“She quit on her team.” If we were playing a popular social media game called “Poorly Describe What You Do Using Five Words,” that might be how someone would answer for the young Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles. If we were…
No church wants the Moby Dick of ministers
They call me Erica. Well, no they don’t. The folks at Buechel Park Baptist Church actually call me Pastor Erica, and the more formal members refer to me as Reverend Whitaker. We’ve been on the seas of ministries together for…
Having COVID reentry anxiety? You’re not alone
In the last few weeks, I have been living a fully vaccinated, post-pandemic life. I have traveled, gone to the movies, eaten in restaurants without a mask. It feels like I am doing something just slightly rebellious but enjoyable, like…
Worldwide church needs global approach to mental illness, psychologist says
Baptist churches must work together and with other religious and civic organizations to have a positive impact on the mental illness pandemic that is destroying lives and communities around the world, a Jamaican psychologist said on the opening day of…
Churches adapted rapidly to the pandemic, but there’s a mental health cost to that success
The rapid and creative responses churches made to address the COVID-19 pandemic created significant stresses on church leadership and laity both, one of the nation’s leading religion researchers said in a recent webinar. “The staggering amount of change that (occurred…
Clergy mental health is a choice between life and death
I took a leave of absence in 2020, and it saved my life. I serve as pastor of a church in Oklahoma, and it’s been a heck of a year. Even before the pandemic, we navigated painful staff changes and…
Here’s help for addressing mental health in marriage
Achieving intimacy with family, friends or clergy can be daunting for those suffering from mental health challenges, but establishing and maintaining understanding with a spouse can be especially intimidating, said Sarah Griffith Lund, author and national minister for disabilities and…
Longitudinal study of 50 clergy approaches the 10-year mark
Embracing and implementing intuitive and redemptive approaches to ministry is the goal of an ecumenical and national study that has tracked the faith and professional development of 50 ministers for a decade. Eileen Campbell-Reed and Christian Scharen, co-directors of the…
What I learned working in a Texas prison: Retribution, not reformation
I served as a pastor for 33 years and then worked nearly six years as a counselor at the most high-profile maximum-security prison in Texas. There, I ran the mental health department, nestled in the prison infirmary, which serves all…