Thousands of Christian counselors gathered in Nashville to discuss suicide, race and refugees. Close to 7,000 Christian counselors and other mental health professionals have gathered for a three-day meeting in Nashville to discuss the “epidemic” of suicide in the church and other contentious issues, such as race and refugees. Dr. Tim Clinton, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors said “There is only one institution you’ll find in every community around the globe, and it is a place of worship. Faith matters when it comes to addressing mental health.”
Dr. Clinton further insisted that the mental health community doesn’t have to be in conflict with science, and said that faith is often the missing component to address society’s biggest issues. The gathering also launched some important initiatives, such as a major suicide prevention effort, along with training “first responders” at churches to provide humanitarian assistance to the thousands of refugees that are set to come from Syria to America in the next year.
Notable Christian figures, such as Saddleback Church co-founder Kay Warren, have said that the mental health system in America is broken, and have encouraged Christians to embrace the millions of people suffering from different mental illnesses. Warren and her husband, Saddleback pastor Rick Warren, tragically lost their 27-year-old son Matthew back in 2013 to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, following years of struggle with mental illness.