Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
There are times in people’s lives that they experience circumstances in which they need some help. They have gone to their pastor but need something more than that, something more in-depth. The person needs counselling. But what kind of counselling? If the person is a Christian, they may (or may not) want a type of … Read More “What is the Difference Between Biblical and Christian Counselling?” »
Where I live, things are finally getting better after about a year and half of pandemic. We have just started meeting in-person again, although at 25% capacity. Most of our programs are still on hold and we still wear masks on Sunday mornings. Wherever pastors and churches are at in this process, I know that … Read More “What Pastors Need to Consider for Post-Pandemic Church” »
One of the biggest needs that I see in local church ministry is in the area of mental health. There was very little training for me in seminary on mental health and the church was not really talking about it. Thankfully there are some good opportunities to gain quality training. One that I was able … Read More “Mental Health First Aid” »
Dale Partridge has recently given his opinion about people with mental illness in leadership in the wake of the suicide of Jarrid Wilson. It is not accepting or tolerant or understanding or compassionate to hire a man to shepherd a flock of God’s people who is openly struggling with mental illness. According to Partridge, it … Read More “Should People With Mental Illness Be In Church Leadership?” »
We are hearing more and more about pastors committing suicide. How can that be? Aren’t pastors supposed to be extra-spiritual? Shouldn’t they be the last to consider suicide? It is heart-breaking to hear these stories. We don’t want to hear about pastors taking their lives. It may even make us question our faith. Here are … Read More “How Could a Pastor Commit Suicide?” »
One of the most important conversations needed in the church is that of mental illness. There are different ways we can do this. It can be by describing the facts of mental illness or telling the stories of people with mental illness. The latter is the content of Christ on the Psych Ward. David Finnegan-Hosey … Read More “Christ on the Psych Ward – Review” »
By “exciting,” I don’t mean extra-lively music or extra-dynamic preaching. It was an exciting service at Queen Street Baptist Church in a totally unexpected and unplanned way. We had a young man come in late to the service. That is not unusual for us. Many people come 5-10 minutes late and it is common for … Read More “Good News: An Exciting Morning at Church” »
One of the biggest challenges that I face as a pastor is responding to mental illness. While I had a couple of counselling courses in seminary, I feel that I lack background in mental health. I spent some time as chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces. They put a tremendous amount of emphasis on mental … Read More “31 Days to Become a Better Pastor: Mental Health” »
This is a guest post by Joseph Mulak. Joseph blogs at Walking in the Faith, “The purpose of this site is to help Christians live out their faith while living in an increasingly secular society.” In this post, Joseph speaks to a topic that is close to my heart and that is mental health and … Read More “Welcoming People with Mental Health Issues Into the Church” »
We had a young man named Brandon as a part of Queen Street Baptist Church. Brandon was intelligent and friendly. He also suffered from mental health and addictions. Unfortunately, Brandon died of an overdose a couple of months ago. Mental health and addictions was already on my radar, both as a pastor and in the … Read More “Good News: Mental Health and Addictions Workshop” »
During my time off from pastoral ministry, I was blessed to have Deane Proctor as my pastor at Queensway Baptist Church. Deane is a great pastor, especially in his preaching and leadership development. In addition to that, he is also a powerful advocate for mental health awareness. Deane speaks on this issue from experience. I … Read More “Pastoring While Combatting Mental Illness” »
I find that half the battle in knowing how to support someone going through a hard time is to know what not to say. We have all (including me) said the wrong thing but we can always strive toward being more careful with our words. It only takes a second to put our thoughts through … Read More “Things Not to Say to Someone With Mental Illness” »
The church has not always done a good job of supporting people with mental illness. For some, mental health is still an uncomfortable topic. In this episode, I talk to Rev. Deane Proctor, a mental health advocate, who can help us to further the conversation. Please support this podcast through Patreon or by downloading a free audiobook … Read More “The Church and Mental Health: An Interview With Deane Proctor” »
I am by no means a mental health professional. I have only taken a couple of counselling courses and it is definitely not my strength. But you don’t have to be a professional to know something about mental health. I think that the church has improved in its understanding of mental health to a certain … Read More “5 Things That You Need to Know About Mental Health” »
Two years ago, I began writing regular good news posts on my blog. They started as daily posts and eventually moved to weekly posts. The original context was that I was going through a dark time. Our son was needing to go into a group home (our second child to go into a group home) … Read More “Trying to Find Good News” »
I would say that in general, society has improved in its attitude toward mental health. Even when I was in my 20s and 30s, I don’t remember much talk about mental health. Now there is more awareness and an acknowledgment that it exists and is common. There is even more acceptance of the need for medication … Read More “Mental Health and Grace” »
One of the hardest things that we have experienced in the past year has been our youngest son’s battle with mental illness. While I share a fair bit of personal stuff on this blog, I have not talked much about this, other than to acknowledge it was happening and to ask for prayer. Without giving details, … Read More “Seeing the Progress” »
One of the most heartbreaking stories in recent days is the deliberate crashing of Germanwings Flight 4U9525 by its co-pilot, Andrew Lubitz. Authorities have done much work to reconstruct what took place when Lubitz took sole control of the plane. What we do not know is the motivation of Lubitz to commit such an act. … Read More “Was Andrew Lubitz a Muslim?” »
This is a special interview for me as this one is with my pastor. I have known Deane Proctor for some time as we were both pastoring in the same denomination. When my family was looking for a new church, we visited Queensway Baptist Church and really appreciated Deane’s preaching and leadership. Could you share … Read More “Step by Step: A Conversation With Deane Proctor” »
I have been asked many times about the eternal fate of people who commit suicide. Do people who commit suicide go to heaven? I need to make two things clear: I have never committed suicide, nor have I been to heaven. All I can do is make some observations and leave it to you to … Read More “Do People Who Commit Suicide Go to Heaven?” »
I really am not interested in getting on the Robin Williams bandwagon. I enjoyed his movies and am sad that he is dead but I really am not interested in getting more hits on my blog by taking advantage of his death. Having said that, I feel as if I have been pushed into commenting, … Read More “Robin Williams, Matt Walsh and Choice” »
