“One way we can equip Christians to go beyond mere inclusion to the discipleship of every person in Christian worship is to use language that acknowledges and values people who live with mental illnesses as image-bearers of God who fully belong. While it is important for worship to include broad themes of struggle, pain, and confusion in prayers and preaching, it is also important to name mental illnesses along with physical illnesses in worship. The language we use in worship plays a role in discipleship, shaping how we see others and ourselves in relationship to God, how we pray with petition and thanksgiving, how we interact with each other, and how we understand the ultimate purpose of our lives. In other words, worship leaders have an opportunity to disciple the whole body of Christ—including those directly affected by psychological disorders and those who love and care for them—through the weekly ways we speak, sing, pray, and preach. What we say and how we say it matters.”
—Charlotte VanOyen Witvliet, “Speaking Well in Worship about Mental Illness,” © June 2018, ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA.
