Why Anyone – Including Christians – Can Struggle With Mental Health with Rusty George

By: Vanderbloemen

Rusty George

On today’s Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast, William Vanderbloemen talks with Rusty George, Lead Pastor at Real Life Church in Southern California.

William talks with Rusty about Real Life Church's recent loss of a campus pastor to suicide. They discuss its impact on the church, how the staff responded, and the continued support the church is providing within the community.

Rusty's recent book, Justice. Mercy. Humility.: A Simple Path to Following Jesus, focuses on Micah 6:8: "Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God." He and William talk about how following Jesus may not be easy, but it is not complicated if we put away our lists and remain open to God's will in our lives.

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About Rusty George

Rusty George is the Lead Pastor at Real Life Church in Southern California; a multi-site church with campuses in Canyon Country, Simi Valley, Valencia and a large online community. Under Rusty’s lead, Real Life has become one of the fastest growing churches in America–growing by 111% in 2011 alone.

Beyond leading his church of 6,000+ members every weekend, Rusty is a global speaker, leader and teacher focusing his message on helping people find and follow Jesus. Rusty has also written several books and writes regularly on his blog.

Aside from being a loyal Chiefs, Royals and Lakers fan, Rusty is first and foremost committed to his family. Rusty has been married to his wife, Lorrie, for over twenty years and they have two daughters, Lindsey and Sidney. As a family they enjoy walking the dogs, watching the Food Network and playing board games together.

Rusty recently wrote Justice. Mercy. Humility.: A Simple Path to Following Jesus by Rusty George which focuses on Micah 6:8 and is available for purchase.

Resources/Links:

Quotes:

 “We talked about it open and honestly, we talked about it from the perspective of the questions we have when this happens, why, and how could a pastor do this, and all those kind of things, and then we talked about what if? What if you’re contemplating this?” 

"In our effort to care for other people, we often don’t care for ourselves." Tweet:

"Whatever method you go with, justice, mercy, humility has to be a part of it. That is more of a core value. So how do we live that out regardless of the styles of our weekend services?" Tweet:

"Following Jesus is not always easy, but it’s not complicated." Tweet:

Anyone can struggle with mental health. If you are struggling, please reach out to a loved one or contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast brings you interviews from leaders across the theological spectrum of the global Church. Our goal is to bring you thought-provoking interviews that encourage you, challenge you, and help you build, run, and keep great teams. 

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