You may be familiar with the term “friendly fire”. It refers to when a military assault on the enemy ends up taking out members of the same side as well as or instead of the enemy positions. This can be caused by those people being in close proximity to the enemy at the time or… Continue reading It may appear to come from your side but it’s not friendly fire
Category: pastoral-care
Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Last week when talking with Ryan Burton King about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we discussed the response in Russia. Over the past few week’s we’ve seen a lot of examples of bravery from Russians willing to protest, most notably a young Russian TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast holding up a protest sign. At… Continue reading Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Post pandemic pastoral conversations – don’t forget those who have returned
The parable of the Lost Sheep is a wonderful exposition of the Gospel. It points us to the God who passionately pursues the lost. It challenges the legalistic pride and insularity of the Pharisees and it convicts our hearts -do we have that same concern for those who are lost and wandering. It’s not a… Continue reading Post pandemic pastoral conversations – don’t forget those who have returned
Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back
As we return increasingly to normality following the pandemic, I suspect that the vast majority of people who are intending to return to in person church attendance will have done so by now. If the majority of your church are not yet back in person then you may have to have some searching conversations together… Continue reading Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back
The Faithroots Podcast – Jesus and Gender with Elyse Fitzpatrick
In this week’s episode I talk with Elyse Fitzpatrick about her latest book (co-authored with Eric Schumacher) as we discover how returning to the Gospel and the example of Christ in Philippians 2 is crucial if we are to get beyond infighting over gender. We talk about the temptation for power and the desire to… Continue reading The Faithroots Podcast – Jesus and Gender with Elyse Fitzpatrick
Pastoral care – hearing and listening well
An important part of offering pastoral care is the need to listen and hear well. Here are a few further thoughts on this. Prepare well. Prior to meeting up make sure you are aware of what the context and purpose of your time together is. It is often helpful to have thought through some specific… Continue reading Pastoral care – hearing and listening well
Pastoral care – guidelines
Yesterday I shared some training notes on giving pastoral care in the church. Here are some guideline notes based on guidelines and policies from a previous church Safe-guarding Your church should have a children’s and at risk adults’ safeguarding policy. It is important that we recognise that those policies respond to specific legal and medical… Continue reading Pastoral care – guidelines
Discipleship, pastoral care and counselling
If you are involved in discipling others then there will be times when you are asked to counsel someone. This might be about helping them to work through a particular issue or decision -whether to go for a job or it could be because they are facing specific circumstances such as marital problems, debt or… Continue reading Discipleship, pastoral care and counselling
Depression, sin and trust issues
I just wanted to pick up on something I’ve seen suggested a few times namely that depression is intrinsically sinful because it involves a lack or loss of trust in the Lord. I’ve seen this suggested in the context of medication -that you should be depending on God to heal you but I’ve also seen… Continue reading Depression, sin and trust issues
Cult tactics
How do False Teachers get a foot-hold and gain influence in the lives of others? Here are some ways. They will target people who are already passionate about faith. They particularly look for people who are either: Disillusioned because they feel that the church has failed them by not being loving. Alternatively, if someone feels… Continue reading Cult tactics
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