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By: Saundra L. Washington

Pastoral Care and Counseling: Using the Unique Resources of the Christian Tradition
William Edward Hulme
1981, Augsburg Fortress Pub

Perhaps our greatest weakness as ministers is that of counseling. It is an unavoidable responsibility that confronts us more often than we may desire. But, as Hulme stressed, counseling is an integral, if not, inseparable part of pastoral care. For a great many pastors, it is an abhorred chore because of deficiencies in understanding the content and context of pastoral counseling. Hulme helps us tremendously in this much needed area.

The reading of this book is a rewarding experience. It is content rich and inspires one to read it in every spare moment until finished. He dealt with pertinent issues relative to pastoral care and counseling without overwhelming the reader with a host of technical jargon. He was successful in differentiating between pastoral counseling and other forms of counseling by helping us to grasp the specific faith ingredient that characterizes pastoral counseling.

Most impressive was Hulme’s chapter on the dialogical use of God-talk. I was pleasantly pleased to find support for my belief that there are times when God-talk may be inappropriate. Too often, pastors and ministers and lay persons as well feel that the solution to all people’s problems is simply "God will take care of you" or "talk to God about it and everything will be alright."

Of course, on a deeper theological level, these assertions are true. But to use God-talk to avoid dealing with the greater issues of human hurts and need is to cast the pastorate into bad reflection and certainly, do a gross spiritual disservice to the suffering and hurting parishioner.

Hulme offers some wonderful suggestions for integrating prayer and Scripture into the pastoral counseling process that is worthy of resolute attention. This book should be in every pastor’s personal library.

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Blessings to all!