By Bob Allen Better police training about how to interact with people with mental health conditions and developmental disabilities can prevent needless tragedy, an American Baptist official told a Senate panel April 29. “Recent high-profile tragedies demonstrate the need for…
Churches must face depression
By Dwight Duhon One of the most compelling issues facing the church today is depression. Christians are not immune to the economic, social and countless other factors that can lead to depression, but depression among believers is not a recent…
SBC messengers learn to get along
By Jeff Brumley Southern Baptists experienced little antagonism during their annual convention in Houston this week – a phenomenon that surprised some and delighted most SBC officials and messengers. There were plenty of opportunities for controversy. Debates ensued – but…
SBC pastor preaches mental health
By Jeff Brumley Compared to Southern Baptist Convention resolutions on the Boy Scouts and protection of children from sex predators, the one urging churches to develop intentional, compassionate ministries for the mentally ill got scant attention from local and national…
White House holds mental health confab
By Bob Allen President Obama asked the private sector and nonprofit organizations – including houses of worship and other faith-based institutions – to join the government in a national conversation about mental health in the United States during a daylong…
Pastor says Sandy Hook more than politics
By Bob Allen The atrocity of last December’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings transcends politics, raising gun violence to a moral issue that needs to be addressed from pulpits, a pastor said in a dialogue near the end of an…
Rick Warren’s son dies
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren sent a letter April 6 informing church members his youngest son had committed suicide. The pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said 27-year-old Matthew…
Rising stress boosts clergy depression
By Jeff Brumley Bryan Hatcher was a Baptist pastor once, so he gets it when ministers buckle under the strain of long work weeks, budget pressures and that feeling of constantly being in a fish bowl. And because he has…