Christian Counseling and Mental Health
Christian Counseling and Mental Health today with our youth. I am concerned with how the church today operates relative to Christian counseling and mental health. I place in this blog more emphasis on the need of our teens today. They are the victims of many spiritual and mental challenges. Social media, depression, anxiety, etc. I strongly feel that the church is not doing enough to address the mental issues affecting our teens. My concern is that the church is not nurturing our teens today. Who will be the leaders of the church to come? The church we are building today will be empty decades to come if it does not address issues concerning the mental health of its present members.
I will take you back several decades in the 19th century. Churches played a very important role in the lives of Christians. The church was responsible for the spiritual growth of its followers and what could not be handled in the secular world was left in the hands of the church. The church was a place where Christians felt the presence of God in their lives. A place where Christians could lay down their burdens and walk out free from the bondage of sins. There was a unique connection between the family, individuals and the church. Pastors and priests played a big role in ensuring that families grew in Christ.
Christian Counseling and Mental Health
Missing The Mark with our Teens
Numerous mental and spiritual issues cannot be resolved through medication and secular counseling. This is where the church of today has failed terribly as it struggles to keeping up with the modern times. Many churches across all denomination are concerned about opening more branches and attracting more followers. Pastors and Evangelists in the churches are more concerned with the number of Christians in their churches than the spiritual growth of their followers.
The establishment of mega churches is a common phenomenon in many parts of the world. My question is why the church of today fails to address the individual problems of its members even after expanding globally? Studies show that the number of churches have increased by more that 80 percent today compared to three decades ago, yet the gap between the church and it members is widening.
Christian Counseling and Mental Health
Issues are Not Reaching our Teens
The church of today has failed to address the issues facing its members at the personal level. This is true especially with the young generation. The combination of Christian counseling and mental health is slowly fading among the churches of today. Many pastors and evangelists preach about earthly prosperity and miraculous life changing events to lure more followers into their churches.
More followers means more contributions. This has changed the landscape of the church to a form of business instead of focusing on the needs of its members. I am not saying that giving contributions and offerings in the church is wrong. This should not be the key thing factor in our churches. The church should be concerned with the spiritual and mental well-being of its members. This should be based on the principles of Christian counseling and mental health. Not the earthly prosperity.
Many victims of mental illness in the modern society are the teens. They are the majority among the modern Christians. It is the high time the church should change and start addressing the issues facing teen Christians. Teens are facing numerous challenges such family issues, drug abuse and stress among others. Although many teenagers go to churches hoping to get solutions to their mental and spiritual challenges, they end up being disappointed. Pastors and church leaders fail to address their individual problems.
It is obvious that many churches do not offer Christian counseling combined with mental health therapy. Studies show that some churches are not even ready for such undertakings. On the contrary, the church is concerned with opening more branches and attracting more followers. The core meaning of the church as the place where people get spiritual and mental healing is no longer important. Many pastors and evangelists to not offer christian counseling services to their members.
The church has failed to address the mental and spiritual needs of its followers. As much as the modern churches want to embrace the changes of today, there is need for the church to address issues that affect its members at the individual level. The church needs to establish better strategies to connect with its members at individual and family level. Christian counseling must be upheld so that the church can maintain its meaning in the society.
