The Role of Counseling in the Ministry of the Pastor

If you have about 26 minutes to kill, check out this video of a presentation I made in my psychology and counseling class. It focuses on simple, practical elements of the counseling role in pastoral ministry. I know it is long. Sorry about that. If you do take the time to watch it, please give me some feedback. Thanks.


The Role of Counseling in the Ministry of the Pastor from John Collier on Vimeo.

Counseling Method

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some thoughts about pastoral counseling and referrals and related topics. There are several methods of counseling. The following video illustrates a less common method. Counselors might find this method effective if they practiced it a little more often.

I Love a Good Contest!

Over at the Bethel blog, Todd has taken his monday WorshipWord to host a little Bible trivia contest. There is a prize. That's what makes it a contest. Here's the video:



Monday WorshipWord! from bethel bible on Vimeo.

Cornhole For Missions, Baby!

A few months ago, I posted about my friends and their love of the game of cornhole. I realize it is an unfortunate name, but it is real. Somehow the post got lost in a poorly executed blog move. In the post was this video:





Mark Batterson at National Community Church has the cornhole bug, and I do mean bad. (That didn't sound right, did it?) I love that this church is willing to be creative in the mission of bringing the gospel to their city and the world. Check out this post from Mark and this website from his church.

What creative thing are you doing to advance the gospel? What are some ideas you have?

Pastors Referring Counselees

For the follower of Jesus Christ, especially the follower who is a member of a local church, the pastor or other local church leader should be an option as a counselor should the need arise. In order to increase his effectiveness as pastor, including as counselor, the pastor will necessarily have to refer some cases. I will address three themes: why refer, how to refer, and who to refer to. This is a summary of my position on referral and my referral procedures.



Any counselor, including a pastor, will sometimes find it advisable or even necessary to refer a particular case to someone else. There are many good reasons for this. In one way or another, most of these reasons relate to limitations on the pastoral counselor. The most obvious limitation would be a pastor’s ability or expertise in a particular area. For example, the areas of substance abuse or sexual issues certainly include spiritual elements that the pastor may be equipped to handle, but they also are specialized enough to warrant the counsel of someone trained in those particular areas. In my opinion, the most important limitation on the pastor that would require him to refer cases is his time. The pastor’s primary responsibility is not counseling; in fact, that is only one element of his pastoral duties. Even in the typical church, the pastor could schedule a full-time counseling load. He must not do this. He must guard his time to be able to fulfill his primary functions of study, prayer, and teaching. There are other limitations which are related to these, such as: ability to lead necessary programs for some cases, training in a particular area, or even conflict of interest.



Once the necessity of referrals is established, we can look at how to go about referring a case. If an individual has met with the pastor for some time, he/she is likely emotionally attached. This makes referral difficult. I think the pastor should approach the subject with the client honestly. Admit that he does not have the training or resources to appropriately handle the situation. Reassure the counselee regarding their mental health (as far as he can tell). Reassure the client about their relationship. While the counseling relationship may be ending, the pastoral relationship is not. The pastor should work to maintain that relationship. Appropriate ways to do this may be through telephone calls, email, notes, and visits.



The pastor should work hard to form a network of sources to refer counselees to. The pastor has a responsibility to know the variety of professionals to whom he might refer. These should range from psychiatrists to Christian counseling programs. He should be careful not to overlook addiction recovery and marriage enrichment programs. The pastor will want to know some things about the counselor or program he is utilizing these include: reputation, training, experience, professional supervision, network of other professionals or hospitals to call on, and faith commitment or appreciation of such a commitment in the client.