Abstract
In this introductory chapter, Wimberley sheds light on the crisis of depression among African American pastors. Her premise is, due to the monumental significance of the black preacher in the African American evangelical religious tradition, from a pastoral theological perspective there exists a type of “cultural sacramentalization” of the black preacher which sets clergy up for depression through isolation, internalized/external expectations, and a loss of self-awareness. Wimberley summons the black church to self-examination and accountability as regards this crisis among black clergy leaders, which she argues has left the African American church and broader community in a vulnerable position.
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Notes
- 1.
Blaine T. Brown and Robert C. Cottrell, Lives and Times: Individuals and Issues in American History to 1877 (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2010), 163.
- 2.
The Penguin English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. “crisis”.
- 3.
“Depression is a complex mood disorder that involves the entire psychobiological organism and is characterized by persistently negative views of the self, the world, and the future. Depression is characterized by a significant loss of self-esteem and is considered a complex pattern of psychological and physical symptoms.” See Rodney Hunter (ed.), Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling, 2005 expanded edition (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005), p. 1103.
- 4.
The terms “black,” “African American,” and “negro” will be used interchangeably based upon the texts cited.
- 5.
Here I use the term “evangelical” in a broader sense to identify those Protestant traditions that uphold a belief in the salvific work of Christ on the cross, religious conversion as a transformative experience, and the centrality of the Bible for the praxis of faith and life.
- 6.
Wimberly suggests that some African Americans view the pastor as being “a representative of God” and accord him or her great respect. As such, the influence of the African American pastor is very broad. See Edward Wimberly, Pastoral Care in the black Church (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1979), p. 37.
- 7.
Clergy Renewal Fund website, http://www.clergyfund.org/index. Last accessed 4/1/2008.
- 8.
Ibid.
- 9.
A Report on Clergy Recruitment and Retention to the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (USA), The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA), 2004, p. 25.
- 10.
Website: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_12_119/ai_87705906/pg_1 American Baptists Focus On Clergy Health, 4/3/08.
- 11.
Restore Equality Now website, http://www.renwl.org/six-recent-sex-scandals-with-black-ministers-you-may-not-know-about-and-why-blacks-dont-report-clergy-sex-abuse/7890/. Last accessed 12/10/11.
- 12.
Duke Divinity School website, http://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives-centers/clergy-health-initiative/learning. Last accessed 11/30/11.
- 13.
“African Americans and Hispanics are less likely than whites to obtain mental health treatment from any source… are more likely to delay seeking treatment… and are especially less likely to receive treatment from medical providers rather than from social service agencies or other sources.” See Janice C. Probst, Sarah Laditka, Charity G. Moore, Nusrat Harun, and M. Paige Powell. “Race and Ethnic Differences in Reporting Depressive Symptoms” Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. Vol. 34(6), Sept, (2007): 519.
- 14.
American Psychiatric Association, “Personality Disorders.” Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Washington, DC: APA, 2000), 717.
- 15.
The term “disorder” is widely used in Western medicine as it represents a traditionally westernized approach to mental health care as it regards the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
- 16.
American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IV-TR, ibid., 717.
- 17.
American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IV-TR, ibid., 717.
- 18.
Rodney J. Hunter, “Depression.” Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling , 1103.
- 19.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, http://ww.cdc.gov. Mental Health Home. Last accessed 11/25/15.
- 20.
The publication of the DSM-V by the APA in 2013 renamed Dysthymic Disorder as Persistent Depressive Disorder. “Dysthymic patients are chronically depressed. They have many of the same symptoms that are found in Major Depressive Episodes, including low mood, fatigue, hopelessness, trouble concentrating, and problems with appetite and sleep. Absent from the criteria are thoughts of death or suicidal ideas. We aren’t allowed to diagnose Dysthymia if the patient has ever had a Manic or Hypomanic Episode. …Because they suffer quietly and are not severely disabled, such individuals often don’t come to light until a major depressive episode supervenes.” James Morrison, DSM-IV Made Easy: The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis (New York, NY: Guilford Press), 2006, 223.
- 21.
Candace R. Benyei, Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems: Scapegoating, Family Secrets, and the Abuse of Power (New York, NY: The Haworth Pastoral Press, 1988), 8.
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Wimberley, W. (2016). Depression in the Pulpit. In: Depression in African American Clergy. Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94910-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94910-6_1
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