"Mind Set Free": Lessons from CMHC 2021

Some thoughts from Singapore’s first christian mental health conference last week.

The two mornings were a joy, and I’m glad I decided to sign up for it (though it looked like I was the youngest person there). It was powerful knowing that a thousand other hearts were all similarly fighting to open conversations on soul care in the church and ultimately see mental heath restored in this land.

We covered a lil on the history of psychiatry and psychological services in Singapore, and I was quite surprised that prominent organisations like SOS and Fei Yue started out as faith-based entities. And it’s super cool that years later they are still here serving the community.

There were many points made on supporting our family and friends going to a tough time mentally.

It seems that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, but connection. Why do we get addicted to vices or even seemingly harmless things? I’d say that there is a void within our hearts we are trying to fill. That’s why we run to things that seemingly satisfy… only to be temporary pacified, but never truly satisfied.

One question we ought to give serious ponder to: is the church truly a sanctuary? We call our worship halls 'The Sanctuary' but is it a place where people can come and let their walls down, and encounter the love of God and community?

My main takeaway for day 1 was that the "church community should be an expression of spiritual companionship". If not us, then I don’t know where would be a better place to model it from.

As we went into the second day, I was thankful for the reminder to not only walk in the light, but also into the light. To constantly strive to fix our eyes on the Light in the darkness, because no matter the circumstances, there always always IS a way out.

I think the notion of spiritual consent is useful as a practical handle. A pastor was asked how do we know when to give space or step in, and his response was that we can simply ask. And with that 'yes', it provides sort of a covering and assurance for us to speak into lives.

Of course, this is just the beginning of hopefully many more conversations and actionable steps to come. I’m confident that hope has a name, the future is bright, and we will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.