Here are some facts about pastoral ministry: pastors have a lot of work to do, there seems to not be enough time to do everything, sin causes big problems in the church, people need help, and most pastors have relatively little training in counseling. When you put all of this together you have a recipe for discouragement.
Pastors Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju want to help. They wrote the book The Pastor and Counseling in order to come alongside of pastors to encourage and equip them toward faithful counseling. They write:
“We want to help by giving you a basic framework to approach your people’s troubles. You may not have a lot of time. You may be fearful of messing someone up permanently. You may simply not want to deal with this stuff. So what you need is both a reminder that the gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful in these situations and some practical guidance for ministering in light of that power.” (15-16)
I think they hit the mark. The authors write a book that is helpful, compassionate, convicting, and efficient. Providing practical tips to shape the counseling sessions as well as the counselor, Pierre and Reju help pastors to stay on the course of faithful shepherding.
The book is structured in a helpful way. After establishing the concept of counseling from the Scriptures—and how the pastor must see himself here (no way out of this brothers), they move on to the process. This is where the authors are particularly helpful. They recommend 5 sessions for the ideal counseling scenario. They provide a number of thoughtful considerations for how the pastor may prepare for the first meeting. These items include everything from the arrangement of the room to a pre-counseling questionnaire to be completed by the one requesting counseling prior to the session. In the subsequent sessions readers are equipped to see how to lead the sessions in such a way that it is beneficial to those needing counseling. Most pastors feel like they won’t have all the answers, but the authors remind us that we can do our best work by listening well and asking good questions to get more relevant information. As I read the book I remember thinking, “Hey, the bottom line here is that I need to know my Bible, value the gospel, and love people. I can do this.” Shortly after I read:
“To be able to do this well, you simply have to know your Bible. And the more you experience both the comfort and discomfort found in its pages, the more you’ll be able to sense what is appropriate for another person.” (67)
In the final section the authors provide the context for the continued counseling needed: the local church. Pastors are encouraged to encourage further care by developing a culture of discipleship, equipping, and connecting. People are to be expected to speak the truth in love to one another, be equipped to do so, and take the initiative to connect with others for this purpose. This reinforces the centrality and priority of the gospel in the local church. I really appreciated this section that reminded the pastor of the importance of deputizing the rest of the congregation for the purpose of care through word-work.
If you are looking for an accessible book that answers the questions you have and even the ones you don’t have about how to faithfully do pastoral counseling, this is it. In 156 pages the authors provide a quick moving, efficient, gospel-dripping practicum on pastoral counseling. I intend to have this at arms length in my study to refer to throughout the counseling process. It’s a real blessing to the church.
Discounted copies of The Pastor and Counseling are available at Amazon (kindle available).
