he valued them, he was with them.
What causes this condition?
According to Jim Stout, brain imaging doesn’t locate this problem to any specific physical basis – yet! The brain is in flux even when it is being scanned so it is hard to pin down. Of course we have long known that heredity and substance abuse can alter brain chemistry. Family history seems to be a big factor – someone in the family tree who acted really weird. The emotional climate in families can either hinder or help any of us on the road to genuine maturity. Sit-coms thrive on the kind of problem families we all would like to escape.
Jim then turned to specific things clergy and their associates can do to help.
First, listen. “James 1:19 tells us we have two ears and one mouth and there’s a reason for that advice.” We are dealing with “at risk” individuals, Jim reminds us. Don’t offer them clichés such as study more, pray more, go to church more or – worst of all – you have a demon. Jim doesn’t discount demon possession but knows that most mentally ill people are victims of, not perpetrators of, violence. “Church-talk” tactics can help of course but first people want to know you are taking them seriously. If you can’t visit them in person send a card or make phone calls telling them you are thinking of them. These people are traumatized and highly suspicious and if they are in counseling be very encouraged because 80-90% usually don’t seek help.
Second, offer some form of tangible encouragement. Surveys report this: “I responded when pastors, family and friends accepted I was ill. They tried to learn about it, they believed in me. They even gave me tasks to perform.” Tasks can include writing out the life story, reading a specific book, going with the pastor to the Laker game or a movie. It is important not to leave the counselee alone too often or for too long. At the same time, don’t get a Messiah complex. Just socializing and mixing genuine friendly activities with counsel is ideal. This leads to the next point.
Third, set and keep firm boundaries. If you let them, mentally ill folk can absorb all your time. Limit phone calls – maybe Monday and Thursday from 8-9 AM or something that fits your schedule. Don’t let them abuse you either, or use abusive speech – “If you talk like that I’m leaving.” But overall, you are the Good Cop. These people have lived in their own psychological bubble for so long they really doubt if there are answers, and will wonder at a deep level if you really want to be their friend. Surprisingly, manic depressives can be very stimulating to be around. I can attest to that quite loudly. Some pastors find that the depressive’s sheer honesty and hunger to know Jesus better is a real tonic after serving too many complacent Christians – the “frozen chosen.”
Four, educate yourself, your staff and your congregation. Knowledge is one of the gifts of the Spirit. Educate yourself re the causes, pervasiveness, symptoms, and solutions to mental illness. 75% of suicidal people, for example, send out one or more warning signs, either physical signs such as acute loss of sleep or appetite or verbalizing thoughts about death or suicide. Thus, Jim Stout feels the probability is good that one can prevent a suicide. There are solutions but it can be a long road. Don’t set out to walk that road by yourself – have a deacon or elder along as a backup and secondary support person. There was a reason Jesus sent new disciples out in twos.
Five, know when and where to refer. A lot of pastoral smarts has to do with knowing the point at which you are out of your depth. If you have been drawn into this ministry, know where the local support groups are. Keep an action list handy for different care agencies. Usually mega-churches in your area are good places to start. Most who come to you will need expert professional help. God will help you to see this if you are sincerely interested in helping.
Six, start your own support group if you begin to notice a cluster of these problems in your church. Confidentiality is the big word here. Insist on it from the beginning and stick to it. Read ORM’s excellent book “Mending Broken Relationships” available at ATimeToReconcile.org.
“Life is all about recovering, adapting and reinventing the Self,” Jim Stout summarize. “Diabetics have to seriously readapt and then get on with their lives, for example.” Like many illnesses, mental illness can be managed. Jim introduced a young girl named Lisa who described herself as a “high functioning” patient in recovery after many psychotic episodes. Through stints in jail, screaming fits, having to be held down, setting fires when she could – she never gave up hope. In her case a strong Lutheran church background helped. She was always able to recite the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed as her center of reference. She slowly began to take responsibility for her life with God’s help and the help of others. Her life shows that Dr. Jim Stout is right: disabling mental illness need not be a life sentence.
Think you can’t be godly and blue? Take a look at some of these passages.
Job 7:12-13
Job 30:15-27
1 Kings 19:4
Psalm 13:1-2
Psalm 77:2-4
Lamentations 3:1-9
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
Finally, the ultimate… Matthew 26:36-38
Terry Bradshaw
Winston Churchill
Charles Spurgeon
John Nash
William Cowper
Samuel Johnson
To name just a few…