Acts20.com

There has been an explosion of grief over the pastor that took his life.Why does this resonate so much more than the other 122 Americans who take their lives each day

I think you're right.

In the case of the pastor in CA, it might be good to look at the history of the church and his rise to being the Senior/Lead Pastor.

Are you referring to the fact that he took over for his Dad that died young and felt the pressure to keep it going

Are you referring to the fact that he took over for his Dad that died young and felt the pressure to keep it going? That could be one of the issues he was struggling with. I noticed his mother was on staff and the story of the church's beginnings are given. Carrying a legacy can be a heavy burden on a son/daughter (ask most PKs) combined with the inherent issues of sustainability for large/mega independent churches (of course Joel Osteen is one of the exceptions).

I don't really think the megachurch is God's design. Some will disagree and that's perfectly fine. I just think it's way too much of a burden on one man. I realize most megachurches have plenty of staff to help out with the daily stuff, but it's still a huge burden. As to the initial post:

Are you referring to the fact that he took over for his Dad that died young and felt the pressure to keep it going? That could be one of the issues he was struggling with. I noticed his mother was on staff and the story of the church's beginnings are given. Carrying a legacy can be a heavy burden on a son/daughter (ask most PKs) combined with the inherent issues of sustainability for large/mega independent churches (of course Joel Osteen is one of the exceptions). Mat Not sure most people give Osteen credit for doing what he did...following a legacy with no real experience himself.But as for this preacher - he seemed to have 2 problems.Anxiety attacks and depression.Most folks with anxiety attacks (such as myself) do not want to kill themselves.It's the depression - that must have been some deficiency chemically in his body - that will get you to kill yourself. I am just speculating here - but I have often seen spiritual people believe that they aren't showing much faith if they take medicine for an issue like that - and go off of it on their own - and those medicines, when you go off of them - make you MORE likely than ever to harm yourself...very dangerous to go off of them on your own. I have seen that happen more than once

This is an excellent observation. Psychiatric drugs don't always cause suicidal ideation (I take an SSRI to help manage OCD, and I've never experienced it, for example), but it can be a side effect and is often amplified when a medicine is being started or stopped, especially if it is stopped quickly as you said.In general, getting help is the 1 most effective way to survive mental illness. We need to promote a culture where ministers feel comfortable confiding their mental health struggles to others, including their denominational leadership and laity. That's a huge ask. We like to talk about how mental illness should be viewed and treated the same way a physical illness would, especially in regard to rejecting faith preaching and positive confession as a treatment for mental illness -- but like any entrenched stigma, it's easier for us to say than actually do.Mental illness is very debilitating all on its own; it's even harder to overcome the inertia and get help when one is concerned about the impact it will have on them. It's definitely getting better, and I'm hopeful it will continue to do so.

Success on the outside does not mean a person feels himself successful on the inside. You can put on a mask for the public--one that looks happy and successful--yet feel you are a failure.You can love your family...yet still feel hopelessness. Further, when a person is suffering from a form of mental illness (say depression), he can preach God's deliverance to others...and yet feel like he is going under himself. If those who committed suicide were in the right frame of mind, they almost certainly wouldn't kill themselves. So I would say for us to be cautious about this somehow being a denial of Christian victory (even though that might indeed by the case), since a person who is in such a low frame of mind is almost certainly not able to stand strong until full victory comes.I would hope all of us, no matter what we're going through, will remember that lots of people would be happy to exchange their problems for ours.Millions of people in the 3rd World see us as blessed almost beyond measure.

www.facebook.com/clintbrownmusic/videos/10216765421789141/?t=3