I have read reports recently from people experiencing “Christian counselling” for mental health issues where this amounted to giving them a few bible verses to read and memorise. So, I thought I would outline a few reflections around this. The first thing to say is that this is sometimes described as Biblical Counselling. However, thisContinue reading “The role of Scripture in treating mental health issues”
Category Archives: pastoral-care
Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me
What is one of the most significant root causes of anger? I want to suggest that it often comes down to my desire to be in control. We often get angry when things happen that we hadn’t planned for and that we can’t do anything about. We become frustrated because our plans for life areContinue reading “Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me”
Pills, therapy and sin
US pastor Gabriel Hughes tweeted the following to his 15k followers this week. I want to spend a little bit of time responding here as quite a few people reacted strongly to what came across as an insensitive comment. Among Hughes’ followers will be people who struggle with depression, other forms of mental illness andContinue reading “Pills, therapy and sin”
Angry at God? (3) The root cause of my anger
Sometimes someone is in so much physical pain that they cannot tell where the pain is coming from. It seems to come from everywhere. When someone is in that much pain, it is very difficult to get close to help. This can be true with emotional pain too. You hurt so much, you cannot rememberContinue reading “Angry at God? (3) The root cause of my anger”
Angry at God ?(2) What to do with my anger
Yesterday I looked at the question “Is it right to be angry with God?” Today, I want to think a little further about what we do with that anger when we experience it. Here are some thoughts. Take time to pour out your heart to God being open about how you are feeling. You mayContinue reading “Angry at God ?(2) What to do with my anger”
A message for those getting A Level Results
I wanted, as usual, to write something specifically for those of you getting GCSE and A-Level results over the next couple of weeks. This year’s results will be unusual due to COVID-19, determined not by final exams but by a mixture of previous work, teacher judgement and algorithms. I understand that for many this willContinue reading “A message for those getting A Level Results”
When pastoral questions might be linked (A further response to Beth Moore)
I want to come back to Beth Moore’s questions. Now we assumed that the two questions were hypothetical and that they were about two distinct scenarios. However, suppose that they weren’t. Of course, only Beth Moore knows the answer to that. Certainly I get the feel that they are at least based on her wealthContinue reading “When pastoral questions might be linked (A further response to Beth Moore)”
Husbands, wives, Ephesians 5 and mental health (responding to Beth Moore’s questions)
Earlier in the week, Beth Moore asked two questions, specifically aimed at men who hold to a complementarian view of male/female relationships in the church and family.[1] Whilst she asked for quick tweet answers, I wanted to make a fuller response. So here it is. My friend Steve Kneale has also written and so IContinue reading “Husbands, wives, Ephesians 5 and mental health (responding to Beth Moore’s questions)”
Unasked and unanswered questions
A person asks the question on a forum “Is God telling me to divorce my husband?” They explain that they struggle with anxiety, that they had used pornography but that they had repented, their husband had forgiven them and their relationship was on the mend. However, they wondered if God was still telling them toContinue reading “Unasked and unanswered questions”
How do we talk about work?
In an earlier post on rest and restlessness, I said that we are likely to be able to help each other in the area of getting rest if we start with a better approach to work. I then went on to say that we often see work as a necessary evil and that prevents usContinue reading “How do we talk about work?”
