Acts 20:35 states, “By this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Pastoral, or Christian, Counseling is a form of giving. It is the giving up of one’s time, compassion, and wisdom to benefit the individual, or individuals, sitting in front of them who have brought their trust upfront, believing they can strengthen their quality of life and more than that, their walk of faith, through professional guidance. By pursuing this career, a follower is ultimately taking his heavenly father’s values to heart and acting upon them. A better understanding of what that looks like, in this sense, can be found by examining the traits that are important …show more content…
First, there is a master's degree to earn, so approximately six years of college at preferably a christian institute or at least one that would encourage faith in your studies, that being the kind of background you would like to take with you into this profession. Once completed, it is time to focus on the world of work. Your job description would be something along the lines of what I Have A Plan Iowa suggests, Christian Counselors speak with and comfort clients, address problems and give suggestions on how they can better cope with tragedies and trying situations, while incorporating the Christian teachings and beliefs. The elements thereof include hope, change, and practice. This leads into your new routine. Tentatively in order, you would start your sessions off by encouraging your client to express what is on their hearts with you, making them feel safe and cared for, while observing how they respond you will collect information about them, but sometimes outside interviews and testing will be needed. After you have a good grip on their mindset, you will begin to counsel your client, assisting them in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes. Then it is your duty to develop, as well as implement, a treatment plan, guiding your client in the process of developing skills and strategies for dealing healthily with their problems. Of course there is documentation, so you do need to handle related paperwork and when that’s done, secure the confidentiality of your client’s records. Yet, in any field of work there will be days that are not like the rest, there will be surprises, and in the world of psychology you may be faced with having to assess clients for the risk of suicide attempts or performing crisis interventions, as well as incorporating spirituality in ways that you might have never been exposed to before. There is a lot going on and
This is David Entwistle 2nd edition book published in 2010 by Wipf and Stock in Oregon. Entwistle is a Christian and a licensed psychologist; he has affiliations with Molone University in Canton, Ohio serving as chair of the Psychology Department and has taught courses related to his licensed field. This book clearly is not written for any newcomers to religion. However, it was written for those interested in the integration of science and religion. The authors’ purpose for writing this book was to define the relationship between psychology and theology. There are three specific areas this book touched upon to help readers’ better approach psychology and Christianity in a personal and more professional manner: The context of philosophical issues and worldview, to help the readers become aware of assumptions or beliefs- making the reader a more critical evaluators, and to introduce and familiarize the reader with five paradigms for integrating psychology and theology.
Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling written by Mark McMinn and published by Tyndale House in 2011 notions towards the idealization that Christian counselors need to be privy in the most recent psychological methods as well as theological theories. “This is a book about counseling processes techniques” (McMinn, 2011, p. 150). McMinn also alluded that Christian counselors benefit from having a spiritual maturity. With having these attributes counselors are better prepared to take note of prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn (2011) model flows in the direction of healing while equating to a more advantageous relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ as well as with other relationships (McMinn, 2011).
Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling: Foundations and practice of compassionate soul care. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press.
In the first chapter of Psychology in Christian Perspective by Harold W. Faw the author talks about psychology as a subject, the different aspects of the subject and how psychology fits into the Christian world. Faw begins the chapter by describing what others think psychology and his views on psychology as well. He describes that “psychology can be described as a systematic attempt to understand human behavior and conscious experience” (Faw, 1995, p. 12). He then goes on to describe the many different types of specialties of psychology which include, neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and psychoanalytic. These specialties are then integrated into the Christian worldview. They are all different so they all fit into
Sometimes individuals consider becoming counselors after overcoming some major life challenge such as addiction or a history of bad relationships. Perhaps an individual has encountered a particularly effective counselor or therapist and has a desire to follow in those footsteps. Others may have had a bad experience with counseling and concluded that it can be done better. People do not think of this work so much as a job, or even as a career. More typically, a constellation of life experiences that demand explanation and a sense that others seek one out for assistance and emotional sustenance become driving forces leading one toward the counseling profession” (An invitation to). .
Confidentiality. Confidentiality is just as important in Christian counseling as it is in secular counseling. According to the American Association of Christian Counselors (2014), “confidentiality recognizes that every client has a fundamental, moral and legal right to privacy and to have a wide range of personal thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors that are protected from public knowledge” (p. 22). It is crucial for counselors to maintain client confidentiality unless what a client discloses brings harm to themselves or other people. Confidentiality should be kept at all
“Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity” (2010) is about the purposeful integration of psychology and Christianity. Entwistle, discusses the integration of scripture and nature, holding to historic orthodox Christianity that “Scripture and the natural world have their origins in God’s creativity and revelation” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 136). Theology clarifies the Word of God (Bible), and Psychology corresponds with the works of God. A working definition of integration is offered,
However, it does not matter how strong a person’s faith is or how weak a person faith is, everyone in Christian counseling starts off the same. It is a process how a person develops overtime. This is similar to a child learning how to tie his or her shoes. At first they do not get it but overtime, it becomes of habit and the person get better. According to Clinton, Hart and Ohlschlager (2005),” they believe that Christian counselling has to do with and learning applying the principles of the kingdom on living to the chronically sins, fears, failures, and dark areas of our life (p.21). When people are at their lowest point he or she turn to Christ to get the throughout tough times. Furthermore, in chapter two a person learns about the trust and fined our truth. In chapter two it discusses becoming a trust worthy counselor. In Chapter two, I realized that is all about gaining the clients trust. If the client, does not trust the counselor then no typ of relationship can be bonded. The client is in a venerable state and the counselor has to make sure that the can feel free to be
Biblical Counseling is making a strong impact in today's churches and community. Counseling is seen as one of the most productive ways of helping a
Husbands love is an action word, Apostle John wrote in one of his letters, let us not love with words or, tongues, but with actions and in truth, (1 John 3:18). Most times in the homes sacrificial action is missing ask yourself when was the last time you gave up something valued for your wife like a fishing trip, or your favorite game on TV. Sometimes you need to give up something so that you can spend some quality time with your wife so that she can see your love. Serving your wife and being the head of your house don’t mean that you are to Lord over her life. Christ is our example for this type of leadership.
First I learned the definition of pastoral care. While I have heard of Christian counseling, I was not keen to the term pastoral care. Christian pastoral care and counseling seeks to merge the biblical witness, Christian tradition, psychological principles and techniques, and the personal identity of the pastor to restore people to right relationship with themselves,
An Example from Christian Missionary Educators In order to create effective leaders for the 21st century, Christian educators must adapt instruction to the needs of this generation. Christian education was a significant part of the work of evangelical Protestant missionaries who sought to bring the Gospel to the world in previous centuries (Woodberry, 2012). The focus on education and Bible literacy eventually resulted in benefits society as a whole. Research by Woodberry (2012) determined that countries where evangelical Protestant missionaries worked have higher levels of education, economic development, rule of law and lower levels of corruption than countries where evangelical Protestant missionaries did not work.
Christianity is seen as the way to salvation for the sins that have been committed. It is full of diverse because it has spread throughout the world and has been translate into many different languages. Christianity is broken up into three main branches: Roman Catholic, Protestant and the Orthodox. Jesus is an icon that is recognized world-wide. It is one of the World’s most popular religions.
A community is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “A unified body of individuals.” The question is, what sets a Christian community apart? Christian community is described throughout 1 John as community of believers who have decided to live walking alongside each other, loving each other, and speaking truth into each other's lives for the sake of the Kingdom. Christian community, if it is built upon 1 John ideals, is a great gift designed and given by God to believers. This foundation of the Christian community is God’s sacrificial love that flows from the hearts of all that walk with Him.
The shepherd and sheep relationship is the best illustration for the relationship between pastor and parishioners. When Jesus asked Simon Peter does he love him three times and said to him “Feed my sheep”, the shepherd and flock relationship has been set. Since Jesus is our good shepherd (Jn. 10:11a), he laid out a good example for us to follow - to lay down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11b) Thus, the wellness of both in and out of the parishioners should always be the concern in the pastors’ hearts. Soul care for the people is essential. Christian friendship is the foundation of Christian soul care. Pastoral ministry including preaching, teaching, and worship forms the broad context of pastoral counseling. Pastoral care is within pastoral ministry but broader than pastoral counseling. God’s love is the source and motivation. Within the pastoral care, there are spiritual direction and pastoral