While none of us has the ability to change the events of our past, we have a great deal of control over the meaning we choose to give to the events of our lives. Previous articles in this series described the vision and basic counseling skills the 21st-century pastor must acquire to face increasingly complex problems in the local church. Saving the lost and healing the saved denote the church's evangelistic and pastoral care missions. In the second article in this series, I described the essentials of a helping relationship along with various attending, listening, and responding skills.
People typically seek counsel for one or more of four basic reasons.
They can be presented under the heading of four H's. A horrifying image of God. People often perceive God as harsh, punitive, and impossible to please. Hurtful experiences from the past . Perhaps the person has been abused, neglected, or made poor decisions that continue to plague him or her with guilt.