By Cody Glen Barnhart
Director of music and media, First Baptist Church, Alcoa
Recently, Seacoast Church announced that former Southern Baptist pastor Darrin Patrick passed away from what “appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” The news sent shockwaves through social media. Patrick’s passing is a devastating blow. We seem to have lost another one of our brothers to the crisis of mental health.
Patrick’s death serves as a somber reminder that the effects of the coronavirus outbreak are not only physical: isolation feels ever-present.
Because 2020 has gone awry, an entire generation of pastors feel (perhaps for the first time) the need for pointed, calculated and faithful leadership. Pastors have a lot of stress right now. And in the midst of this, they can’t even hug one another as a reminder of the brotherhood they share in Christ. [Read more…]