Strategies for Engaging both the
Christian Organizations and
Churches with the Mental Health
Community
Rev. Derrick Thorpe, D Min.
Dean of Graduate Studies at Carolina Christian College, Winston- Salem, NC
Associate Minister, New Light Missionary Baptist Church, Greensboro NC
Overview
Understanding the needs of the
mentally ill – culturally, biblically,
historically, and theologically
Educating the Church through
seminar, workshops, and preaching
that will change their attitudes
toward mental illness
Administer Survey
Understanding Our Cultural
Context
 lacking participation in
understanding the needs of
the mentally ill
 There appears to be no model
that educates the church
about the needs of the
mentally ill
 Openness to mentally ill
persons
 Evaluate personal beliefs
 The church and community
play a role in providing care to
the mentally ill
Understanding Our Cultural
Context – Religiously
 Increase experimentation with
other religious practices beyond
Christianity
 Increase participation in mental
health institutions
• In the preservation, and
safekeeping of mental health,
the Church has an undertaking,
a major role to play. The
Church can engage the mental
health community in many ways
according to Clinebell:
motivation, initiating action and
presenting Christ
Defining and Understanding
mental illness from a biblical
perspective
 Biblical References
Dan 4: 28 - 37
Mark 5: 1-20
 Importance/ Implication
 Don’t let them down
 Don’t shun them
 Don’t dismiss their reality
Ways We Have neglected the
mentally ill
 Ignoring the problem
 Refusing to deal with
mental illness in the
family
 Misunderstanding of what it
means to be a mentally ill
 Image
 Worship
 Mission
Engaging and Reclaiming the
mentally ill
 Be definitive about who
Jesus Is
 Be definitive about who
we are and what we are
called to do
 The benefits of mental
health education are
defined as:
 familiar support
 textual material
 a growing spirituality
 services that are linked
and referred.
An Understanding Of Church
 ... the will of God for human socialness as a whole is
prefigured by the shape to which the Body of Christ
is called. Church and world are not two
compartments under separate legislation or two
institutions with contradictory assignments, but two
levels of the pertinence of the same Lordship. The
people of God is called to be today what the
world is called to be ultimately.
John Howard Yoder
Body Politics: Five Practices of the Christian
Community Before the Watching World
Understanding Our Context
Theologically
 Liberation Theology can be defined as empowering the
oppressed
 Liberation Theology serves as a critical foundation in
helping to enhance our understanding of mental health
 Liberation Theology provides a common ground of hope
 Liberation Theology reflects on the Christian faith
through the lens of the exploited
 Liberation Theology creates accountability for the
Church and Christian organizations for the oppressed
Where does the Christian
Organizations and the Church go
now?
 Identify leaders in the field of
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mental health
Partner with a mental health
agency
Develop a support group for the
mentally ill
Develop a mental health ministry
within the church
Survey the congregation, create a
safe space
Use preaching as a treatmentcultivating an atmosphere of
acceptance
Acknowledge and validate their
realities
Create a support group for the
families of the mentally ill
Train clergy and other leaders to
meet the needs of this
demographic.
11
Q&A Session