We, the Silently Broken are writing you this day because I have an obligation to speak up when we see-- or in this case experience something wrong. As your sister/brother in Christ and as someone who has been called to kill the stigma around mental illness in the church, we have been given this obligation.
We don’t do this, because we are inspired, but because they were the ones who’d hurt others, liberally. If they hurt their other brethren, then they’d hurt us. In other words, seekers of Christ who are just starting out, they spend more time watching and listening to you and thinking badly about your actions than with people who are real and aren’t afraid to show where they struggle. It’s somewhat refreshing to seekers to find people in church without that mask. They tend to believe the word coming from an openly imperfect Christian more than from someone who mimics perfection.
There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.
We were humiliated by your treatment of us through one of the hardest times of our lives. It really wasn’t any of your business who we choose to tell. And even when we do what you told us to do and kept silent, you kicked us out anyway. This would be a devastating and traumatic situation for anyone; because in the one place where you are supposed to be loved and helped, we were cast out. Once all this is over, we feel like we don’t belong anywhere. As Christians, we are in and not of the world and are hated by the world. But as someone with mental illness, we don’t belong with our family in Christ.
Now that I have finished expressing this, I want you to be aware that I have forgiven you, despite how traumatic this was. But I do want you to do this big favour for me. As your sister/brother in Christ, I ask that you learn from this situation and not do this to anyone ever again. If a Christian in my same situation comes expressing things like this, please be aware that it IS part of your mission to help them and treat them the same as everyone else, with the same love. Please treat the others how you’d want to be treated. Bear their burdens, because as you are your brother’s keeper. It is your problem just as it is mine.
The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all.