Home Podcast Jarrid Wilson: De-Stigmatizing Mental Illness in the Church

Jarrid Wilson: De-Stigmatizing Mental Illness in the Church

Jarrid Wilson

Jarrid Wilson is a husband, dad, pastor, author and inspirational blogger. His highly unconventional way of sharing faith takes a fresh look at the way Jesus would call individuals to live out their everyday lives. Unafraid to tackle tough and controversial topics, Jarrid is known for his refreshing perspectives on what others may view as set in black and white. Jarrid and his wife, Juli, live in Nashville, Tennessee with their son, Finch, and dog, Eloise.

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Questions:

Does mental illness disqualify a person from leadership?

What do you say to the person who has heard over and over again that God loves them but it doesn’t help?

What can the church do to help those struggling with mental health?

Key Quotes:

“I don’t think people ignore mental health—and still ignore it, let’s be honest—to be malicious. They’re ignoring it because they don’t know what to do about it, so the easy default is to not talk about it or say it’s bad.”

“The only way for you to de-stigmatize something is for you to talk about it.”

“All throughout Scripture we see that just because Jesus can, just because the Holy Spirit can, doesn’t mean that he will. That’s just fact.”

“Read the book of Job. Some of God’s brightest saints dealt with the darkest of depression. What we have to understand is that just because you’re dealing with depression or suicidal thoughts does not mean you’re any less of a believer or a Christian than anybody else.”

“It’s the tenth leading cause of death in the United States—suicide is. 42,000 people die by suicide a year in the States. One person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world. And over 1 million people die by suicide worldwide each year.”

“I would almost guarantee that in every congregation…there is about 20 to 30 percent of people in the congregation have dealt with some kind of mental health disorder in their life. And I would say about 99 percent of the congregation knows of someone who has.”

“If the local church really wants to be the hope of the world, then the local church needs to step into areas in which the world finds itself hopeless: Mental health.”

Mentioned in the Show:

Previous articleWhen Our Beautiful Mess Isn’t
Next articleThe Sizzle and Steak of Revival
Jason serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at PastorServe, a ministry committed to strengthening the Church by serving pastors through personal coaching and church consulting. He also hosts FrontStage BackStage, a podcast and YouTube show, that helps pastors embrace healthy, well-balanced leadership as they develop a sustainable rhythm for life and ministry. Prior to joining the PastorServe team, Jason served as Vice President of Ministry Mobilization at Outreach, Inc., and as the Executive Director of the National Back to Church Sunday movement. Additionally, Jason served for nearly two decades in pastoral leadership, primarily as a lead pastor, in several contexts, including church plant re-launch, multisite church, multiethnic urban church, and an established suburban church. His experience as a lead pastor has provided numerous opportunities to coach and mentor pastors across the country. Jason and his beautiful wife, Monica, are the proud parents of six children and live on Anastasia Island, Florida. @jasondaye