Pastors face the continual barrage of seeing the people they love dealing heavy-duty issues in life: depression, anxiety, addiction, etc. and even psychiatric diagnoses such as bi-polar, borderline personality disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, dissociative identity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and others. Can the pastor and the Bible be of any help? Yes! Here’s a tip.
I am thankful for the surging wave of biblical counseling coming into our churches. That wave has swept into our church for great good. Several outstanding proponents of the biblical counseling movement have written a book that will be of great help to any pastor or leader, Counseling The Hard Cases- True Stories Illustrating the Sufficiency of God’s Resources in Scripture (Stuart Scott, Heath Lambert, editors).
Reading this book recently has given me a much better understanding of what is actually going on inside the person struggling with such disorders listed above. But even better it has given me a much deeper appreciation for God’s all-sufficient word that brings healing to people’s souls, even those thought of as hopeless. Pastor, leader, please get this book and read it as soon as possible. Those of you with an interest in doing counseling will find many ways to put to use what you read.
It is very likely that you will find people in your congregation and community coming to mind as you read about these struggles common in our broken world. Be assured that God has put these people in your life in order for you to point them to true healing found in Jesus.
Here are the topics covered:
The sufficiency of scripture
Sexual abuse
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Postpartum depression
Paralyzing fear
Anorexia
Bipolar disorder
Dissociative Identity disorder
Homosexuality
Addiction
