If depression does not relent, a pastor will cease to be a benefit his congregation, John Piper says. But another pastor who has lived through serious depression says what is needed is to destigmatize mental illness.
In an AskPastorJohn podcast on Desiring God Wednesday, the Reformed theologian and former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, explained that Scripture suggests that a depressed pastor or elder will not benefit the people of God, stopping short of saying it disqualifies a person from ministry.
He explained that “Hebrews 13:17 says, ‘Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy’ — so let your leaders, your pastor and elders, lead with joy — ‘and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.'”
“In other words,” Piper continued, “a chronically joyless pastor is of no advantage, no benefit, to his people, which means there comes a point when, for the sake of the people, he should step down or step back.”
He went on to explain that the Apostle Paul’s…
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