

weekend reads
“For 50 years, society has created a professionalized mental health culture as the primary means of caring for those in distress,” reads our excerpt from the new book When Hurting People Come to Church. And “much about the rise of skilled professionals has been extremely helpful.”
But there’s a downside too, as prospective patients flood therapists’ offices and the capacity for care is overwhelmed. All the while, pastors are increasingly likely to refer out congregants with mental health concerns rather than addressing their needs in the context of congregational life.
“Of course, there are times when people need more help than a pastor or a ministry can provide,” the coauthors write. “But in many cases, churches are letting professionals do what the church was intended to do. It is time to stop thinking of ‘mental health care’ as essentially synonymous with ‘professional counseling,’ and instead see it as just one more everyday example of Galatians 6:2: carrying each other’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ.”
Unfortunately, Bible teacher and poet Blair Linne encountered little support for her anxiety disorder in her church tradition. But in her new memoir, she’s able to trade shame for an understanding of anxiety as a “natural consequence of having a disordered body within a disordered world.” Linne’s “supportive theology,” writes our reviewer, can of course come alongside treatments like counseling and medication. But it’s important to realize that “the real story of a long-term illness is about making sense of one’s place in the world, and this is often a spiritual subject.”
weekend listen
This week on The Bulletin, Clarissa Moll sat down with Jonathan Liedl, senior editor at National Catholic Register, to talk through the future of the pro-life movement.
“The goal is not just to prohibit abortion but to make it so no woman feels she has to choose between the life of her child and her own economic security or personal safety.” | Listen here, or read an excerpt of their conversation. Plus, recently on our site: Most men are pro-life. Activists want them to speak up.
editors’ picks
Kate Shellnutt, editorial director, news: I loved this Smithsonian Magazine feature on men who do wildlife rehab from behind bars in Ohio prisons.
Kate Lucky, senior editor, culture & engagement: I owe this recommendation—the Substack post “Does it Matter if the Tide is Turning?” by O. Alan Noble—to my colleague Kara Bettis Carvalho, who sent it my way.
Bonnie Kristian, editorial director, books and ideas: I use Papier’s desk planner, because I need to have a daily handwritten list of everything from my work and personal calendars. And Papier’s list notebooks, because they’re just a great size and shape for quick notes.
prayers of the people
- For the victims bearing the brunt of violence in US cities.
- For Christians in Nepal (one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world) amid political unrest.
- For Christian video-game developers and “nerd-culture” ministers.
more from CT
IN THE MAGAZINE

The Christian story shows us that grace often comes from where we least expect. In this issue, we look at the corners of God’s kingdom and chronicle in often-overlooked people, places, and things the possibility of God’s redemptive work. We introduce the Compassion Awards, which report on seven nonprofits doing good work in their communities. We look at the spirituality underneath gambling, the ways contemporary Christian music was instrumental in one historian’s conversion, and the steady witness of what may be Wendell Berry’s last novel. All these pieces remind us that there is no person or place too small for God’s gracious and cataclysmic reversal.
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