Understanding and Facilitating Forgiveness (Strategic Pastoral Counseling Resources)


Book Description

This practical book helps pastors and counselors present God's grace in healing and forgiveness issues, even when the one being counseled has built a wall around his or her heart out of bitterness or pain.




The Limits of Forgiveness


Book Description

Maria Mayo questions the contemporary idealization of unconditional forgiveness in three areas of contemporary life: so-called Victim-Offender Mediation involving cases of criminal injury, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa, and the pastoral care of victims of domestic violence. She shows that an emphasis on unilateral and unconditional forgiveness puts disproportionate pressure on the victims of injustice or violence and misconstrues the very biblical passages--especially in Jesus' teaching and actions--on which advocates of unconditional forgiveness rely.




Strategic Pastoral Counseling


Book Description

Therapeutic counseling in a Christian context can be highly effective when it maintains narrowly focused goals in a time-limited setting. The details of this proven model of pastoral counseling are described in this practical guide. This second edition of Strategic Pastoral Counseling has been thoroughly revised and includes two new chapters. Benner includes helpful case studies, a new appendix on contemporary ethical issues, and updated chapter bibliographies. His study will continue to serve clergy and students well as a valued practical handbook on pastoral care and counseling.




Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered


Book Description

Most books on spiritual formation focus on the individual. But spiritual formation is at the heart of the church's whole purpose for existence. It must be a central task for the church to carry out Christ's mission in the world. This book offers an introduction to spiritual formation set squarely in the local church. The first edition has been well received and widely used as a textbook. The second edition has been updated throughout, incorporates findings from positive psychology, and reflects an Augustinian formation perspective. Foreword by Dallas Willard.













Care of Souls


Book Description

A practicing psychologist explores the church's role in soul care, advocating a counseling method that anchors modern therapy in timeless biblical principles.




Banished


Book Description

Banished is dedicated to sex offender research, and its issues regarding society, mental health, and the law equally. It focuses on this problem in cultural, legal and scientific terms, specifically from the clinical point-of-view, though it is written for the general public. It offers an up-to-date and all-inclusive look into the mind and habits of the pedophile and child molester. This book offers current research into one of the most controversial subjects in society to date, discussing topics of mental illness and various psychological disorders, the law and how this problem is legally dealt with. It focuses on this problem in cultural, legal and scientific terms that are readily comprehensible, both from the clinical standpoint and the layman’s point-of-view. The book offers a detailed review of the sex offender; the pedophile and the child molester, and directly explores his thinking processes, reasoning and related issues that offer a clear and concise exposé in these most hated people. In addition to covering the adult offender, this work also exemplifies the thought processes of child and adolescent offenders in order to offer cues for parents and educators of possible abuse or illicit behavior. Through direct examples of client art, case histories and offender testimonies, the book’s purpose will surely educate, as well as in purposing methods for positive change in the process. The research and findings are based on a journalistic foundation, as well as from an experiential point-of-view, where the author had worked with and had interviewed the subjects exemplified in the case studies section directly. One could view this book as a documentary in text form to that of a simple scientific assessment or exposé. Some examples; such as statistical data and related state and government laws, national and international legal information, as well as properly devised case study examples are utilized to help illustrate the intent of the book’s overall purpose. Moreover, because there are sections regarding internet deviancy and its major influence on the human psyche, and that these sections offer raw information, the reader should be aware of the content and the reasoning for using it. It is done so to educate and to hopefully illustrate the realities of this global problem. In addition to a selection of thoroughly researched interviews with said offenders, in the form of case studies reminiscent to the current style of the American Psychological Association (APA) formats, I also highlight a selection of documented artwork, specifically by children and young adults while working as a therapist in various hospitals. This section may serve as an alert for parents and educators for possible cues of sexual abuse in or outside of the home, but such will also illustrate the sheer potency sexual abuse can cause upon its victims, and how it will be viewed from their unconscious psyche and conscious viewpoints.




The Church Leader's Counseling Resource Book


Book Description

This all-in-one guide is designed to better equip clergy and the church leaders to meet their congregations' needs in a spiritually grounded and scientifically sound manner. Succinct, easy-to-read chapters summarize all a pastor needs to know about a given problem area, including its signs or symptoms, questions to ask, effective helping skills, and, most importantly, when to refer to a mental health professional. Synthesizing what research says about treatment approaches for mental health issues, this user-friendly reference is filled with guidelines, case scenarios, key points to remember, resources for further help, advice on integrating scripture and theology with the best available research, and tips on partnering with others to provide the best possible care for each church member. Each chapter is designed for quick lookup by problem area, empowering church leaders to understand and help meet the challenges facing the children, adults, families, and communities that they serve.