Many people are struggling with mental-health conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and life in our image-conscious culture. Statistics tell us that, worldwide, one in six of us will have experienced a mental-health struggle in the past week, and serious depression is the second-leading cause of disability (Mental Health Foundation).
That means there are brothers and sisters in our church families battling with thoughts, feelings, impulses, and even voices that distract, drag down, and nudge them towards despair. But when it comes to helping, it can be tricky to know where to begin, especially if we have very little knowledge of mental illnesses and are afraid of making things worse by saying and doing the wrong things.
This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, who worked in psychiatry and then as a pastor and is now Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It will help readers understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.
While acknowledging the importance of liaising responsibly with medics and counsellors, this book focuses on equipping readers to play their part in making churches places where those who struggle with mental-health conditions are welcomed, understood, nurtured, and supported: a foretaste of the new creation.
This is a useful book for anyone who cares for others pastorally: pastors, elders, small-group leaders, and congregation members.
| Contributors | Steve Midgley, Helen Thorne |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781784987992 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | March 2023 |
| Case quantity | 50 |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 192 |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
Steve and Helen have achieved the seemingly impossible task of taking a complex issue and framing it for a local church audience. This book brims with a helpful distillation of mental health—terms, definitions, explanations—while also presenting the beauty and depth of the gospel. Readers will be educated, encouraged, equipped, and edified for the privilege of caring for souls.
Knowing enough to help is really helpful. The church has a key role in supporting and welcoming people with mental health difficulties. To do so alongside the NHS means the church needs to know "enough" – not too much for we are not competing; but not nothing for there are past errors of over-spiritualising we can learn from. This book delivers just the right amount and then wraps it in a Biblical model to integrate this with our faith and see real change. Helpful indeed!
I am so grateful for this outstanding and timely book. Every church will benefit from reading it in book groups, as individuals, and in pastoral teams. The writing is warm, soaked in grace and informed by years of caring, listening, and loving. The content is intensely and realistically practical: I look forward to reading it again and learning to put it into practice.
How can the church come alongside God’s people in their mental health struggles? In Mental Health and Your Church, Helen Thorne and Steve Midgley present a handbook for Biblical care.
We must all be aware of mental-health conditions exacerbated by the pandemic. It is something not really talked about in my Asian American church context. This book is a welcome help, full of wisdom and practical tips for helping those who are hurting.
Biblical Understanding
What I most appreciate about this book is that it is comprehensive in what it is trying to accomplish. Section 1 helps you better understand mental illness, looking at diagnoses, developing a biblical understanding, medication, and talking therapies.
Section 2 asks: What can we do? The church has a specific call to raise awareness, relate, remember, refine, and practically resource. As a youth Sunday School teacher, I was convinced I need to do more in regard to mental-health awareness. I can help my students feel welcome, safe, and hopeful while helping them see God as fundamentally good, gracious, and kind.
Caring in Practice
Section 3 looks at caring in practice, using case studies of anxiety, depression, addiction, and psychosis. Using Scripture and working through the Gospel can help others see their identity in Christ more clearly.
This book acknowledges the importance of professionals, but also equips the church for service. Pastors and church leaders would be prudent to read this book. Sunday School teachers, youth counselors, and small group leaders will feel better prepared to help their people. God cares about the whole person, and so should the church. This book is a useful help.
I received a media copy of Mental Health and Your Church and this is my honest review.
