People struggling with mental illness shouldn’t be in church leadership, Jarrid Wilson’s friend says

Photo by Harvest Christian Fellowship

God has given us clear instructions in Scripture that offer protection to His church. Every time we decide to break His commands, we only break ourselves. A pastor is not simply someone who is willing. A pastor is not simply someone who is gifted. A pastor is not simply someone who is educated. He is a man who meets all God’s qualifications. This is not legalism or biblical militancy. This is safety for God’s church. It’s time to wake up.”

(Leonardo Blair – The Christian Post)  Dale Partridge, a pastor and house church planter and “true” friend of late California Pastor Jarrid Wilson, says Wilson had expressed a desire to step down from his high pressure role as associate pastor prior to his suicide.

Wilson was a pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, before his late-night suicide two Mondays ago.

Partridge also argued that it is “reckless” and unbiblical for churches to put someone in a position of leadership who is struggling mentally or has serious doubts about their faith.

“As we all have watched, men who are placed in shepherding roles at churches are committing suicide and public apostasy at an alarming frequency. These men did not have secret struggles, either. Nearly all of these recent tragedies were carried out by men who openly confessed their mental illness and doubts of doctrine. The million dollar question is this: Why are churches placing men, who are so candid about their current brokenness, in positions of leadership?” Partridge asked.  View article →

 

This news story is posted for informational and research purposes and is not in any way intended as an endorsement of The Christian Post.