How to Talk About Mental Health (with Pastor Rick Atchley) - Episode 343
Apr 10, 2024
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Pastor Rick Atchley shares insights on developing a sermon series around mental health, emphasizing the importance of addressing tough topics in churches and the positive impact on attendance. The podcast discusses strategies for creating a safe space for vulnerability, embracing mental health within the church, and the significance of tackling mental health challenges within religious communities.
Addressing tough topics in the church is crucial to equip believers for challenging conversations and show God's love within the current cultural context.
The mental health series at the Hills Church led to increased empathy within the congregation and empowered individuals to express their struggles authentically.
Deep dives
Challenging Topics in the Church: Addressing Mental Health
Addressing tough topics in the church, such as mental health, is crucial to equip believers for challenging conversations and show God's love within the current cultural context. The series focuses on providing practical wisdom from senior pastors to support congregations in discussing tough topics effectively. It aims to help churches become safe spaces for open dialogue on critical issues like mental health, politics, theology, and sexuality.
Series on Mental Health at the Hills Church
At the Hills Church, Pastor Rick Atchley launched a nine-week series addressing mental health challenges among the congregation. The series aimed to destigmatize mental health issues, create a safe environment for sharing struggles, and offer strategies for healing. By highlighting the importance of thoughts on mental health, inviting a Christian counselor, and addressing specific challenges like anxiety, depression, and burnout, the series provided practical support and guidance to the church community.
Impact and Insights from the Mental Health Series
The mental health series at the Hills Church led to increased empathy within the congregation and empowered individuals to express their struggles authentically. Through addressing tough topics like suicide and promoting empathetic responses, the church became a supportive and understanding community. Pastor Rick's perspective shifted towards emphasizing empathy and equipping the church with tools for better soul care, highlighting the necessity of addressing toxic lifestyle patterns for mental wellness and spiritual growth.
We’re kicking off a special new series packed with practical wisdom from senior pastors to senior/teaching pastors to challenge and encourage them to equip their congregations to talk about tough topics in our world today.
In this episode, Pastor Rick Atchley shares how The Hills Church developed a sermon series around mental health and provides encouragement for other pastors looking to address this topic.
You can watch Pastor Rick’s series, Let’s Talk About Mental Health, here.
This episode is brought to you by Planning Center, an all-in-one software to help you organize your ministries and care for your church. With an easy-to-use platform of products, you can bring people together with event signups, room and resource reservations, automatic volunteer scheduling, and much more. Start using for free now at planningcenter.com. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode343. Join the Conversation on Social Media
If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.
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