What do you think?
Rate this book
Pastoral Care the Core of Christian Ministry
The modern idea of pastoral care is care of people who are in crisis. In this insightful book, author David Pettett argues that rather than being confined to helping people in crisis, pastoral care is actually at the core of Christian ministry. Every aspect of what the pastor does is pastoral care. Pastoral care is first and foremost a spiritual discipline and remains firmly in the realm of theology, not psychology.
As pastoral care is an exercise of practical theology, Christian pastoral care is the responsibility, first and foremost, of the pastor who has responsibility for the cure of souls. This responsibility is exercised primarily in a theological framework.
In Pastoral The Core of Christian Ministry, the main aim is to encourage pastor/teachers to see their entire ministry in terms of pastoral care. Equipping the saints for the work of ministry for building the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12) is the work of pastoral care, which the pastor/teacher does by teaching the Scriptures. The book seeks to encourage a reversal of this alarming modern trend, which sees pastoral care as only something done for people in crisis.
The book also seeks to reverse the trend of outsourcing pastoral care to counsellors and psychologists. It seeks to broaden the focus so that pastoral care is seen to be the whole essence of pastoral ministry. Pastoral care has a whole-of-life focus. From his long experience of Christian ministry, David illustrates practical pastoral care with real life situations. This is a book for pastors to consider the essential nature of Christian ministry and for lay people to think through just what their pastors are up to.
As pastoral care is an exercise of practical theology, Christian pastoral care is the responsibility, first and foremost, of the pastor who has responsibility for the cure of souls. This responsibility is exercised primarily in a theological framework.
In Pastoral The Core of Christian Ministry, the main aim is to encourage pastor/teachers to see their entire ministry in terms of pastoral care. Equipping the saints for the work of ministry for building the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12) is the work of pastoral care, which the pastor/teacher does by teaching the Scriptures. The book seeks to encourage a reversal of this alarming modern trend, which sees pastoral care as only something done for people in crisis.
The book also seeks to reverse the trend of outsourcing pastoral care to counsellors and psychologists. It seeks to broaden the focus so that pastoral care is seen to be the whole essence of pastoral ministry. Pastoral care has a whole-of-life focus. From his long experience of Christian ministry, David illustrates practical pastoral care with real life situations. This is a book for pastors to consider the essential nature of Christian ministry and for lay people to think through just what their pastors are up to.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2023
4 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 3, 2024
I read this as I saw it was a recommended reading in the Southern Cross.
The part I enjoyed the most was parts 6 and 7 when the author talks about pastoral care using the drama triangle and how to minister to people in sickness. It's clear this is an area that the author is well-versed in, especially in his time as a chaplain. The examples are relevant and he helpfully articulates the steps involved. There is also a discussion about 'the process' happening to an individual, which I found a helpful model. His chapter on dealing with sickness and reminding people about the reality of sin particularly struck me. In our haste to deal with the illness itself, we can often forget the way the Bible often speaks about what it means to live in this broken world. It was a helpful and challenging reminder.
The part I found most frustrating was part 5, "Getting Sundays Right". The author claims that pastoral care must form the basis of Sundays and shape everything we do. However, in these chapters, the author ends up saying what he thinks people are doing wrong, without giving helpful concrete solutions. The author wants sermons that will help Christians live out their faith, public prayers that will help model private prayers, and songs that will help express the truths of God. All good things - but how do we do that? The answer the chapter seemed to give was: "Get Sundays right" which felt like more of a goal, rather than a solution of how to get there.
Overall, I found the tone (especially in the first half) of the book too polemical. The author states in the acknowledgements section that he tried to tone this down. Yet I finished the book feeling like he was angry about the way some view pastoral care, but too often it felt like it was a strawman that was being attacked.
The part I enjoyed the most was parts 6 and 7 when the author talks about pastoral care using the drama triangle and how to minister to people in sickness. It's clear this is an area that the author is well-versed in, especially in his time as a chaplain. The examples are relevant and he helpfully articulates the steps involved. There is also a discussion about 'the process' happening to an individual, which I found a helpful model. His chapter on dealing with sickness and reminding people about the reality of sin particularly struck me. In our haste to deal with the illness itself, we can often forget the way the Bible often speaks about what it means to live in this broken world. It was a helpful and challenging reminder.
The part I found most frustrating was part 5, "Getting Sundays Right". The author claims that pastoral care must form the basis of Sundays and shape everything we do. However, in these chapters, the author ends up saying what he thinks people are doing wrong, without giving helpful concrete solutions. The author wants sermons that will help Christians live out their faith, public prayers that will help model private prayers, and songs that will help express the truths of God. All good things - but how do we do that? The answer the chapter seemed to give was: "Get Sundays right" which felt like more of a goal, rather than a solution of how to get there.
Overall, I found the tone (especially in the first half) of the book too polemical. The author states in the acknowledgements section that he tried to tone this down. Yet I finished the book feeling like he was angry about the way some view pastoral care, but too often it felt like it was a strawman that was being attacked.
Displaying 1 of 1 review