Abstract
What is distinctively “pastoral” about pastoral counseling? This article proposes that the vital center of pastoral counseling is guidance of persons toward life lived out in accordance with a set of ultimate values and meanings. The proposal is elaborated upon by discussing the tasks of guiding persons experiencing difficulties with aspect of their faith. Pastoral ministry today is both enhanced and plagues by a proliferation of expectations. Struggling to meet all of them, many pastoral counselors are experiencing distress over a threatened loss of identity. They ask, with increasing frequency: In all of the many kinds of counseling I am now doing, where is the distinctively pastoral contribution to be found? On what basis do I continue to call myself a pastoral counselor? For all of their expanding competencies as pastoral counselors, one central expectation of their work continues prominently among believers and nonbelievers alike. People continue to hope that pastoral counselors, because they are pastoral counselors, can help them to grow in the light of ultimate values and meanings. How to facilitate such growth is the concern of the present article.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
