Someone recently asked me how one is to witness to someone who has a mental illness. This is a concern that I have found is a common concern among people who have loved ones who suffer from a mental illness. On the one hand, I completely understand this concern, but on the other hand, I feel this concern is from a misunderstanding of the nature of mental illness. People seem to think that their mentally ill loved one somehow needs to be treated differently from other people. While it is true that we do have certain things that trigger us, we are just like everyone else you may know in your life. So, as long as you keep in mind what triggers us, it should not be difficult for you to treat us the way you would treat anyone else. However, for those of you who do not know what it looks like to minister to a loved one with mental illness, I am writing this blog to help you out. If you follow this blog's advice, you should be able to minister easier to your loved one with mental illness. I do not want you to get discouraged because the advice I am dispensing is for anyone. However, I want you to know that dealing with someone with a mental illness will be challenging. It can and will push you to your limits. But, when you do this it will be one of the most rewarding things that you will ever do. When sharing the Gospel with a loved one with mental illness, there are five things to always remember. These five things are the following:
1) Keep It Simple
2) Do Not Argue
3) Be Prayerful
4) Avoid Trigger Topics
5) Encourage Fellowship
I will now elaborate on these five points but first I would like to say that if this sounds simple it is because it really is. As I have previously stated, dealing with a mentally ill loved one is really no different than dealing with someone without a mental illness. If you keep this in mind then I believe you will do just fine.
Keep It Simple
This may sound like trite advice, but I know that for those of us who have been Christians for a while we tend to over-complicate the Gospel message especially if they are avid studiers of theology. Sometimes we overthink how we are going to present the Gospel message to someone and then when we actually do it we come across as "know-it-alls" or "holier-than-thou". Your loved one with mental illness does not need an overly complicated Gospel message. All you need to do is keep it to the simple message of Christ being crucified on the cross for our sins and bodily resurrecting from the dead. There is absolutely zero need to bring in deep theology or any other antics to convince them to believe. Allow the Holy Spirit to work on their hearts and minds.
Do Not Argue
Again, this may sound like trite advice, but it needs to be said because so many of us tend to think that we can argue someone into the Kingdom of God. However, you absolutely cannot do this with a loved one with a mental illness. So many of us get easily triggered by controversy and so an argument may set us over the edge. If your loved one is saying things that seem contrary to the Word of God, it would be best for you to just politely change the subject to a more light-hearted topic for the time being. You can always return to the Gospel at a later time.
Be Prayerful
I cannot stress to you how important it is to always be in prayer for your loved one with mental illness. There is power when a Christian prays because we are united to the God of the universe who is in control of all things including your loved one's heart. If you keep this in mind, then you really have no excuse to not pray for them. Your loved one needs you praying for them more than they need anything else so do not forget to do this every chance you get.
Avoid Trigger Topics
This one gets a little more difficult because it requires you to know a little about your loved one. You need to be aware of what triggers their mental health symptoms. For example, when I read the Psalms, sometimes it triggers my voices. So, when witnessing to me it would not be a good idea to take me to the Psalms right away. If someone has panic attacks, it would be helpful for you to be aware of what triggers their panic attacks so you can avoid those triggers. This may require you to actually ask your loved one to explain what their triggers are. When you do ask them, do not judge them for their triggers either even if they may seem silly to you. They are very real and troublesome to them and they do not need anyone judging them for their triggers. If you make them feel judged, then they will not trust you and you will have lost your chance at witnessing the Gospel to them.
Encourage Fellowship
One of the primary signs of mental illness is that we tend to isolate ourselves from people. This actually is a very destructive thing for us to do because then we get stuck in our own minds and spiral out of control. For this reason, we need to be encouraged to remain in fellowship with other believers. So, make sure you encourage your loved one to stay in church even if you have to offer to give them a ride to church. Do not allow us to skip out on fellowshipping with the saints no matter how hard we try. We can be very stubborn about this but if you are consistently offering to take us to church then eventually that consistency will pay off. So many of us think that people do not care about us but if you consistently show that you do care then that will have a profound impact on our minds. Remind us of the scriptural mandate to not forsake the gathering and remind us who our spiritual family in Christ is too. We need these reminders daily because it is so easy for us to forget especially when we are lost in our own thoughts.
I hope that this gives you a better idea of what it looks like to minister to a loved one with mental illness and I pray that you will remember these tips when you talk to your loved one about the Gospel. Thank you for reading this blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
1) Keep It Simple
2) Do Not Argue
3) Be Prayerful
4) Avoid Trigger Topics
5) Encourage Fellowship
I will now elaborate on these five points but first I would like to say that if this sounds simple it is because it really is. As I have previously stated, dealing with a mentally ill loved one is really no different than dealing with someone without a mental illness. If you keep this in mind then I believe you will do just fine.
Keep It Simple
This may sound like trite advice, but I know that for those of us who have been Christians for a while we tend to over-complicate the Gospel message especially if they are avid studiers of theology. Sometimes we overthink how we are going to present the Gospel message to someone and then when we actually do it we come across as "know-it-alls" or "holier-than-thou". Your loved one with mental illness does not need an overly complicated Gospel message. All you need to do is keep it to the simple message of Christ being crucified on the cross for our sins and bodily resurrecting from the dead. There is absolutely zero need to bring in deep theology or any other antics to convince them to believe. Allow the Holy Spirit to work on their hearts and minds.
Do Not Argue
Again, this may sound like trite advice, but it needs to be said because so many of us tend to think that we can argue someone into the Kingdom of God. However, you absolutely cannot do this with a loved one with a mental illness. So many of us get easily triggered by controversy and so an argument may set us over the edge. If your loved one is saying things that seem contrary to the Word of God, it would be best for you to just politely change the subject to a more light-hearted topic for the time being. You can always return to the Gospel at a later time.
Be Prayerful
I cannot stress to you how important it is to always be in prayer for your loved one with mental illness. There is power when a Christian prays because we are united to the God of the universe who is in control of all things including your loved one's heart. If you keep this in mind, then you really have no excuse to not pray for them. Your loved one needs you praying for them more than they need anything else so do not forget to do this every chance you get.
Avoid Trigger Topics
This one gets a little more difficult because it requires you to know a little about your loved one. You need to be aware of what triggers their mental health symptoms. For example, when I read the Psalms, sometimes it triggers my voices. So, when witnessing to me it would not be a good idea to take me to the Psalms right away. If someone has panic attacks, it would be helpful for you to be aware of what triggers their panic attacks so you can avoid those triggers. This may require you to actually ask your loved one to explain what their triggers are. When you do ask them, do not judge them for their triggers either even if they may seem silly to you. They are very real and troublesome to them and they do not need anyone judging them for their triggers. If you make them feel judged, then they will not trust you and you will have lost your chance at witnessing the Gospel to them.
Encourage Fellowship
One of the primary signs of mental illness is that we tend to isolate ourselves from people. This actually is a very destructive thing for us to do because then we get stuck in our own minds and spiral out of control. For this reason, we need to be encouraged to remain in fellowship with other believers. So, make sure you encourage your loved one to stay in church even if you have to offer to give them a ride to church. Do not allow us to skip out on fellowshipping with the saints no matter how hard we try. We can be very stubborn about this but if you are consistently offering to take us to church then eventually that consistency will pay off. So many of us think that people do not care about us but if you consistently show that you do care then that will have a profound impact on our minds. Remind us of the scriptural mandate to not forsake the gathering and remind us who our spiritual family in Christ is too. We need these reminders daily because it is so easy for us to forget especially when we are lost in our own thoughts.
I hope that this gives you a better idea of what it looks like to minister to a loved one with mental illness and I pray that you will remember these tips when you talk to your loved one about the Gospel. Thank you for reading this blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
No comments:
Post a Comment