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Be Not Anxious: Pastoral Care of Disquieted Souls
As Allan Cole knows firsthand, both personally and pastorally, Christians are not immune from anxiety, and many believers go to their church leaders for support and solace. This helpful book draws on narrative approaches to theology and counseling to suggest how pastoral caregivers may effectively minister to anxious persons.
Be Not Anxious provides pastors and other caregivers with a basic understanding of anxiety, including how to identify those suffering from it and how to get at what is making them anxious. Cole focuses both on cognitive-based methods and on common faith practices -- church membership, frequent worship, prayer, Bible reading, service, and confession -- showing how these may provide relief from anxiety. By addressing the roles of both psychiatry and ministry as co-liberators from anxiety, he leads the pastor and the faith community in helping disquieted souls to find rest.
Be Not Anxious provides pastors and other caregivers with a basic understanding of anxiety, including how to identify those suffering from it and how to get at what is making them anxious. Cole focuses both on cognitive-based methods and on common faith practices -- church membership, frequent worship, prayer, Bible reading, service, and confession -- showing how these may provide relief from anxiety. By addressing the roles of both psychiatry and ministry as co-liberators from anxiety, he leads the pastor and the faith community in helping disquieted souls to find rest.
236 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 2, 2020
Rated PG.
Somewhat interesting, with a few insights about the root causes and the beginnings of answers for pastoral care of the anxious. However, the book overall seems to be at war with itself a bit in terms of secular versus church care of souls. He spends a lot of time talking about the secular treatments of anxiety, which somewhat conflict with his overall thesis but which he also tried to draw into the techniques of pastoral counseling. There is also a general confusion with teachings on the distinctly pastoral office versus what all Christians can do in love and service of others (including in how Jesus is distilled into a sort of Nice Guy with Great Teachings of Love) as well as the reality and action of the sacraments--what they are and do. That is not to say that there is not good to this book, but that some of the good is confused through the confusion of doctrines and understandings of who God is and what He does in a very real and concrete way--both in condemnation of our sin (sin is barely, if at all, touched upon in this book, or mentioned directly, despite the fact that that is often a deep cause of anxiety!) AND in the gracious forgiving of our sin through His direct, personal action.
Somewhat interesting, with a few insights about the root causes and the beginnings of answers for pastoral care of the anxious. However, the book overall seems to be at war with itself a bit in terms of secular versus church care of souls. He spends a lot of time talking about the secular treatments of anxiety, which somewhat conflict with his overall thesis but which he also tried to draw into the techniques of pastoral counseling. There is also a general confusion with teachings on the distinctly pastoral office versus what all Christians can do in love and service of others (including in how Jesus is distilled into a sort of Nice Guy with Great Teachings of Love) as well as the reality and action of the sacraments--what they are and do. That is not to say that there is not good to this book, but that some of the good is confused through the confusion of doctrines and understandings of who God is and what He does in a very real and concrete way--both in condemnation of our sin (sin is barely, if at all, touched upon in this book, or mentioned directly, despite the fact that that is often a deep cause of anxiety!) AND in the gracious forgiving of our sin through His direct, personal action.
March 30, 2009
Great book for pastors and lay alike. Great insight into myself and others. A must read for those in ministry today!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews