Ep. 173: Tomy Cummins on being a shepherd of the mind.
What if the hardest thing you're carrying could teach you how to carry someone else?
On this episode of The MercyCast, Raleigh Sadler sits down with pastor and author Tomy Cummins to talk honestly about trauma, mental health, emotional health, suffering, and what it means to care like Christ when someone is hurting.
Tomy shares his deeply personal journey of confronting childhood trauma, seeking healing, and learning how his own suffering equipped him to shepherd others better. Together, Raleigh and Tomy explore how the Church can create safer spaces for difficult conversations—and why we don't need perfect words to show up for someone in pain.
In This Episode
Breaking the silence around mental health and emotional health
Tomy's journey through childhood trauma and healing
How to become a safe person for someone who is suffering
Setting healthy boundaries while caring for others
The difference between carrying someone's burden and carrying it for them
Compassion fatigue and secondary trauma
Why shepherds need shepherding, too
Practical ways to respond when someone shares something difficult
How the Church can create greater psychological safety
A Powerful Reminder
You don't have to fix someone's pain to love them well.
Sometimes the most Christlike thing you can do is sit with someone, listen, and remind them they're not alone.
Tomy also offers a practical challenge: practice how you'll respond before you're in a crisis. Learn to listen. Check your face. Know your boundaries. Build your own support system. And don't be afraid to point someone toward professional help when the weight is beyond what you can carry.
Take the Next Step
Who in your life might need someone to sit with them in the midst of a difficult season?
Share this episode with a pastor, parent, friend, ministry leader, or anyone who wants to learn how to care for people experiencing mental health struggles and emotional pain.
Subscribe to The MercyCast and help create a Church where people can bring their suffering into the light—and meet the hands and feet of Jesus.
Remember, You are loved.
Listen to the full episode:
About Tomy Cummins
Tomy Cummins is a longtime student pastor and author of Shepherds of the Mind: Caring Like Christ in an Age of Silent Suffering. See what people are saying about it! His work focuses on helping Christians respond to mental and emotional health challenges with biblical truth, compassion, wisdom, and hope. Follow on Instagram.
Thanks for listening. We want to hear from you!
Email us at info@mercycast.com.
For more conversations like this one, check out my book, Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking.