In Episode 3 of Season 5, hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor meet with pastor and licensed professional counselor, Dr. Shannon Thomas, to discuss the mental health crisis of the next generation and to answer the question, “Have we started to lean on therapy too much?” Join the GenSend team as they unpack the role of mental health resources in light of the victory found in the gospel. Discover the truths found in Scripture and what it looks like to live resiliently with the hope of Christ.

Also in this episode:

• The impact of social media on our anxiety and lack of connection
• How to recognize the signs of a mental health crisis
• The role of biblical community in times of struggle
• How a right view of God’s sovereignty helps us in our suffering
• The ways we’ve allowed culture to sway our values as the church

Helpful Resources:

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier
• The Calvary Road by Roy Hession
• Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill
• Going Higher with God in Prayer by A.W. Tozer
• A Creative Minority by Jon Tyson and Heather Grizzle

★   Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission at https://GenSend.org

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Shareable Quotes:

“Students are living in a fear of missing out in real time. They’re aware of everything going on around them and what they’re being left out of. It drives up that fear and anxiety.” —Shane Pruitt

“If my entire world is really in the palm of my hand, and if you take that away, what else do I have? There’s not much social connection or community when all community happens electronically.” —Dr. Shannon Thomas

“When life gets hard, boredom hits, or you are getting anxious, you just turn to your phone to numb it out instead of learning to cope with your feelings or the situation you got yourself in.” —Lacey Villasenor

“We’re almost building a community around how we label ourselves. There’s been a high focus on transparency and authenticity as core values for young people, and then we turned this cliche into a core value of the church when it really started in culture.” —Shane Pruitt

“Part of what we have to do is teach ourselves and each other is, ‘Okay, when I’m experiencing anxiety, what is really going on? What am I anxious about? Or what is causing this anxiety?’” —Dr. Shannon Thomas

“In terms of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we have victory, hope, and a deep sense of wellbeing—to know that no matter what my circumstances are, victory is on the other side of this.” —Dr. Shannon Thomas