By Steve Austin | faith , Mental Health , Recovery from a Suicid...
Christians with mental illness are desperate for authenticity. So how do we facilitate honesty in church? It could start by having a prayer box specifically for mental health concerns, and continue through messages from the pulpit. One of the missions of the church is to help people grow. Our journey toward wholeness requires permission to be […]
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By Steve Austin | Anxiety , Depression , faith , Mental Health , podcast
It’s always an honor to share my story with a new audience. This podcast interview came as a result of the tragic loss of Pastor Jarrid Wilson to suicide. I’m deeply grateful to Brandy for allowing me to share some hope and practical tips for those living at the intersection of faith and mental health. Here’s […]
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By Steve Austin | Anxiety , Depression , faith , Mental Health
With Pastor Jarrid Wilson’s death by suicide, questions and comments have flooded my email and social media inboxes. Here’s one example, “I’m scared. Because there are people that I love who struggle with thoughts of suicide, and I don’t know what sets them apart from the Jarrid’s and the Andrew [Stoecklein]’s and the Amy [Bleuel]’s.” […]
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By Guest Blogger | Anxiety , Depression , faith , guest post , Mental Health , Religious Recovery , self-esteem , The Struggle With Church
Unworthy. It’s a word that I often use to describe myself….in my own head. You see, I’m a Christian who has mental health issues. I have struggled with panic attacks, anxiety and depression for over 20 years. I’m also a licensed mental health counselor, college professor, worship leader, entrepreneur, wife, and mom. If you were […]
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By Lindsey Austin | Best of Messy Grace , faith , Family , Messy Grace , Parenting
I vow to let go of past failures and strengthen what remains so I can be a better version of myself each day. Not let go of them completely, as in forget them, but take my fear, shame, mistakes and misgivings, and put them under my feet.
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By Steve Austin | Anxiety , Best of Messy Grace , Depression , faith , Mental Health , Recovery , Recovery from a Suicid...
I nearly died by suicide on September 21, 2012.The truth is, I’m not alone. Each day around the world, approximately 2,000 people believe they have reached the end of their rope, and die by suicide. And for each person who dies, another twenty-five will attempt. Yes, there are even pastors with suicidal thoughts.You might think […]
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By Steve Austin | Best of Messy Grace , faith , lgbtq , Messy Grace , The Struggle With Church
It’s who you are that counts. Your worship to God is the way you live. A few years ago, I would have ignored, shunned, and been disgusted by the scene that unfolded that night at the gas pump. The journey toward authentic faith became real for me in that moment.
The most effective way to destroy prejudice is by sharing tangible love, one opportunity or person at a time. If my Sunday morning song service doesn’t match my response to a gay guy at the gas pump, I’m in trouble.
By Steve Austin | Best of Messy Grace , faith , Messy Grace , Recovery , Religious Recovery
I didn’t plan for Jesus to meet me a few years back, in a little coffee shop inside our church, dressed just like my Grandpa. Jesus, with a raggedy mustache, a three-day beard, and coffee stains on his plaid button-down. I didn’t plan to meet Jesus that way—that day. I didn’t plan for Him to rescue me from my own bad theology and church hurts. I didn’t even know He cared.
And I never expected what happened next.
By Steve Austin | Best of Messy Grace , Depression , faith , Mental Health , Messy Grace , Recovery , Recovery from a Suicid... , This is My Story (series)
My clients were concerned. When they couldn’t reach me, they called first my wife, and then the hotel. I was lying on my back, unconscious, covered in vomit, when the police and EMT’s found me. They thought it was a murder scene. Vomit covered the bed and the floor. It had projected up the wall behind me, and coated a massive picture that hung over the bed. Apparently the pink Benadryl pills, along with the tens of thousands of milligrams of other medication I took, created the effect of blood. I had been unconscious for a solid ten hours by then.
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By Steve Austin | Best of Messy Grace , faith , lgbtq , The Struggle With Church
If your God is love but your church won’t accept the disenfranchised, those on the fringe, the forgotten, something doesn’t line up.
And as we continue to speak from a place of ignorance, our neighbors are drowning in confusion and judgment.
Maybe it’s time to loose the death grip on our precious moral stances and open our hands to those around us who are hurting and longing for love and acceptance. Now, more than ever, we should love the person in front of us. Lives are changed through relationship rather than rule-keeping. This is the essence of the message of Jesus.
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