What people with depression need most from the church is compassion

Having had some personal experience with depression usually as an adjunct to grief, yet without any experience with full-blown clinical depression, I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, as a pastor, regarding how the church can support those with clinical depression.

Grief-induced depression, or depression induced due to change etc, i.e., non-clinical depression, is very far removed from clinical depression. These two are poles apart. And whilst the former person might be encouraged by words from the Bible, the latter — the people who have struggled with clinical depression — may inevitably feel condemned because they are misunderstood. They are, therefore, so far as the church is concerned, misrepresented. For, the church exists to speak into the hearts of suffering people as these, by a compassion beyond words.

This is not to say that those who are clinically depressed can’t receive encouragement from the Bible—of course they can. It just needs to be revealed in ways that they discover it for themselves or in ways that they own.

The Church and Its Role In Ministering to the Clinically Depressed

The church has a very specific role when it comes to ministering to the clinically depressed.

The church is no snake oil healer, nor is it a place where someone might be diagnosed. Anything other than supporting a person with clinical depression, by just journeying non-judgmentally with them, treads the fine line of ministry malpractice. The reason being, those who are clinically depressed are so home to feeling condemned, due to their experience and indeed even within their own thoughts. The only thing that defeats such mindsets of condemnation is a continual commitment to compassion; no matter what. Besides, the church and its ministers are unqualified to do anything other than to support—but they’re perfectly qualified to do that, because they’re invigorated by the compassion of the Holy Spirit. Compassionate journeying with a person with clinical depression is the rock with which they can stand, be safe and ultimately grow—at their pace.

The church exists to be the hands and feet of Jesus,
nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Yet, that becomes too clichéd. Too often we find the church knows the right words to say but these are devoid of compassion; the words lack sincerity and they lack meaning, and as a function, Christ loses credibility—even when God is the only credible overall Guide.

As a church there is sometimes a role for facilitating the right level of medical support, if required (i.e., helping connect people with proven [caring and competent] medical and health professionals). To encourage someone to go to their doctor when they’re reluctant; that’s a role for people in the church.

I’ve heard some who have been clinically depressed say to me that they felt that the biochemical balance had to be restored first and foremost, before any real spiritual work could be done (which they, alone, are to be masters of, with a pastor’s or mentor’s support where it’s requested). We can ensure that we validate the need to achieve biochemical balance—the need for pharmaceuticals to restore physiological balance to the body and mind. Many people rely on medications to survive. Pain, mood stabilising and antidepressant medications, etc, are vital.

More than anything else what we can do, within our churches, is to unconditionally accept those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, clinical depression. It must be a safe place to come to, where all vagaries of mood are accepted and never judged. Clinical depression cannot be explained to the layperson. We are to offer compassion.

What we cannot understand or explain needs only compassion.

Photo by Felipe Labate on Unsplash