Many thanks to Mark Brown of Brownblog.com who is taking the topic of mental illness very seriously in his ministry to help the church be the anchor so many people need. He linked to my “8 Ways Faith Can Heal” recently, and his introduction was very intriguing. He writes:

After completing my theology degree I decided to complete a certificate in pastoral care that included one year of chaplaincy at a chronic psychiatric hospital. In that year two particular things struck me: I became curious by the amount of spiritual talk amongst patients and how the medical system dismissed it as just another symptom. This discovery led to me completing a Masters degree in Art Therapy and concentrating my thesis on creating an assessment tool to assist in discerning what was genuine faith expression.
Over that year I also realised how much unhelpful mythology surrounded those with a mental illness. There is a real need for us in the church to understand better what it means to have a mental illness and what we can do to promote their health and welcome them into our community.

To read Mark’s entire post, click here. I encourage you to visit his site. Much like the site BustedHalo, he presents faith in a refreshingly modern way!
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