Unless you were born today (Tuesday) or under a rock, you have heard the sad news about Robin Williams. He was a comedic genius and while I didn’t always appreciate the direction/language of his humor, he had “the touch.” He won an Academy Award for “Good Will Hunting.” I loved him in “Dead Poet’s Society.” I watched Aladdin with my girls and sat in awe at his ability to do so many voices.

The world lost a talented entertainer.

But Robin Williams is not alone. It is no secret that suicide is reaching epic proportions among teens and young adults. But suicide is far more than someone just giving up on life. They report Robin suffered from depression and had even entered rehab for a relapse of his addiction. The “secular” world is not alone though.  There has been a recent rash of suicides among pastors as well. Rick Warren lost his son over a year ago. Ergun Caner’s 15 year old son committed suicide within the past couple weeks. Read this article for more information.

Depression is a large cause for this rise in suicides. Just over a month ago, Kari Scare wrote five posts for me specifically dealing with depression. Here is her first and you can follow them from there. I recently had someone in my office feeling lost and “out of sorts spiritually” because they were depressed and didn’t think they should be. You know…”If my faith was real…”

What does the church do? What should the church do? I can tell you it has to offer more than just platitudes. You know…those old “pie in the sky” pithy sayings we are so wont to give. We have got to stop the Scarlet letter “D” to be written across the foreheads of hurting people. I have been blessed so far in my 61 years to have never suffered any type of depression. But I know those who have and have been made to feel worthless, less of a Christian, even lost because they battle depression.

Shame on us!

One of the essential elements of the church is community. It is time we start acting like it. It is time we stop judging and start reaching out. It is time we stop downplaying this “sickness/disease” and start doing something to help people heal.

Any thoughts?

Meanwhile, how about praying for Robin’s family?