Dancing in the Desert: A Trinitarian Approach to Mental Health

Kyle Sapp

People who live with mental illness matter to Jesus. Our congregations are filled with friends and family who regularly wrestle with mental illness. Helping to support them in this can be a long and frustrating journey. It can be like walking through the desert with a half full glass of water. But beautifully, as members of the body of Christ, we do not make this journey alone. As Christians we believe in a God who is One in Three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One way of understanding their relationship is that of the Divine Dance, each person moving around each other in perfect rhythm and harmony. This understanding of the doctrine provides us with a helpful view for how the Church can support people with mental illnesses. When our partners struggle to dance we hold them up, we dance slower, and perhaps change the tune entirely. But the one thing we never do, is let them walk off the dance floor. This class will explore how the doctrine of the Trinity can help us love the mentally ill among us.