Have churches become too reliant on recovery programs and psychology/psychiatry?

In the Christian News forum there's a recent thread about the wife of a pastor of a California megachurch who committed suicide. A link in the thread leads to an article which states: "Hilken had taken her life after suffering from mental health troubles."

I don't want to make light of the tragedy of this situation or the pain it has caused all those involved; however, it does make me think about how reliant the church has become on mental health professionals and recovery programs. I realize there may be situations where a person needs professional help, but is depression one of them? It seems to me, depression is an problem that the love of Christ was tailor-made for.

If Jesus came that we might have life, and that more abundantly, why the need for all kinds of human programs when we already have "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes"? (Romans 1:16)

Should churches continue to be reliant on these humanistic methods or should it start to detach?

The church this woman—and her husband (a pastor)—belonged to is North Coast Church, Vista campus in Vista, California. It's North Coast's largest franchise. North Coast is part of the Association of Related Churches (ARC); that may be neither here nor there. However, when you check out their life groups page they have more recovery and support groups than you can shake a stick at.

A few thoughts:

Mental illness is a real thing, just as physical illness is real. There are treatments that deal with the physical issues and those that deal with the emotional/mental (thought) issues.

When dealing with the emotional/mental issues, if psychology is used in place of biblical truth and wisdom, it will fail. Both are needed, in many cases.

Christian ministries are best equipped to address the biblical side of the mental/emotional issues. In Christ, we have the power and authority to deal with all human illness, but that doesn't happen on an institutional scale.

Depression can only be solved by yourself, in my expirience. Psychiatrists only try to make people ignore problems. Not care about stuff they care about. Refocus.

It is far too late to ask such questions. Humanistic ideas and methods crept into the churches a long time ago. And they will continue to influence them.

I think that many, if not most churches fall into this category.

2 Timothy 3
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

This is a very valid concern. It must be in the context of local brotherhood and community that we care for and encourage and rally round those that are depressed. And in some cases we need to passionately pursue the reasons too many Christians are depressed.

Let's make the solution (Jesus) the focus rather than keeping on whacking the problem.

Having said that, I think there is a legitimate place and need for Christian counseling and helps in the right context.

Just my opinion here:
I was diagnosed with CPTSD (Childhood Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) years ago and recovery has been a long long trudge. In my opinion, church going Christians have not been helpful in the remotest sense. I've forgiven those who committed unspeakable crimes against me, but the effects still trigger me at times. I am the only one of my family that is not dead from Alcohol or substance abuse.

Frankly if I go into a church and the music is Rock, and the Pastor shouts emotionally, I will leave and not come back.

Some of us have chemical imbalances and religion does not solve it all. God created Doctors and the means to heal people. To tell a Schizophrenia sufferer or Bipolar that Jesus will fix it is offensively cruel.

I have been around the proverbial block a time or 2, and have been fortunate to witness the Church for a long time since being born into it, and been associated with it ever since.

I remember how in the 1970's, Preachers called this Mental Illness [Demon Oppression], not Possession, but Oppression. And I have witnessed [countless times], where these people were prayed for and would report back for years ""Never"" having Suicidal Thoughts ever again. Or, never dealing with what else it was they thought was attacking them, like the Demonic Oppression of Depression, Anxiety, Worry, and things that when you dwell on the [issue problem] that ultimately results into feeling trapped and helpless with no way out.

But today, there are TWO forms of Psychiatry.
1. the one who diagnoses you
2. the one who prescribes the medications

And that has become the [Faith in God] first Choice since the early 1990's, Science!

And I am thankful for many achievements and discoveries in Science.
But Science has no answer to the Battle of Demonic Oppression.
Science [does not] even know Demonic Oppression exists.
Much of those in Science [ARE] Demonic Oppressed!

If God healed those people I witnessed first hand being prayed for in the 1970's and 1980's and 1990's and they continued coming back FREED of Demonic Oppression, God WANTS to be doing it Right Now for YOU!

I worked in Behavioral Health for 20+ years as both a practitioner and as a CEO.

I left 3 years ago and let my license to practice lapse.

Does anyone have any questions?

What is the motive of a mocker, or motives

Is it envy? hate? ignorance?

A mocker? I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean someone who mocks others?

Yes

Well, it's difficult to say without knowing the circumstance and the people involved. You are probably on the right track with envy, hate, or ignorance. People, with no desire to advance in their own lives, might seek to bring others down to preserve their own sense of self-importance.

Since Faith happens in the Mind, have any of those labelled as being psychological disordered in your experience, actually were Demonically Oppressed?

When we think of Multiple Personality Disorder, when someone can flip on the switch to a new identity been actually Demonically Oppressed/Possessed?

If Medications [Never] fix those suffering, or if Therapists [Never] lead anyone to 100% full recovery, but we know God CAN Heal them, aren't many of them actually suffering from Demonic Oppression?

I am not discussing Environmental Issues that can be harmful to a developing fetus either...

May I ask what you mean? How could they have been more helpful?

I ask because this seems to be the crux of the matter. I experienced something similar when I was younger in the 80s. Pop psychology hadn't infiltrated the church to the extent it now has, but counselors and psychology were still the order of the day if someone had an "unusual" problem the church didn't know how to deal with, or didn't want to deal with.

It seems like what we have is a form of godliness that has denied its power.

Yea i thinking about the people that mock Jesus

The Practioners I know are not religious. Are you?

Simply put, when we peel the Layers back from the Trapped Mind and find the originating Issue contact point, aren't we Ultimately discovering an Act against that stems from an unthinkable SIN? And that One Single Sin can lead to Multiple Layers of trying to cover it up keeping it away from your memory. and to Guide those Multiple Layers of reason/hate/denial/guilt/anger are forms of DEMONS that are Oppressing that One single Memory into becoming the Sole Key to why a person Stops being WHO they are supposed to be.

Demonic Oppression is Real!