I’ve been sharing some videos on YouTube recently to help you think through approaches to pastoral counselling. However, I’m still aware that for some, there will be a question about whether or not we should be even attempting this kind of thing In fact, there are, I think two risks. On the one hand, there… Continue reading Pastoral Counselling – can we do it?
Category: pastoral-care
When Saturday comes: between death and resurrection
One of the themes we recently picked up on over Easter was that the whole of history is death and resurrection shaped because it is centred on, points to and is shaped by the death and resurrection of Jesus. This means that our lives are death and resurrection shaped too. This is both in the… Continue reading When Saturday comes: between death and resurrection
Is the empathy debate really just about “untethered empathy”?
I’m interested to see that Joe Rigney’s book “The sin of empathy” is continuing to generate a lot of passion. New Testament scholar, Robert Gagnon has posted a short article on facebook reacting to an article under the headline “Christian nationalists decided empathy was a sin, now it’s gone mainstream”. He complains about the … Continue reading Is the empathy debate really just about “untethered empathy”?
Some reflections on Confidentiality and the church
Steve Midgely, writing for the Journal of Biblical Counselling notes that churches often operate with a mindset that their confidentiality reflects the medical world’s approach. He quotes the Hippocratic Oath as saying: “Whatever…I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning… Continue reading Some reflections on Confidentiality and the church
What if your pastor is your therapist and your therapist is your pastor?
I saw this article the other day arguing that your pastor is not meant to be your therapist and vice versa. I can sympathise to some extent with the argument. On the one side of things, there can be a tendency to treat church like a self help process. This doesn’t just affect one to… Continue reading What if your pastor is your therapist and your therapist is your pastor?
Promotion, drama and distraction
It’s the 96th minute of the final game of the season, it’s 0-0 at Valley Parade, the place is rocking as a late late goal goes in and Bradford City secure third place and promotion. For a Bradford fan like me, the emotion is sheer delight. We did it! I can imagine too, the crushing… Continue reading Promotion, drama and distraction
Pastoring the grieving: The funeral
An important part of looking after people through grieving is the funeral which offers some form of closure. Although it is not the end of grieving, it does provide a marker, enabling the bereaved to move on with the next phase of their life. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to hold a… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving: The funeral
What happens when we die?
It’s funny, the things we get finicky about and the things we relax about when someone dies isn’t it? I was intrigued by one conversation I observed on social media following the death of the late pope. It was in response to Stephen Kneale’s excellent article about how we should respond to the news. As… Continue reading What happens when we die?
Is Empathy a feminist thing?
In the penultimate chapter of “The Sin of Empathy”, Joe Rigney writes: “We can’t adequately address the dangers of empathy without considering feminism and its impact on the church.”[1] He quotes from a speech that Calvin Robinson made in 2024 where he argued that: Generally speaking, men tend to be more theologically rigid, whereas women… Continue reading Is Empathy a feminist thing?
Empathy and the balancing of virtue
Joe Rigney ends the first chapter of his book “The Sin of Empathy” by writing: “What then can we conclude from this initial survey? To begin, as Christians, we ought to resist any move to disparage biblical virtues. Sympathy, pity, compassion—these are biblical words with a long and well-developed history in the Christian tradition. The… Continue reading Empathy and the balancing of virtue
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