By Andy Hale
The trends are not heading in the right direction. In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report indicating that we are in a loneliness epidemic.
Over 90 million Americans have met the criteria for an anxiety disorder over the course of their lives. The World Health Organization stated that depression is the single largest contributor to global disability. Around 46% of the American population will meet the criteria for mental disorders at some point in their lives.
Mental health is not something we can avoid. The church needs to know how to approach this crisis.
“As a Christian, I see problems with mental health care as it is practiced in the U.S. and in many industrialized nations. It’s not because psychiatry is somehow intrinsically anti-Christian. Mental health clinicians these days see value in religious practice and belief and often are people of faith themselves,” urged Dr. Warren Kinghorn on the CBF Podcast Conversation. “The problem is rather that psychiatry is all too often remarkably impersonal.”
Kinghorn, jointly appointed to the faculties of Duke Divinity School and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Duke University Medical Center, sat down with us to explore his new book, Wayfaring: A Christian Approach to Mental Health Care. Warren is co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School and practices psychiatry at the Durham VA Medical Center.
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- Community Transformation Center: Through educational opportunities, community conversations, and research initiatives in collaboration with universities and local leaders, PBACTC is at the forefront of integrating spiritual care into holistic community development.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.