Study: Some Pastors Are Reluctant to Help Mentally Ill Parishioners Question of the Day: What if the pastor is suffering from a mental illness but is too embarrassed to admit it and seek qualified help? According to David Murray, pastor of Free Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the church needs to become more understanding so they can be involved in helping those members who are suffering from mental illness. Writing about new data on mental illness recently issued by LifeWay Research, Murray continues that the report shows that only 59% of pastors have counseled (at one time) a person who was later diagnosed as having some form of acute mental illness. He adds that he was surprised that this figure was not higher because reports show that about 15-25% of the population will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives. The author of “Jesus on Every Page” goes on to write that he believes some people who are suffering from mental illness may not believe that their pastor is qualified to help them. He adds that if this is the case, pastors should learn how to reach out to these individuals in a caring, sympathetic, and compassionate manner, to earn their trust. One of the problems with pastors getting involved with people suffering from mental illness is the time it takes to deal with their issues. Twenty-two percent of pastors admitted that this was one of the main reasons they are reluctant to get involved, according to the study. Another problem is the huge amount of resources needed to help someone who is struggling with mental issues. However, Murray believes that it is the duty of pastors to do whatever is needed to help these unfortunate individuals — no matter how much time it takes out of their busy schedule — because they are supposed to be following the ways of Christ, who helped everyone. Another problem with pastors is that when they have personal issues or mental illness of their own, they are either ashamed or reluctant to reach out to other pastors or elders for help. With this mentality, how can they expect their members to come to them, writes Murray. He adds that the study shows that 23% of pastors admitted to struggling with mental issues of their own at some time but were reluctant to talk with other spiritual leaders about it. One worrying statistic of the study, writes Murray, is that 18% of people who suffered from mental illness admitted that they left their church because of the negative reactions by pastors or members. He adds that this confirms that churches need to be more informed about mental issues. Source. allchristiannews/drafta/
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 17:02:20 +0000
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