Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Ministry and mental illness

OpinionKris Aaron  |  June 9, 2014

By Kris Aaron

Last week was an interesting one. On Wednesday, I met with a young man that had visited our church a few times. After answering a few basic questions about the church, I asked him to tell me about himself.

Almost immediately, he told me that he was someone who was written about in the Bible. I asked for clarification, wanting to make sure that I had heard him correctly, and I had. Then he asked for money, so he could travel to a place that God would show him. Next, he told me that he was a prophet and that he could levitate. Finally, he told me that he was the second coming of Jesus and that the Father would reveal this true identity to me if I merely asked for it.

He spent the rest of our conversation trying to prove to me who he was by reading from his Bible. He jumped from verse to verse, telling me that each one referred to him.

As politely as I could, I interrupted his unique form of proof-texting and told him that we would not be giving him any money and that he would not be given the opportunity to speak during any of our worship services. I concluded by telling him that while we always welcomed anyone who wanted to join us in worship, we could do no more than that.

I feared suggesting he seek mental help would only agitate him, so I didn’t. He was cordial and after a little over an hour he finally left my office.

The next day someone put a CD through the mail slot in the church’s front door. It was covered by a sheet of notebook paper with several messages on it — the name of the one who delivered it, that the CD contained the most important message in the history of the world, and directions to his Facebook page.

Fearful that the CD might have some virus I threw it away, but out of curiosity I went to his Facebook page. In post and after post, the young man claimed to be a prophet. The posts were what I expected — long, rambling and unintelligible.

I had met Jesus one day and a prophet the next.

In every church I’ve worked I’ve encountered people that were mentally ill. They almost always were people who came in from the street asking for help, so these recent encounters weren’t a new experience, though dealing with such severe cases so closely together was. After talking with others on staff, I learned that the frequency of these encounters at church has been increasing.

To make matters worse, I learned this week that Seven Counties, the main community mental health center in Louisville, Ky., has filed for bankruptcy. While struggling to find the balance between wanting the church to be seen as an opening, inviting place and wanting to make sure that the people inside the church are safe isn’t new, it becomes all the more acute when the institutions charged with helping the mentally ill are themselves in crisis.

While our church’s encounters with those who are mentally ill have increased lately, it seems that we aren’t alone. In talking with other churches near us, we have discovered that they are having similar experiences. This isn’t just a problem confined to Louisville, however. In seemingly every other national news cycle, there is a new story about a young man with mental illness obtaining a gun, often legally, and going on a rampage.

Encounters with those who need mental help are only increasing while more and more of the institutions designed to help them are having fiscal woes.

The church cannot solve this problem alone. It needs the help of professionally trained mental health workers and those appear to be in short supply across the country. Ministers need to know about the centers in their area that treat those with mental illness, but equally important is the fact that those centers need the financial support necessary to help their potential patients.

Sometimes the most effective form of ministry is referral, but that only works when the place you refer them to is open.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Commentaries
More by
Kris Aaron
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Are Americans attending church more or less than before the pandemic? It’s complicated

      News

    • Preying preachers: Confronting clergy sexual abuse

      Analysis

    • ‘In a pluralistic democracy’: An interview with Jennifer Rubin

      Opinion

    • Guys, guns and gods

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Carl Lentz, in first staff position since Hillsong, joins Transformation Church in Tulsa

      Carl Lentz, in first staff position since Hillsong, joins Transformation Church in Tulsa

    • UK’s Religion-Free Speech Debates Enter ‘Thoughtcrime’ Zone

      UK’s Religion-Free Speech Debates Enter ‘Thoughtcrime’ Zone

    • Jimmy Carter believes Black lives matter. Would his decency be considered ‘woke’ today?

      Jimmy Carter believes Black lives matter. Would his decency be considered ‘woke’ today?

    • The Man Who Leads Senate Prayer Is Fed Up With ‘Thoughts And Prayers’

      The Man Who Leads Senate Prayer Is Fed Up With ‘Thoughts And Prayers’

    Read Next:

    How the church of the Nashville shooting winds through history, gender wars, church discipline and the SBC sexual abuse study

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • On the separation of church and university

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • An open letter to Baptist women

      OpinionAnna M.V. Bowden

    • Bob Jones University president resigns in battle with board chairman

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Evangelical leaders beg DeSantis and Florida Legislature not to make them criminals for transporting immigrants to church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • If you’re going to quote 1 Timothy 3:2, be sure to read Exodus 20:17

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • 650 UMC clergy and laity publish letter supporting International Transgender Day of Visibility

      NewsBNG staff

    • On the indictment of a president

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Boy Scouts closer to settling abuse claims, but challenges remain

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Oral history archive explores relationship between faith and forced migration

      NewsMatthew Blanton

    • The shift from positional power to relational power

      OpinionMahan Siler

    • What the SBC can learn from NCAA women’s basketball

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Guys, guns and gods

      OpinionNapoleon Harris

    • Are Americans attending church more or less than before the pandemic? It’s complicated

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • A response to ‘The List’

      OpinionAlice Cates Clarke

    • What Mike Law got right

      OpinionJennifer Hawks

    • Preying preachers: Confronting clergy sexual abuse

      AnalysisJoel Bowman Sr.

    • Transitions for the week of 3-31-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘In a pluralistic democracy’: An interview with Jennifer Rubin

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • Northern Seminary trustees respond to student complaints

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • I’m one of the female pastors on the SBC’s hit list

      OpinionCarlisle Davidhizar

    • How the church of the Nashville shooting winds through history, gender wars, church discipline and the SBC sexual abuse study

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Baptist church jumps into service as reunion point for Covenant School children and parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • School shootings: How can we respond to children, parents, teachers and others affected?

      OpinionBrad Schwall

    • Part of former student’s case against Patterson and Southwestern dismissed by judge

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Why we should amplify women in all roles of church leadership

      OpinionBrittany Stillwell

    • Bob Jones University president resigns in battle with board chairman

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Evangelical leaders beg DeSantis and Florida Legislature not to make them criminals for transporting immigrants to church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 650 UMC clergy and laity publish letter supporting International Transgender Day of Visibility

      NewsBNG staff

    • Boy Scouts closer to settling abuse claims, but challenges remain

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Oral history archive explores relationship between faith and forced migration

      NewsMatthew Blanton

    • Are Americans attending church more or less than before the pandemic? It’s complicated

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 3-31-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Northern Seminary trustees respond to student complaints

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Baptist church jumps into service as reunion point for Covenant School children and parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Part of former student’s case against Patterson and Southwestern dismissed by judge

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Antisemitic-motivated assaults at record levels

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Peter James Flamming, ‘bridge-building’ pastor in Texas and Virginia

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New court documents show First Baptist Houston leaders knew of allegations against Pressler in 2004

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • A tragic tale of death on the Mediterranean Sea amid Tunisian and British migrant backlash

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Movements expand and contract, Black Lives Matter co-founder says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ukrainians join European Baptists to help quake victims in Syria and Turkey

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two Baptist seminaries among six ‘recommended’ by new Global Methodist Church

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Advocates for constitutional ban on female ‘pastors’ in SBC publish a list of 170 churches they deem in violation

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Former staff at Knoxville church see a familiar pattern in Northern Seminary’s complaints about Shiell’s leadership

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Egged on by evangelical influence, Ugandan Parliament passes harsh new anti-gay bill

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Judge’s dismissal of 36 churches’ lawsuit holds implications for other UMC departures

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Barna finds pastors are exhausted and isolated, which could be an opportunity for change

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One-third of Northern Seminary students express no confidence in trustees

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • He was wrongly put on Death Row and believes you could be too

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • On the separation of church and university

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • An open letter to Baptist women

      OpinionAnna M.V. Bowden

    • If you’re going to quote 1 Timothy 3:2, be sure to read Exodus 20:17

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • On the indictment of a president

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • The shift from positional power to relational power

      OpinionMahan Siler

    • What the SBC can learn from NCAA women’s basketball

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Guys, guns and gods

      OpinionNapoleon Harris

    • A response to ‘The List’

      OpinionAlice Cates Clarke

    • What Mike Law got right

      OpinionJennifer Hawks

    • ‘In a pluralistic democracy’: An interview with Jennifer Rubin

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • I’m one of the female pastors on the SBC’s hit list

      OpinionCarlisle Davidhizar

    • School shootings: How can we respond to children, parents, teachers and others affected?

      OpinionBrad Schwall

    • Why we should amplify women in all roles of church leadership

      OpinionBrittany Stillwell

    • Lent, confession and the ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • What pastors may not say, but really want us to understand

      OpinionMark Tidsworth

    • Religious leaders must step up to support our trans siblings

      OpinionPaul Brandeis Raushenbush

    • To increase congregational health, decrease domestic violence

      OpinionGeneece Goertzen-Morrison

    • From a Gen Z perspective, another ‘Jesus Revolution’ seems improbable

      OpinionMallory Challis

    • Trumpism is leading America to the valley of dry bones

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Dear churches who invite women to preach

      OpinionSarah Boberg

    • How dare they publish that list

      OpinionArthur Wright Jr.

    • ‘Woke’: I don’t think that word means what you say it does

      OpinionRoger Lovette

    • The Russian Orthodox Church is a big loser in the Russian-Ukrainian war

      OpinionAndrey Shirin

    • On the path to immigration justice, it’s time for Biden to change course

      OpinionSalote Soqo

    • If a story is meant to evolve, then so are we

      OpinionKaitlin Curtice

    • Carl Lentz, in first staff position since Hillsong, joins Transformation Church in Tulsa

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • UK’s Religion-Free Speech Debates Enter ‘Thoughtcrime’ Zone

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jimmy Carter believes Black lives matter. Would his decency be considered ‘woke’ today?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Man Who Leads Senate Prayer Is Fed Up With ‘Thoughts And Prayers’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At launch rally in Waco, former president sets the stakes for Trump ’24 campaign with apocalyptic, violent, genocidal rhetoric

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Judge rules immigration officials violated pastor’s religious freedom rights

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A ‘historic’ day in Israel ends with a political compromise — and big questions about the future

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • NY’s power to regulate religious schools trimmed by judge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Amid rise in antisemitism, Yeshiva University focuses on Holocaust education

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Is Pope Francis ‘The Only One Who Can Make A Difference’ In Uganda’s Anti-LGBTQ Bills?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • “We Will Fight You for It”: Can Womenpriests Save the Catholic Church?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pelosi on cleric who barred her from Communion: ‘That’s his problem, not mine’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Criminal or Not, Trump’s Case Is a Moral Test for Christians

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Netanyahu vows more active role in Israel’s judiciary fight following a day of tense protests

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jimmy Carter’s religious values were never far from his presidency or his policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pioneer of gospel music rediscovered in Pittsburgh archives

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As The King’s College faces closure, scrutiny turns to its backers

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Communicators for Christ: how homeschool debate leagues shaped the rising stars of the Christian right

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israeli leader halts bill against Christian proselytizing

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Trump’s arrest ‘prediction’ inflames holy war narrative and sanctifies violence — welcome to Trump ’24

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • German prosecutors examined late pope in abuse probe

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Court rehears case to protect Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site in Arizona

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Antisemitism on Twitter has more than doubled since Elon Musk took over the platform – new research

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel’s Reform rabbi and legislator on judicial overhaul: ‘It doesn’t look good.’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS