David Powlison Examines the Unique Role of the Pastor as Counselor A pastor inhabits multiple roles—teacher, preacher, youth leader, and counselor. Yet many church leaders feel unprepared to counsel church members who are struggling with difficult, multifaceted problems. David Powlison reminds pastors of their unique role as the shepherds of God's people, equipping them to apply biblical wisdom to the thoughts, values, moods, expectations, and decisions of those under their care.
Pastors spend much of their time counseling people in crisis—a delicate task that requires one to carefully evaluate each situation, share relevant principles from God’s Word, and offer practical suggestions for moving forward. Too often, however, pastors feel unprepared to effectively shepherd their people through difficult circumstances such as depression, adultery, eating disorders, and suicidal thinking. Written to help pastors and church leaders understand the basics of biblical counseling, this book provides an overview of the counseling process from the initial meeting to the final session. It also includes suggestions for cultivating a culture of discipleship within a church and four appendixes featuring a quick checklist, tips for taking notes, and more.
Therapeutic counseling in a Christian context can be highly effective when it maintains narrowly focused goals in a time-limited setting. The details of this proven model of pastoral counseling are described in this practical guide. This second edition of Strategic Pastoral Counseling has been thoroughly revised and includes two new chapters. Benner includes helpful case studies, a new appendix on contemporary ethical issues, and updated chapter bibliographies. His study will continue to serve clergy and students well as a valued practical handbook on pastoral care and counseling.
This very practical book offers no-nonsense instructions for pastors, chaplains, and ministers whose real specialty is the practice of relational wisdom. Patton provides a helpful, step-by-step template for pastoral counseling sessions and clear guidelines for understanding when to defer and how to refer—all while remaining faithful to the basic pastoral calling to connect persons seeking help with the relationships and resources they need to deal with their lives. "In a society of specialists, John Patton’s Pastor as Counselor is a bold reminder of the healing potential of 'care-full' attending to lost and separated persons through the unique relational wisdom of the generalist pastor. This is vintage Patton, written with gentle wisdom and generous counsel summarizing decades of practicing and teaching pastoral counseling."—Herbert Anderson, Emeritus Professor of Pastoral Theology, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, IL, and Faculty in Practical Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA "John Patton wrote this 'how-to' book for ministers without specialized training in mental health issues. Ministers are good at developing and deepening human relationships, and that is exactly what they need in order to become skilled short-term pastoral counselors. Concrete, down-to-earth, and quintessentially practical, this is a book that should be on the syllabus of every seminary’s introduction to pastoral care and counseling. It is the fruit of a lifetime of reflection and embodied relational wisdom at its best." —Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger, Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Pastoral Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ "When it comes to counseling, our first port of call is often the mental health professions. In this book John Patton carefully draws out what is special about pastoral counseling. With theological depth and wise practical utility, he offers a clear guide for pastoral counselors as to what it is that gives them their identity and what that looks like in practice. This is a wise and deeply practical book that will inevitably be transformative." —John Swinton, Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies; School of Divinity, History and Philosophy; University of Aberdeen; Aberdeen, UK "John Patton has acquired unparalleled wisdom over decades of providing, supervising, teaching, and writing about pastoral care. This most gifted and deeply reflective thinker has crafted a primer that will become a classic, spelling out what’s central for those new to the vocation, reminding the more seasoned of what really matters."—Chris R. Schlauch, Associate Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Psychology of Religion, Boston University School of Theology, Boston, MA "Patton's book nicely parallels what he asks pastors to do in counseling others. Through a well-developed structure, he offers wise presence, spiritual conversation, and relational wisdom. His book would be a valuable resource in an advanced pastoral care course in a theological school. Similarly, a peer group of pastors would benefit from collective engagement with insights it provides as they assess their pastoral counseling relationships." Kenneth J. McFayden, Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Va. (Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 71(4)
Since the beginning of the biblical counseling movement in 1970, biblical counselors have argued that counseling is a ministry of the Word, just like preaching or missions. As a ministry, counseling must be defined according to sound biblical theology rather than secular principles of psychology. For over four decades, biblical theology has been at the core of the biblical counseling movement. Leaders in biblical counseling have emphasized a commitment to teaching doctrine in their counseling courses out of the conviction that good theology leads to good counseling…and bad theology leads to bad counseling. A Theology of Biblical Counseling is a landmark new book that covers the history of the biblical counseling movement, the core convictions that underlie sound counseling, and practical wisdom for counseling today. Dr. Heath Lambert shows how biblical counseling is rooted in the Scriptures while illustrating the real challenges counselors face today through true stories from the counseling room. A substantive textbook written in accessible language, it is an ideal resource for use in training biblical counselors at colleges, seminaries, and training institutes. In each chapter, doctrine comes to life in real ministry to real people, dramatically demonstrating how theology intersects with the lives of actual counselees.
Pastors and counselors regularly minister to people whose marriages or families are in crisis. Tempers run high and feelings are brought low when a marriage is hurting or a family is in disarray. Pastors and counselors need practical, biblical help in order to connect their theological training to the reality of modern messy relationships. These how-to training manuals provide relevant, user-friendly equipping for pastors, counselors, lay leaders, educators, and students, enabling them to competently and compassionately relate God's Word to marriage and family life.
This groundbreaking book, now updated and expanded, furthers its original, effective, time-saving approach that benefits pastors overtaxed by counseling demands. Dr. Charles Kollar presents a departure in pastoral counseling, showing that counseling need not be long-term or depend on psychological manipulation to produce dramatic results. In most cases, the solution lies with the counselees themselves. Using the tested methods found in Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling, pastors, apart from counselors, will be well equipped to help their counselees discover a solution and put it in motion speedily and productively.SFPC is short-term—typically one to five sessions, in which the counselor seeks to create solutions with—not for—the counselee. The focus is on the possibility of life without the problem through an understanding of what is different when the problem does not occur or is less intrusive. The goal is healthy change, sooner rather than later, by helping the counselee see and work on the solution with God’s activity already present in his or her life.The solution-focused approach does not require the counselor to be a highly trained psychological expert. It requires biblically based sensitivity and common sense. Yet this approach also recognizes its limitations and understands that there are situations in which other professional and/or medical help is required.
In the contemporary church, pastors take on many roles. One of the most important roles a pastor must play is that of counselor. However, this isn't always a natural fit for every pastor. In this creative and readable book, Wayne Oates offers a definitive argument for the history and future necessity of pastoral counseling.
In this book David Augsburger discusses the dynamics of pastoral care and counseling across cultural lines. Augsburger combines theology with global perspective and cultural sensitivity to posit an inclusive understanding of pastoral care. This book will be of great interest to pastoral counselors in both academic and practical contexts.
