Pastors and church leaders are charged with caring for the Body of Christ. Practically speaking, this means innumerable hospital visits, phone calls, committee meetings, late-night study and sermon prep sessions, and counseling meetings. Often, we sacrifice time with family and friends to officiate a funeral or wedding or visit someone who has experienced a devastating loss. Over time, the weight of our responsibilities and tasks can take its toll.

Pastoral mental health is a topic that is not often discussed. I would argue that a pastor’s mental health is vital not only to their own health but also to their church’s overall health. Managing our mental health is key in the challenging and rewarding nature of church leadership.

Starting today, you can take five actions to improve your mental health.

1. MEDITATION

Establish a regular meditation practice. I am aware that the word meditation has connotations that make some Christians nervous. However, meditation is regularly discussed in Scripture. In Joshua 1:8, the Lord commands Joshua to meditate on the Law. Psalm 19:14 finds David asking God to make the meditation of his heart pleasing. In Genesis 24, we find Isaac walking into one of his fields to meditate. In Philippians 4, Paul tells us to think about things that are pure, lovely, and admirable. Each of these passages (and many more) affirms that meditation is a Scriptural practice.

Biblical meditation is a practice in which we focus on a section of Scripture or a prayer to fill our minds with truth. We can do this by repeating the Scripture or prayer to ourselves out loud, by writing the Scripture or prayer out several times, or by memorizing it. Each of these actions focuses our minds and our hearts on God’s Word. Hiding His word in our hearts through meditation and memorization allows us to lean on Him when we face temptation and the challenges of life. In addition to its Scriptural basis, meditation has decades of mental health research supporting its usefulness in our lives.

2. DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 

Ensure that you are eating a healthy diet and remaining physically active. The diet of the average US citizen is horrific. We consume sugar, ultra-processed foods, fast food, and alcohol at absurd rates. We are all likely aware of the negative impacts these foods have on physical health. What we may not be aware of is the significant impact a poor diet has on our mental health. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that our body uses for a variety of tasks, including regulating sleep and mood. Roughly 95% of the serotonin in our bodies is produced in our gastrointestinal tract. Our stomachs are lined with neurons that interact with serotonin. We have all heard the phrase, “I had a gut feeling about it.” Turns out there is a reason for that. The food we eat has a direct impact on our emotional state because our gastrointestinal tract is directly linked to how we regulate emotions. The healthier our diet is, the better we are going to feel. 

Hand in hand with our diet is our level of physical activity. Our culture loves to come up with new and ever more extreme ways to get active. Who remembers P90X? However, the level of physical activity that is needed to maintain our physical and mental health is not nearly that extreme, particularly if we are embracing a healthy diet. Heading outside and walking like we are late for an appointment for 20-30 minutes is the requirement. This elevates our heart and respiration rates and gets our blood flowing. If we were to maintain a healthy diet and engage in a 20 to 30-minute quick walk, we would all see an improvement in our physical and mental health.

These principles are also rooted in Scripture. Paul teaches that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, where God dwells. Because of this, we are called to care for our bodies as His dwelling place. Maintaining a healthy diet and staying physically active are essential aspects of that stewardship.

3. SLEEP

Get some sleep. The necessity of sleep is hard to overstate. Sleep is when our bodies repair themselves by sweeping out dead cells and by sorting and processing all of the sensory information we take in throughout the day. Not getting enough sleep can have disastrous effects on our health, including increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. The average person needs 7-8 hours of sleep per night, and the average US resident gets 6. This is a serious health issue both physically and mentally.

We need to pay attention to how we sleep and what we can do to support healthy sleep. Create and follow a healthy bedtime routine that leads to relaxation and avoids screens. Choose a regular bedtime that will allow you to get 7 plus hours of sleep per night. It is more important than many of us realize. This is also a Scriptural idea. Throughout the Bible, God calls his people to rest. The most obvious place we see this is in the commands about the Sabbath. However, there are many places we see the Biblical authors speaking about their ability to sleep because God is trustworthy and will sustain them (Psalm 3:5, Psalm 4:8 and Psalm 127:2). We are called to rest by God Himself and we can rest because we can trust him to care for and sustain us while we do.

4. COMMUNITY

Get connected with a community of like-minded people. Hopefully, you’ve already done this by being part of a church. As the Body of Christ, the church is a community where we all belong—a place that offers the love, care, and support we need. God created us to be communal! At the same time, I am well aware that ministry can be a lonely place. Pastors and ministry leaders often feel as though they are on an island and have no one to talk to. If that is you, reach out to the District and get connected with a Cohort. These groups consist of ministry leaders who understand your role and can offer support in a uniquely meaningful way. Community is essential for our mental health, so make sure to get connected—and stay connected!

5. GRATITUDE

Keep a gratitude journal. This is the practice of sitting down at the end of the day and writing down three or four things from that specific day for which you are grateful. This practice teaches you to refocus on the positive aspects of your day. Our brains naturally focus on the negative, but keeping a gratitude journal can help shift that perspective.

It is also a deeply Scriptural practice. Throughout the Bible, God calls his people to give thanks. We see this in the Psalms, throughout the history of Israel, and in the life of the early church. We worship the one true God of the Universe. He has given us everything we need and blessed us with so much more. When we take time to reflect on what we’ve been given and thank Him for it, we draw closer to Him and gain a deeper appreciation for the blessing that our life is.

None of these five action steps are earth-shattering. You have likely heard many of them before, suggested them to others, or utilized some of them yourself. However, I can confidently say that if everyone was willing to consistently engage in these five actions, we would begin to see a substantial improvement in the mental health of those in our churches and those in our communities. As leaders, our mental health is vital to the health of those around us. When we prioritize these five steps in our own lives, we not only become healthier ourselves—we create a ripple effect, fostering a healthier church and community.