Faith Meets Academia
Welcome to Faith Meets Academia!
Struggling to connect your faith with everyday life, career ambitions, or academic pursuits? Hosted by a university professor and ordained minister, Dr. Adrian Reynolds, this podcast will help you translate your faith-based values into personal growth, professional development, and academic success. Faith Meets Academia emphasizes that faith and work can forge a mutually sustaining partnership.
Each episode breaks down complex academic concepts into everyday language and connects them with timeless spiritual principles for transformational learning and development. By the end of each episode, you will be equipped with practical tools to set the tone for a purposeful, productive week.
Join the journey today!
Your host, Adrian Reynolds (Ph.D.), is an ordained minister, learning coach, and assistant professor of medical education at an R1 university. He is on a mission to merge educational innovation with biblical wisdom. Dr. Reynolds brings over two decades of teaching experience across the educational continuum: from working with underserved, high school students as a state-certified instructor of Spanish to coaching students in graduate and professional degree programs in evidence-based teaching skills and the science of learning.
Dr. Reynolds’ work is located within the rapidly growing field of applied learning sciences and is driven by both socio-cognitive and sociocultural approaches to learning and teaching. His preventive model of academic coaching has been published in journals such as Medical Teacher and Clinical Teacher. He has held over 1,000 (one-on-one) academic coaching sessions with medical students, residents, fellows, and pre-med students. Dr. Reynolds has developed numerous peer-teaching programs for medical students in addition to courses in the science of learning for residents, pre-med and high school students.
Dr. Reynolds has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over 10 years both nationally and internationally. He has long been recognized to seamlessly intertwine academic concepts with biblical principles: His approach to preaching and teaching the word of God is centered around growth mindset (Philippians 4:13), transformational learning (Romans 12:2), and reflective, mindful practice (Philippians 4:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:97).
As a missionary ambassador, Dr. Reynolds has embarked on transformative journeys that bridge cultures and continents, bringing tangible support and hope to those in need. Most recently, in the fall of 2023, his dedication to humanitarian causes led him to Mozambique: From the bustling streets of Maputo to the serene countryside of Inharrime, through the unwavering support and sponsorship from faith-based leaders and communities, Dr. Reynolds has played a pivotal role in the allocation of humanitarian aid and educational resources, providing essential support to elevate community wellbeing.
Earlier that year, he engaged in a mission focused on cultural exchange and relationship-building in the Maputo province to better understand and address local challenges. Through these missions, Dr. Reynolds exemplifies the true essence of a missionary ambassador, integrating service, education, and faith into impactful action.
Faith Meets Academia
Episode 41 - Mental Health and Ministry: Caring for Yourself to Lead Others
Drawing from a 2023 study by Mental Health America, Dr. A uncovers the staggering prevalence of mental illness, substance use disorders, and suicidal thoughts in communities of faith. Pastors, often the pillars of support, face unique challenges like burnout and the difficult decision of stepping away from their calling. Prioritizing mental health is not just crucial for clergy but for the entire faith community, with an emphasis on reducing stigma and ensuring access to professional resources. We aren't just here to inform but to inspire action. Discover practical steps you can take to foster a mentally healthy environment within your faith community. Let’s work together to ensure our communities are not only spiritually strong, but also mentally resilient.
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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, policies, or opinions of my employer, any organization or academic institution with which I am affiliated. This podcast is a personal initiative, and is not connected to my official/ formal duties and responsibilities as a university professor.
Hey, fam, welcome to another episode of Faith Meets Academia, episode 41. My prayer is that you'll have a productive, blessed work week and that all your goals for the week will be met, according to the will of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. You can do it. You can do it, amen. We're ready to take on the week because guess what? We can do. All things through Christ, who strengthens us.
Speaker 1:Today's episode, I believe, will strongly resonate with faith-based leaders, ministers, pastors, clergy, because it has to do with a topic that, if it doesn't affect us personally, it definitely may very well affect someone or people that we know, and that is our mental health. Paul says in Romans 7.25, I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. So, that being the case, if we're not taking the steps necessary to guard and protect and maintain our mental well-being, how do we expect to effectively serve and lead God's people? That's a question to consider. As is often said, you can't pour from an empty cup, and so being part of the ministerial body does not exempt us from prioritizing our mental well-being If the people we are commissioned to serve are coming to us looking for guidance, for counseling, for coaching, but yet we're not seeking these same services for ourselves. What would you do? Yes, I'm speaking to my clergy colleagues right now and if you're not in the ministry, please feel free to share this with someone you know who's in the gospel ministry. Let me ask you this what would you do if someone in your congregation broke down in the middle of a service, overwhelmed by their own mental health struggles? Would you know how to respond? Here's the reality.
Speaker 1:According to a 2023 study by Mental Health America, 21% of adults are experiencing mental illness, and that's the equivalent of over 50 million Americans. This survey study covers five key categories regarding mental health and mental illness, and they are suicidal thoughts, youth mental health, access to care and mental health provider shortage. All right, so let's look at the first one the prevalence of mental health illness, or how common this is in the American population. The survey shows that 21% of adults experience mental illness, 15% of adults had a substance use disorder and almost 94% of those adults did not receive treatment. Let's look at suicidal thoughts. Almost 5% of adults over 12 million reported serious thoughts of suicide and 11% of multiracial adults reported serious suicidal thoughts. Let's look at youth mental health 16% of youth experienced at least one major depressive episode and 60% of youth with major depression did not receive treatment.
Speaker 1:How about access to care? 55%, can you imagine? You imagine that 55 of adults with mental illness that's about 28 million received no treatment and 28 of adults with mental illness reported unmet treatment needs. So we're talking about someone, for example, who might be prescribed a medication for a specific type of mental illness, but is not able to fill a prescription, can't afford to pay for it. Now let me share another alarming piece of statistic. In the United States, there are 350 individuals for every mental health provider. That's a ratio of 350 to 1. That means, when it comes to providing adequate, efficient mental health services, we are struggling.
Speaker 1:Let's acknowledge this truth. Mental health challenges are very common, even among those of us listen to this, even among those of us who hold on to our faith as a source of strength. We just have to recognize that the numbers don't lie. These numbers make it clear that someone in our congregation, in your house of worship, maybe even several people, are navigating mental health crisis or challenge or disorder, but in the same 2023 study, 55% of adults. More than half more than half the adults with mental illness did not receive treatment. So the question is how can we best position ourselves as people of faith to help each other, especially faith-based leaders, clergy ministers? How can we best position ourselves to support those who are going through a mental health struggle? Do you feel confident recognizing signs of anxiety, depression or trauma in your faith community? Are you fostering a space where people feel safe to share, without fear of judgment or stigma? Do you know where people can go for professional mental health resources in your area? And then, perhaps the more important, go for professional mental health resources in your area. And then, perhaps the more important question are you taking care of your own mental and emotional health so that you can show up fully for others? If we lack confidence in these areas, then it might be because we're battling our own mental health struggles and not receiving the care we need. Let's look at some other survey studies.
Speaker 1:In regard to the prevalence of burnout among pastors, this also is a significant concern. In 2021, the Barna Group, a Christian research organization, reported that 38% of US pastors had considered quitting full-time ministry. That's still early in the pandemic, you could say. By 2023, this figure had decreased to 33%, which suggested a positive trend, I suppose. And by that time, if you recall, technically the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 would no longer be noted as a public health emergency. I mean basically saying that, hey, we're past the worst, okay, the worst is behind us. So I think this might explain the decrease from 38% in 2021 to 33% in 2023, two years later.
Speaker 1:In addition, pastors' confidence in their calling increased between 2022 and 2023. So in 2022, only 35% felt more confident in their calling than when they started ministry, and this number increased to 51% a big jump in 2023. And this number increased to 51% a big jump in 2023. Also, the percentage of pastors who were very satisfied with their calling or their vocation grew from 52% in 2022 to 59% in 2023. Again, this signals that things were pretty bad in the midst of the pandemic and seemed to have gotten better. Again, this seems to indicate that as pastors recovered from the toll the pandemic had on their well-being, they found a renewed sense of purpose and confidence in their role.
Speaker 1:Despite these improvements, there are still some challenges. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research released a report in January of 2024 titled I'm Exhausted All the Time Exploring the Factors Contributing to Growing Clergy Discontentment, and based on a 2023 survey of 1,700 clergy from over 40 denominations, the report shows that nearly half of Christian clergy have considered leaving their congregations and over half have thought about leaving ministry altogether. These findings show that clergy discontentment or dissatisfaction is primarily driven by various contextual factors within congregations, such as high levels of conflict, leading an entire congregation with little to no ministerial staff support, as well as the size of the church, as opposed to general dissatisfaction with their calling, their vocation, because we did see in the barnard group study that group study that those numbers improved between 2022 and 2023, even though relatively, I mean, it's still concerning that only 59% of pastors are very satisfied with their vocation. Now here's a story from the Bible that shows a spiritual leader going through a mental health crisis and how it was handled, and that's the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19.
Speaker 1:After his astounding victory over the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, where God you may know, the story displayed his power. By consuming the sacrifice with fire, elijah ran off into the wilderness. He feared for his life. He ran for his life literally after Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him. He was experiencing isolation, loneliness, fear, depression. He sat under a tree and prayed for God to take his life. Can you imagine that? And there's some lessons that we can take away from this. It's important to understand how to recognize emotional exhaustion when you're just hanging on the edge. Elijah in his despair. He said it is enough now. It is enough now, lord, take my life. This shows that even spiritual leaders can feel hopeless. This is a reminder to look for signs of emotional distress in others, such as withdrawal or feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness.
Speaker 1:Secondly, prioritize physical care. God's first order of business, if you will, was to provide food, water and rest for Elijah, which shows that self-care is foundational, totally important. An angel touched Elijah and said arise and eat. And when Elijah looked, he saw a cake and a jar of water by his head. After eating and drinking, he laid down to rest. So self-care is essential for recovery. Another takeaway is providing gentle reassurance, just a calm way of helping to remove someone's fears, doubts.
Speaker 1:Look at how God appears to Elijah. And God showed himself to Elijah After I want you to note this after he had taken care of his immediate needs, the man was hungry and he needed to rest. After Elijah had eaten and had gotten some rest. He came to this cave. First, kings 19, beginning at verse 9, the new king james version I'm reading from it, says and there he went into a cave and spent the night in that place. And behold, the word of the lord came to him and he said to him what are you doing here, elijah? So he said, I've been very zealous for the lord, god of hosts, for the children of israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets with a sword. I alone am left and they seek to take my life. Then he said go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
Speaker 1:Sometimes the answers that we seek don't come in the form of a big bang or a loud noise or extravagant fireworks thunder and lightning, so to speak. But the Lord revealed himself to a light. 1 Kings 19, verse 12, it says and after the fire, still small voice, a still small voice, and so sometimes that person who is struggling with their mental well-being might just need a listening ear, a hug, just that moment of calm reassurance. You know someone to quietly sit with them and offer support, without any judgment. Here's another takeaway from this story, and that's renewed purpose.
Speaker 1:After Elijah had eaten, and he was full and his strength was renewed, he was now medically stable. If you will, god gave him a renewed sense of direction. In 1 Kings 19, 15 and 16, god says to Elijah Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria, israel as king over syria. Also, you shall anoint jehu, the son of nimshi, as king over israel, and elisha, the son of shafat of abel mehola, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. So god gave elijah a clear sense of purpose and some marching orders, if you will. Now he was transitioning him into a new role, helping him to rediscover a new sense of meaning and direction in his life.
Speaker 1:Here's another key takeaway from this story. God reminded Elijah that he was not alone. In 1 Kings 19.18, god says Yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. So what is this saying? This shows the importance of connection, community relationships, and it reassures Elijah that he was not isolated, that there were others who were with him in the fight, with him in the struggle, who shared his faith, his zeal, his commitment.
Speaker 1:So we can use this story as a reflection of a holistic approach to addressing mental health challenges. Yeah, we could sum all of that up by saying we need to address the most basic physiological needs first, like food, water, housing and rest, sleep. Take a look at Maslow's theory called Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Just Google it Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And those needs are displayed in this triangle that organizes human needs into a framework of five categories, starting off with physiological needs, the need for safety, then the social need, need for love and belonging, followed by self-esteem and then self-actualization or becoming your best self. Yeah, so those physiological needs are paramount, can't survive without them. Then we can offer emotional support through non-judgmental listening, which will then make us better positioned to have a renewed sense of spiritual purpose and connection. And it's interesting, these principles align both with mental health first aid and psychological first aid as they're referred to in health sciences. And so I find Elijah's story a timeless guide for supporting others in distress.
Speaker 1:Now, at this point, you might be asking what have you done, dr Reynolds, personally, when it comes to your own mental well-being? Well, hey, guess what? And I've said this openly to my congregation many times, I do have a therapist that I meet with, and I've completed training in both mental health first aid as well as psychological first aid. Yes, I am mental health first aid certified, and that's only the beginning. And I did that because, guess what? I've seen firsthand that prayer alone, while powerful, we can't feel comfortable just praying for others to be healed. And again, I'm talking to my fellow clergy people. Yeah, we can't end with that. It's going to take more work. 217 reminds us that faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. So supporting mental health efforts in our communities is going to take some intentional effort. We're going to have to do the work to improve our knowledge and skills around this topic so that we are better positioned, better able, more equipped to help those in need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, after you have prayed, decreed and declared freedom from anxiety and depression, there is still work to be done. Yes, I believe in prayer, but you can't use that to escape the work that God has called you to do. Healing isn't always instant. It's also a process that requires action, in addition to, of course, your faith. Your belief Reflect on all the questions I posed earlier about how equipped you are or aren't to handle or address mental health challenges and address your own mental well-being.
Speaker 1:Think about the statistics and the stories that I've discussed, and I want you to take a step. I don't just want you to listen to this episode and move to the next one. What's one small step that you can take, one actionable step when it comes to mental health and well-being? Whether it's learning more about mental health resources, starting a conversation with someone you know is in need of those services, or just checking in on them, picking up the phone and calling someone you haven't heard from for a while and see how they're doing, or stop by and bring them a meal. Creating a mentally healthy faith community starts with each of us. You be the light that can help others find their way. Yeah, don't just pray for somebody else to help them find their way. You can be that instrument to help them find their way out of that depression, out of that mental health disorder, out of that depression, out of that anxiety or other mental health challenges. Friends, I'm so glad that you have joined me today. I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Speaker 1:Feel free go ahead, subscribe to Faith Meets Academia. It's available on all major podcast platforms. Yeah, you definitely want to subscribe so that whenever the episodes come out, you get that notification. I know there's someone that you know who needs to listen to this episode. There's someone that you know who needs to hear this. My ask is that you share it with them. Don't keep it to yourself. I mean, in fact, I think that would be kind of selfish to keep it to yourself. Find at least one person, or maybe two, to share this with. I pray that you'll continue to have a blessed, productive week. God bless you.