Physical Address
Towne Church
3722 Towne Blvd.
Middletown, OH 45005
When I was fresh out of college for my undergraduate work, I was hired by the state of Kentucky as an environmental technologist (ET). The agency I worked for was called the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands (AML). Our purpose was to help residents whose properties had been damaged by historical underground coal mining. As an ET, my primary job was to research mining history and to examine the damaged properties—investigations involved collecting water and soil samples, taking photographs, and examining the ground formation. If AML determined that a property had been damaged by coal mining, a project would be submitted for approval to potentially repair the damage.
I grew up in Appalachia, and I have a great understanding of the subculture. Appalachia is a beautiful part of the country, and I yearn to return someday. The thing about folks who live in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky is that you do not know what you will be met with when a stranger steps on their property. Some will be welcoming with a cordial conversation; they might even offer you food or want to discuss Jesus or the weather with you. When I worked for AML, I had never had a gun pointed at me by a property owner, but there were some who had a gun in their hand. When the homeowner knew the government was on their property, most believed they were going to receive some benefit or have something taken away. Overall, regardless of agency, property owners had a general distrust toward government agencies.
In a similar sense, there exists a general distrust between clergy and mental health professionals (MHP). There are several reasons why clergy and mental health professionals prefer not to collaborate. The first concerns time. Being a clergy and a MHP can require an intense amount of work hours. With that, either profession do not have the time to develop a trusting relationship with the other. Another reason for the lack of collaboration may be that either profession may not understand what the other profession has to offer. One could also lack appreciation of what the other profession has to offer. There could be differences in values and worldviews. They may distrust the level of education or qualification one has compared to that of others. The lack of collaboration could also stem from poor historical experiences.
Jesus had some experiences during his ministry when the people feared or did not trust him. The synoptic gospels record a narrative of when Jesus and the disciples boarded a boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee to land where the inhabitants were known as the Gerasenes (Luke 8:26-39; Mark 5:1-17; Matt. 8:28-34). A demon-possessed man met them as they came ashore. The man had been possessed for many years by multiple demons. He no longer could live among his people, so he lived in the tombs outside of the community. Jesus freed the man from demon-possession, and the demons that inhabited the man fled into a herd of pigs. The pigs stampeded into the water and drowned. When the news of what had happened reached the town, the townspeople told Jesus and the disciples to leave because they were afraid of Jesus.
Jesus had a similar experience in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30). He went into the synagogue in Nazareth and read Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 61:1-2), and proclaimed the prophecy to be fulfilled. Those who heard Jesus were pleased with what he said, but they were skeptical of him because they knew where he had come from and his family. They challenged Jesus to perform a miracle based on the ‘rumors’ they had heard from other places. When Jesus rejected their request and rejected them, they planned to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff. Jesus disguised himself in the crowd and left Nazareth.
A misunderstanding of resources or truth often creates fear. The anti-hero, Batman, expresses some wisdom with this: “What we don’t understand, we fear. What we fear, we judge as evil. What we judge as evil, we attempt to control. What we cannot control, we attack.” Jesus’s hometown people did not understand him, feared, demanded proof, and tried to kill him. Pastors and MHP are not trying to kill each other, but there may be some truth to the fear of what is misunderstood. Barriers are built because of fear and misunderstanding. Collaborative efforts provide a holistic approach to the overall care of a client. Rather than discarding what the other profession cannot offer, collaboration will ensure that the care is provided that is needed, spiritually and mentally. In his study, Hirano discovered that a high percentage of veterans agreed that having access to spiritual care while under the care of an MHP helps reduce suicide rates among military veterans. Additionally, according to Kopacz, those struggling with mental health issues who consulted with a pastor for spiritual guidance were more likely to seek help from an MHP. Kopacz concluded that spiritual care should accompany mental health care. Overall, higher education recognizes the need to integrate spiritual care with mental health care. Pastors and MHPs need to take time to develop trusting professional relationships to provide the most effective, holistic care for the people they serve.
