6The Christian response to mental illness is one of the great tragedies to ravage the church today. This tragedy began with the rise of the medical model of mental illness. The medical model used in the world of medicine has been hopelessly hijacked by those in the field of mental illness. The implications threaten the very foundations of psychiatry, as they depend on the medical model for diagnosing and treating mental disorders. These implications also threaten the foundations of psychotherapy and the biblical counseling movement as they follow the psychological counseling format. The very terms mental illness, mental disorder, and mental disease have become a blight to society, as they have been misunderstood, misapplied, misconstrued, and misused by many in both society and the church.The purpose in writing this book is to encourage believers to minister to all who seek biblical, spiritual care, including individuals who are suffering from mental illness or who are suffering from other mental-emotional-behavioral issues, known in Scripture as trials and tribulations.