Deconstructing faith opens the door to Satan.
(RNS) — Steve Austin, a former pastor who wrote candidly about his struggles with mental health, has died.
Police in Hoover, Alabama, confirmed that the body of Austin, whose full name was Glenn Stephen Austin, was found in that city on Monday (June 7). The death is being investigated as a suicide.
Several friends and his publisher also confirmed Austin's death.
Austin, 38, was a writer, podcaster and life coach from Alabaster, Alabama, known for his writing about faith and mental health. He'd recently announced plans to start a program called "Jesus Coaching" to help people "deconstruct your faith and uncover your true self in a safe, confidential, supportive environment."
In blog posts and in his 2016 book, "From Pastor to a Psych Ward," Austin wrote about being found unconscious in a hotel room by emergency responders after taking an overdose of medication in a failed suicide attempt.
"I had been unconscious nearly 12 hours," he wrote. "They thought I was dead."
Surviving that experience gave him a second chance. Austin, who had been abused as a child, spent years trying to reduce the stigma of mental illness in churches.
Friends mourn Steve Austin, former pastor and author who wrote about suicide and mental health