Depression On the Rise

It lurks behind familiar faces and stiff upper lips. It affects sheep and shepherd alike. It strikes over 18 million American adults every year. That silent problem is depression.

Depression has plagued society for centuries, but it seems cases of major depressive episodes have increased alarmingly in recent years. Among God’s people that trend is no different. Pastoral candidates coming from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary are expected to have at least limited training in counseling the depressed. Much ministry time in the field is spent counseling those coping with this ailment that affects body, mind and soul. I don’t think I’d be wrong in saying that at some point everyone is or will be affected by depression whether dealing with it himself or dealing with a loved one who has it.

Depression becomes all the more challenging because Satan loves to use it as a way to snatch sheep from the flock of the Good Shepherd, even pushing people to the point of despair. Nowadays it’s not unusual to hear about a suicide or attempted suicide that was in some way linked to depression.

It’s not surprising, then, to read a headline like “Teen Depression Statistics Reveal High Numbers of Crippled Teens”, as came out today on ChurchRelevance.com. I’ve provided the text of that report below…

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Researchers from SAMHSA and RTI International discovered that an alarming number of teenagers experience major depression. In fact, 1 in every 12 teenagers (8.5%) aged 12 to 17 experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) within a one year period.

• 1 in 8 teen girls (12.7%) experienced a major depressive episode
• 1 in 21 teen boys (4.6%) experienced a major depressive episode

The likelihood of a teenager experiencing a MDE increases with age.

Among teens with a past year MDE, how many are impaired by the MDE in at least one of four role domains (i.e., home, school/work, family relationships, or social life)?

• 1 in 5 (21.0%) reported very severe impairment lasting an average 58.4 days
• 1 in 2 (48.3%) reported severe impairment lasting an average 25.8 days
• 1 in 4 (25.0%) reported moderate impairment lasting an average 14.1 days
• 1 in 19 (5.3%) reported mild impairment lasting an average 11.7 days
• 1 in 250 (0.4%) reported no impairment

For more details, read the full report. It is saddening to see so many teenagers being crippled by depression. Based on these statistics, there is a good chance someone in your youth group is experiencing a major depressive episode.

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Though few, if any, of us are trained and licensed to diagnose depression, it is still important for us to know how to identify depression and how to minister to those suffering from it. That may include referring the counselee to a licensed Christian counselor or a therapist. There are also any number of solid biblical resources out there to help as you minister to the depressed. Here’s a couple recommendations of my own…

• Pressed Down, But Not Forgotten by H. Curtis Lyon & John Juern - Focuses on counseling the depressed through the use of the Word and how to work with a counselor when a referral is necessary. Very easy to use and should be kept handy on the shepherd’s shelf

• Counseling at the Cross: Using the Power of the Gospel in Christian Counseling by H. Curtis Lyon - A Lutheran gem that should be on every pastor’s shelf. Unfortunately out of print, but copies can be found online

• Wisconsin Lutheran Child & Family Service - A great resource for sheep and shepherds alike!

For Discussion:

• What resources would you recommend for ministering to those suffering from depression?
• How do we help our young people prevent or cope with depression?

A Little Bit of This…A Little Bit of That

You may have noticed a few changes and additions on the blog lately. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been happening, especially if you receive the posts via e-mail or RSS feed and haven’t visited the site lately.

• A More Visual Approach - The “Resource Recommendations”, “What I’m Reading” and “What I’ve Been Reading” sections in the sidebar have been given simpler titles and the books or resources listed are now found as graphics of the books with links to where they can be purchased online. I got the idea from a Trinitarian blog called Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, so I can’t claim full credit for the new design, but I think it looks pretty cool.

• Open Archives and Categories - Instead of a drop-down menu, they’re open for you to search them!

• New Addition to Blogroll - Today I came across a very new Lutheran blog called Faith Fully Fit by Pr. Ben Kratz at Our Savior Lutheran Church (WELS) in Birmingham, AL. It’s described as “A Spiritual Fitness Plan that is designed to strengthen your faith by doing just that, by putting yourself in regular contact with God’s Word and Sacraments.” Welcome to The Shepherd’s Study!

Finally, to any and all new readers out there who have been visiting the blog lately, Welcome and I pray the Lord will bless your time spent here at The Shepherd’s Study!

Let the Spirit Do His Work

While preparing for our continuing Bible study on the Augsburg Confession this past Sunday, I came across a fascinating little comment by Prof. John P. Meyer on Article V. As you may recall, Article V states:

That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake…. (Concordia Triglotta pg. 45, CA V:1-3)

In the midst of a brief article on the phrase “…the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God…”, Meyer addresses a common temptation for the congregations and pastors of his day (the 1940s) - the temptation to depend on personality or popularity or some other means to find success, rather than depend on faithfully proclaiming the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to do his work.

Remarkably (or maybe I should say “sadly”), that temptation is just as common today, if not more so. A “good” shepherd is often expected to have a certain image and a popular personality. Now don’t get me wrong. It’s very important for any Lutheran shepherd to be able to relate and relate well to his flock and to the people of his community, but at the same time, it is not his charisma or his creativity that will bring success to the Word or his congregation. We cannot in any way add to the power of the Word. No, it is the Holy Spirit working through the Word who takes that seed we plant and brings forth a harvest, just as he has done since the beginning. A fitting reminder as we bask in the afterglow of the Festival of Pentecost!

Come, holy Fire, Comfort true;
Grant us the will your work to do
And in your service to abide;
Let trials turn us not aside.
Lord, by your pow’r prepare each heart,
and to our weakness strength impart
That bravely here we may contend,
through life and death to you, our Lord, ascend.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

(Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord - CW 176:3, LSB 497:3, ELH 2:3)

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Congregations often demand that their pastors and teachers be good entertainers, fluent speakers, popular with their fellowmen, because they imagine that their success will depend to a great extent on such qualities. Pastors themselves are frequently tempted to resort to some high-pressure methods, as though by their oratory they could add to the power of the Word, or by their personality could force the issue. No, the Holy Spirit works faith through the Word alone; and he does so, not where and when we think is the right place or time, but where and when it pleases God.

Therefore, pastors, teachers, congregations will continue to proclaim the Word - no more, no less. They will not tire of this work; they will not grow impatient if they do not see immediate returns. They know that preaching the Word is like sowing the seed. God has appointed his own time for the harvest, where and when it pleases him.

We may occasionally think the time for testifying is not opportune. Paul, in is farewell letter to Timothy, has this to say, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season” (emphasis Meyer’s) (2 Ti 4:2).

From Studies in the Augsburg Confession, by J. P. Meyer
(c) 1995 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

How’s Your Worship Diet?

“Which hymns will we sing for worship?”

One of the most common challenges for those who plan worship is deciding which hymns the congregation will sing. Often the worship planner is left wrestling between hymns “thick” in lyrical weight and theological content and songs that are quite “thin” lyrically and theologically. Sometimes the hymns are lyrically heavy, but theologically light, while others are light in the lyrics, but theological heavyweights.

Often as worship planners, we’re tempted to go with what’s light and easy when what is theologically “thick” would better nourish the worshipers. If left on a diet of the theologically light, our members and guests could very easily become spiritually starved and hungry. At the same time, an overload of very wordy hymns could leave them wondering what they just sang, especially if the poetry of the hymn is filled with metaphors. (For me personally, that’s what I find with many of the hymns written by Martin Franzmann - very rich in deep theological imagery and I love them dearly! But I usually need to sing through them a couple times or read them on my own to really “get” them.)

Thus, much like what our doctors tell us at our annual check-ups, it’s important to provide a well-balanced diet of the weighty and the light in our use of hymnody. As we use theologically “thick” hymns, though, it’s vitally important to do all we can to take time to teach them to our members. In this way, they can better understand and appreciate the beautiful, soul-nourishing depth of these theological heavyweights, both old and new.

Below is an interesting post from Bob Kauflin, an Evangelical blogger, who provides some thought-provoking insights into this topic of hymn selection.

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A Worship Matters reader sent me this question:

With the hymns being so rich in lyrical content and theological ideas, there are often times where we can get to the end of the hymn and think “Well, what was all that about?” let alone getting to a point of engaging our hearts in response to the truth. From your experience, what could we do in terms of leading and arranging hymns with weighty (not a negative term) theological and lyrical content to allow room and time for people to engage God in meaningful worship through the song?

Before I answer this, let me share a few thoughts on words in corporate worship. One of the primary purposes for singing praise to God together is to enable the word of Christ to dwell in us richly ( Col. 3:16). That can’t happen when all the words we sing are shallow, vague, or completely subjective. On the other hand, too much information at one time can result in people singing songs with disengaged hearts. As much as I think that churches should be singing songs that are rich in theology and biblical truths, I’ve learned that just singing words doesn’t mean people are understanding or being affected by them. The words may be biblical, even profound. But unless there’s understanding, there won’t be much worship happening. It’s like feeding a baby a 20 ounce Porterhouse steak. There won’t be much eating happening….

So how do you know if people are understanding what we’re singing about? And what determines how much “content” people can take in at one time, in one song, or in a single meeting? It can be hard to tell. But here are some of the things I think about when I’m trying to find the balance.

What your church is used to singing.
A church that sings simple praise choruses might find any hymn difficult to digest. At my home church we regularly sing wordy songs. People tend to notice it more when the songs are simple than when they’re not. But with guests it can be the opposite. Newcomers often mention the theological content of the songs we sing. I take that to be a good thing.

The kind of poetry.
Wordiness doesn’t automatically equate to “hard to understand.” Amazing Grace has a lot of words, but no one thinks of it as a difficult song. Other hymns use more archaic or poetic language that is more difficult to grasp the first time around.

The context.
Three theologically rich songs in a row may be more difficult to take in than one wordy song that has a simpler song before or after. That means I might choose to sing You Are My King after In Christ Alone or How Deep the Father’s Love.

Leading.
There are different things I can do to make it easier for people to take in what they’re singing. The musicians can play a brief musical interlude between verses. I can repeat lines, verses, or entire songs. I can make sure we don’t sing songs too quickly. I can explain what a song means before we sing it. It’s okay to tell people what they should be thinking about when they’re singing. You can also do a portion of a hymn rather than the whole song. If you do, though, make sure you’re not cutting out a crucial part of the lyrical progression. Something else we can do is reduce the frequency of chord changes. That can make lyrics “sound” less complex.

Over time, worship leaders and pastors should be training the church to think and sing in more biblical terms, without forgetting new believers and guests who may also be present on Sunday morning. My job as a leader is to make sure that there’s enough biblical truth in the words to stir people’s affections in the right way. I know people can genuinely worship God while singing lyrics like, “Fire, fall on me” or “Come and fill me up,” but I want to give them food to feed on, not simply an opportunity to express emotions, however sincere. I want them to clearly remember how great, good, glorious, and amazing our God is. That means my first priority in picking songs is words, not music. That’s not to say that music isn’t important. It’s just that music serves to support lyrics, not the other way around.

We want to do whatever we can to help people appreciate what they really need - the truth and power of God’s Word. As a member of our team said this past Sunday, we want to take what’s best and make it “popular.” In other words, it’s worth finding ways to sing songs with “weighty” lyrics. We worship a “weighty” God whose glory surpasses all we can imagine, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whose splendors will never fade.

The Dearth of Christ Continues or All Other Ground is Sinking Sand

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare to make no other claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

“My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
Text: Edward Mote (1797-1874)

What happens when you take Christ out of Christianity?

You get “sinking sand”.

Religion news blog Getreligion.org reported today on a recent news article in Canada’s National Post about “What Christianity Without Christ Looks Like”. The article itself is pretty fair and balanced, but all the while it proves what a quicksand of meaninglessness Christianity becomes when Christ and the means of grace are taken out of the picture.

Here’s a link to the report from GetReligion.org. A link to the actual news article from the National Post is included in the article.

Here’s also another item I’ve been meaning to share from Cyberbrethren on The Poverty of Liberal “Pastoral Care”. What does Christianity or Christian pastoral care become without Christ? More “sinking sand” for souls in desperate need of a Savior!

May Christ Crucified and Risen ever remain your focus, heart and message, dear Reader!

(Photograph © Andrew Dunn, 24 September 2005 (cc-by-sa-2.0).)