Ministry is hard work, beset by temptation, difficulty, and weariness. Clergy are not immune to depression or suicidal thoughts. What follows is advice for pastors, designed to help prevent the depression that can lead to suicide.
Fellowship
It is all too common for pastors to report feeling isolated and lonely. A providential friendship is a thing worthy of getting on your knees and asking the Lord for. The Bible and close friends should be like sandpaper: constantly challenging and always helping to make rough places planed. When that stops being the case, the pastor has stopped growing.
_
About the Author
Matthew Sleeth, MD, is a pastor, former ER physician, and the author of Hope Always: How to Be a Force for Live in a Culture of Suicide. To request a Church Suicide Prevention Tool Kit, email contact@blessedearth.org.
