Enough is not enough! Confronting church leadership’s mental health in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Mental health is highly problematic in Zimbabwe because of personal, political, socio-economic and ecological crises. While church leaders predominantly face personal and leadership pressures, they are expected to enhance holistic societal well-being. As such, church leaders are under pressure to serve both the church and society from mental health issues. Sadly, the mental health of church leaders is ignored. Consequently, many clerical leaders give up and surrender to the internal and external burdens of life and leadership, and die from burnout, substance abuse and suicide, without receiving the support they need. How can the servants of God be served without losing mental health battles when they should be serving others to win? By employing Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) stress, appraisal and coping theory, doing a literature review and deducing lessons from the biblical story of Elijah (1 Ki 19:1−18), this article explains that mental health difficulties should not end the work and lives of church leaders. It troubleshoots church leaders’ mental health in the Zimbabwean context, where the saying ‘enough is enough’ is apt in light of the urgent need for change amid a citizenry that experiences helplessness and hopelessness. Discerning hope, help and a panacea from Elijah when he believed that he had faced enough trouble and wished to die, this article concludes that church leaders should destigmatise mental ill-health, submit to ministry by others, rest, seek professional help, engage in physical care and fellowship, remain purposeful and submit to God’s grace to achieve self and collective mental health.
Contribution: This article troubleshoots church leaders’ mental health in the Zimbabwean context, which is characterised by personal, political and socio-economic helplessness and hopelessness.