Tag: pastoral counselling

COVID-19 depression and suicide

There has been some discussion about the affects of COVID-19 and lockdowns on mental health. Now despite the memes that have circulated on social media about spiralling suicide rates, the data as we have it does not suggest that this seems to be the case. If there have been any increases in incidents, they reflect… Continue reading COVID-19 depression and suicide

If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously

I saw this tweet the other day and would like to respond to it.  The background to the tweet is that the pastor concerned had a high celebrity profile due to Justin Bieber attending his church. Sadly, as with so many pastors over the years behind the public persona was something different and his marriage… Continue reading If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously

Pastors get depression too

I want to share with you the results of a little survey I did via twitter. It is important to emphasise that these twitter polls don’t count as scientific surveys with appropriate proportions of people and adjustments. Therefore, the percentages are a little meaningless. So, what I’d encourage you to do is to look past… Continue reading Pastors get depression too

Jay Adams (January 30th 1929 – November 14th 2020)

Whether or not you have heard the name, Jay Adams is probably one of the most significant influences on your life, especially if you are within the Reformed Tradition. A prolific author, he wrote on preaching and teaching (Truth Applied and Preaching with purpose), where he heavily pushed a focus on identifying the main point… Continue reading Jay Adams (January 30th 1929 – November 14th 2020)

Learning to See – That important detail

On a couple of occasions, I’ve been asked for informal advice about a legal matter. Sometimes it has been to do with employment law, once or twice about family law and often to do with immigration and asylum.  Often people start with a lengthy story of every single possible grievance or defence that might have… Continue reading Learning to See – That important detail

Learning to see – the full picture

Going back a month or two, you may remember that when asked, Boris Johnson promised that if necessary, the armed forces would be made available to help with the effort against COVID-19. This led to predictable headlines and tweets about troops on the street and people claiming that the Government was using the pandemic as… Continue reading Learning to see – the full picture

Anxiety

I’ve written quite a bit over the past year about depression. However, many people who experience emotional health issues don’t just suffer from depression. In my case, the doctor diagnosed me with Mixed Anxiety and Depressive disorder. So, I wanted to write a little bit about anxiety now. Anxiety can be experienced as a chronic… Continue reading Anxiety

Pastoral Apologetics

Pastoral Apologetics My approach to apologetics is founded in the assumption that most people are not asking the types of questions that philosophers are asking. They are not trying to work out if there are proofs that there is a God. We have been conditioned into thinking that this is a reasonable question to ask… Continue reading Pastoral Apologetics

Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness

I believe that a grace culture is one where we are quick to seek forgiveness, express sorrow and repentance, to offer forgiveness and to seek reconciliation.  This reflects the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount which is all about what it means to be saturated in God’s love and grace so that we enjoy… Continue reading Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness