Before social workers, therapists and psychiatrists, the church often
served as a caring community connecting people in healthy relationships with God, others and themselves. If you really want
to read an eye opener then check out Timothy Smith's book Revivalism and Social Reform in Nineteenth Century America. Then
read the books by Crabb, Muren, and Thompson listed in the books for further
reading.
Today, standard texts on the history of social work give an honorable
mention to what churches did for people in their brokenness. From the 19 century on, the church's role in soul care was replaced
with unspiritual, deterministic, evolutionary based mental health care.
At first, Freud captured the attention of some. Many people came to
believe that we are soulless creatures determined by our past.
Next Skinner convinced other to believe that we are helpless manipulative
machines conditioned by external input without any inner will to make choices.
In reaction to a very legalistic background, Carl Rogers about defined
the human condition as basically good with a few needs to be improved. Therefore, in the face of secular humanism, our unspiritual
status defined us as either soul less, will less, or sin less.
We often speak of someone being in 'good spirits' today. Wouldn't it
be nice to wake up each day in good spirits again (some ask)? We are in good spirits when we love the Lord our God fully;
we express healthy love in our relationships, and we have a biblical sense of self-care.
Our unrecognized and invalidated spiritual nature is always connected
with relationships. Our spiritual nature produces either a toxic or healthy atmosphere in our relationships. It is reflected
by what is truly in our heart of hearts around which our lives orbit. The mystery and wonder of our spiritual nature is too
often covered over by a hardened heart. When it is not, people amazingly rise above the internal influence of their past;
sore beyond the externals seeking to steal-kill-and destroy their soul, and gain a healthy realism about their growing edges.
A depressed person is dispirited. The word itself denotes a spiritual
aspect of depression. Their broken spirit can be seen in their total lack of being excited about the new day; not looking
forward to new experiences; and absence of bubbling over with anticipation.
Yes, the biological aspects mental/emotional illnesses like depression
need medications. Likewise, the inter-personal and intra-personal dimensions call for therapy. At the same time, the spiritual
crisis in the depressed person's soul calls for pastoral care or as it was once called soul care via the pastor as spiritual
guide. Such genuine NT soul care by the whole congregation continues the apostolic ministry of the early church in both Word
and Power.
Religion becomes sick when faith becomes presumption (Arterburn).
It attempts to control both life and God through magical formulas. Sad to say but too often in our American culture "the world"
becomes the end and God becomes the means.
People wear many religious masks to cover their personality disorders
in churches (Oates; Pate). Thus, every apparent golden achievement is not always the work of the Holy Spirit through people.
Sometimes, it is religious persons in one group of disorders taking advantage of persons with other problems as illustrated
later (Oates, Pate, Weiser).
In this post-modern era, managing our lives via reason alone is fading.
However, it is often this desire of the mind or "ego" to run everything. Thus, people fall into various disorders which seek
to control others. These include obsessive-compulsive, narcissism, borderline (an offshoot of narcissism), co-dependency,
and passive-aggressive..
Those for whom their body rules, their lives often develop impulse-control
disorders. Therefore, they live in a constant search of just looking for a fix. Probably the manic stage of the bi-polar disorder
would fit here. Within this context, a toxic faith becomes an addictive search for continuous religious highs and other harmful
expression of religious addiction (Arterburn).
Without the Spirit of God, one's spirit might rule and align either
with the mind or the body. This can lead to various disorders such as dissociative disorder, identity disorder, or depersonalization
disorder. Possibly schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder would fit here. Possibly some depressive dependent personalities
and passive-aggressive personalities could be found both here and in the group above.
A sick religious faith in this context includes the extremes of connecting
one's spirituality entirely with the mind to the mistreatment of the body and emotions. Thus, the body would either be viewed
as unimportant or as the prison of the soul. Such a toxic faith is actually practical Gnosticism and denies Jesus' incarnation
in the flesh. In this context of mental and spiritual disassociation, religious faith gets sick when spirituality becomes
exclusively focused on the body and emotions to the point of committing intellectual suicide.
The opportunity of this "new age" century is the new openness to spirituality.
A healthy Spirituality involves the Holy Spirit being in charge of a person's spirit, mind and body. The result is a balanced
life of grace and truth.
The spirit of those who offer soul care to others and seek to equip
congregations as caring congregations is very important. Clergy with unhealed spirits very often cease living out of grace
and in exchange to live focused on survival and defending themselves. Such persons burn out after years of operating out of
duty, weak boundaries, fear, obligation, and guilt instead of God's transforming grace.
However, a grace filled life is energized by a passion. People with
vital spirits protect and nurture their passion through healthy interior and exterior boundaries. Very rarely do these persons
experience burnout because they are not wandering in the F.O.G. of fear, obligation, and guilt.
Care givers consider
these questions prayerfully. How do others
experience your spirit? Are others uplifted by your vital spiritual life in Christ or pulled down by the F.O.G (Fear. Obligation. Guilt) of your spirit? Are you a wounded healer or a harmful helper?
As I promised earlier, here are three descriptions of clergy persons
who have not dealt with the dark side of their leadership and its harmful impact upon their care of souls.
The notorious former televangelist Jim Bakker is an excellent example
of a compulsive, narcissistic church leader. His creation of PTL was an expression of the dark side of Bakker's leadership
and not the Holy Spirit's leadership. While we might want to cast stones at him and other high profile church leaders, the
same types of failures are found in churches all over America
on a smaller scale.
Narcissistic clergy lead churches, districts, conferences, jurisdictions, and denominations into projects far too
idealistic and costly for others primarily to make them feel better about themselves. However, once the "high" of the new
project launch is over, they provide very little long range over-sight and maintenance.
One disorder has most likely crippled the health of more congregations,
districts, conferences, jurisdictions and denominations than any other. The clergy person with undiagnosed and untreated co-dependency
is a danger to themselves and to others.
Co-dependent clergy destroy themselves in the vain attempt to keep everyone happy and meet everyone else's needs
while ignoring both their own personal and family needs. They offer re-active leadership instead of pro-active leadership.
Their reaction to the pain and problems of others is focused far more getting or maintaining the people's love for them instead
of a genuine expression of love for those persons. They are stuffed full of anger and frustration as they are too tolerant
of other's inappropriate behavior in the church, too willing to overextend themselves, and too eager to avoid confrontation
at any cost. In the end, no one is pleased and the co-dependent person often winds up like Samson in the Bible or former president
Bill Clinton.
Clergy leaders who are high functioning people with borderline
personality disorder appear to be increasing
in the ranks of religious leadership along with accounts of abuse. Until about 10 years ago, this was not a concern. This
phenomenon may be due to the need for clergy in declining denominations and the related felt need to "go soft" on ordination
candidates as well as an increase in the number of persons with this disorder in society. Too often unhealthy situations are
only made worse when clergy with this disorder are found to have abused usually dependent/depressed females and a few males.
Many times the lives of those who live on the border reflect the chaos of Samson in the Bible.
God's grace can lead us to face our dark side as clergy. His amazing
grace can also lead us to overcome so that our Achilles' heal does not lead to the experience of stealing, killing and destroying.
Such grace comes to us through a proper diagnosis, helpful medicines, qualified therapy, spiritual guidance, and a caring
Christian community offering Jesus' healing to all.
The following books by Arterburn, Harris,
Headley, McIntosh, Rassieur, Rediger, Weiser, Wuellner
specifically address the path to wholeness.
Dr. David Ludwig's presentation "Spirituality and Mental Health" at the Greensboro
Spiritual Conference for Faith-Based Communities on May 13, 2004 inspired much of this presentation.
Other
articles online to read.
1.
Brother Martin or Pastor Superstar?
2. Jesus & Clergy Health
3. Pastors: ‘You aren't called to work harder than your Creator’
4. Rienas, Garbrielle. The Pastor’s Wife: Beating The Ministry Blahs
5. "Self-Denial and Self-Care"
6. The pastor's well-being often reflects a church's health and happiness
7. Video Why You Should Give Your Pastor A Sabbatical
8. What is the Condition of Your Heart?
