TRULOCK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PAPER PRESENTATION
ON
Pastoral Care and Counselling: Biblical, Theological and Historical Perspectives
(a)Pastoral Care and Counselling in the Reformation traditions
(b)Pastoral Care and Counselling in recent times.
Subject: Principles and Practices of Pastoral Care & Counselling.

Summitted to: Sir: Lunminthang Mate Submitted by: Thotringam Katrimsha Tarao

Introduction
This paper is an attempt to study on the Pastoral Care and Counselling in the Reformation
traditions and Pastoral Care and Counselling in recent times in the Church.
1. Pastoral Care and Counselling in the Reformation traditions:
Many of the reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin and Martin Bucer, worried
the need for ministers to give good Pastoral Care to the people.1 The Protestant Pastoral Care
originally shaped by Reformation in Switzerland, under Ulrich Zwingli, Henry Bullinger and
John Calvin, as well as John Knox in Scotland and other Calvinist reformers throughout Europe
(especially the Netherlands) and North America.
1.1. The Early Reformers:
(a) Zwingli: As the Reformation began in Switzerland; Zwingli was concerned with
abuses which affected the Pastoral office. Using the language of the Prophets and Apostles, he
described the marks of the true shepherd and attacked the false Prophets who must be
recognised and corrected or else expelled. Pastors should guard its flocks, disciplining in love, in
building the flock. With the Switzerland Governments were maintaining responsibility and
supporting Christianity, there was a close cooperation with the Church in discipline and
punishment of offenders. The primary means of discipline used by the Church was to exclude
offenders from the sacrament of Holy Communion, moreover the State contributed to the
enforcement of this disciplinary action.
(b) Bullinger: Henry Bullinger was Zwinglis able successor in the Church in Zurich. In
the Second Helvetic Confession, he placed a strong emphasis on repentance and confession and
on the office of the Minister. Persons overwhelmed by their sins and temptations were
encouraged to seek Pastoral Counsel. The duties of a Minister and Pastoral Care which he
identified they are comforting the faint-hearted, rebuking offenders, restoring the wanderers,

1Harold Taylor, Applied Theology 2 Tend My Sheep (Delhi: ISPCK, 2000), 23.Confession of sin was one of
Zwinglis chief means of discipline. Christians were urged to confess directly to God, but if that proved difficult they
were encouraged to unburden their consciences to a wise counsellor, A Minister of the Word.

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raising the fallen, catechizing/teaching the ignorant, providing for the poor, visiting the sick and
those entangled in temptation.
(c) Calvin: As Pastor, Calvin functioned as a director of Souls.2 He would call
parishioners to repentance, exhort them to read the Scriptures, comfort them in their suffering,
and guide them responsible Christian behaviour; his correspondence is full of such personal
guidance or spiritual direction. He also wrote to Kings and Queens and prominent persons
encouraging them to be faithful Christians. His letters reflect deep care for persons who were ill
or bereaved and patience with Political complexities/difficulties/complications. He wrote to
prisoners, soon to die during the persecutions of Henry II of France, seeking political means to
secure their release, but he also inquired after their souls. Calvins doctrine of repentance and his
description of the process of salvation are significant in shaping Reformed Pastoral care.
(d) Knox: In Scotland John Knox further developed Pastoral discipline by emphasizing
Church order and liturgy, and by providing strict guidelines for moral behaviour. He was
concerned to preserve the purity of the congregation as well as to secure the repentance of the
guilty persons. The Church disciplines publicly serious offenses but private admonition was done
for lesser offenses. Excommunication was the most severe punishment administered to those
who were repentant, but it was intended to be careful and deliberate process exercised only in the
most severe situations.3
(e) Richard Baxter: Richard Baxter, a Puritan minister of the Reformed Church wrote a
book called The Reformed Pastor, in which a clergy has to undertake many tasks; he
emphasized a ministry to individual people and family groups as well as to the whole
congregation. Those who are not Christians are not to be neglected those who are strong in faith
had to be encouraged and strengthened. Those weak or lazy or who turned away from their faith
are to be given special attention and should be helped to repent and start again. The sick are to be
given constant care and the dying to be visited before the time of death is near. Even those who
have broken the laws of the Church are to be given helpful discipline first in private, then if no
response, other leaders must be asked to help them. If they still refuse to repent they must be
expelled from the Church. But if they do repent from wrong ways, they are to be joyfully
restored to the fellowship.4
Baxter wrote pastoral care was not only to others but also the Pastors private life is to be
cared and important to be role models for others to be effective in ministry. In his time Pastoral
Care were seen as teaching and instructing people in faith; disciplining Church members; visiting
people especially those in need; and counselling those with problems and difficulties in life. He
pointed out that Pastoral office involved much more than preaching and administering the

2 D.W. Waanders, Reformed Pastoral Care, in Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counselling, Rodney
J. Hunter, General Editor (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2014), 1050.

3D.W. Waanders, Reformed Pastoral Care, in Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counselling, 1051.

4Harold Taylor, Applied Theology 2 Tend My Sheep, 23.

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sacraments. And he said, A Minister is not just a public speaker, but to be known as a counsellor
for their souls, as the physician is for their bodies.
(f) John Wesley: John Wesley founder of the Methodist Church, who lived in the 18th
century, wrote about the pastoral work of the appointed leader. He urged Methodist ministers to
visit regularly each person in their care; pay special attention to the needs of children; to
encourage parents to train children in the faith; organize fellowship and to continue studying and
reading the word so as to increase their understanding of how to help others. Like Baxter Wesley
stressed that a minister must understand his own life and character, a model for Pastoral care. He
was so much concerned about caring others and said to have a cure for souls, to save souls from
death.5
2. Pastoral Care and Counselling in recent times.
2.1. The present challenge of Pastoral Care and Counselling: In the 19th and the 20th
centuries, American Christians basically lost the use of truths and skills they formerly possessed.
In the early 20th century liberal theology and secular psychology were rising in the counselling
domain. Secular psychologies claimed the turf of counselling expertise and of insight into human
nature.6
By the mid-1960s biblical counselling was rediscovered. Secular psychology dominated
counselling, defining discourse about people and their problems. The social, behavioural and
medical sciences attained enormous social power, intellectual prestige and self-confidence. As a
result, the entire practice of counselling in the 20th century became encircled by and permeated
with secular versions of how to understand and help people. Even Freud stated that
psychoanalysis was a secular pastoral work and need not be a doctor.7
The rediscovery of Biblical Counselling and did counselling is primarily linked to his life
and efforts of one man: Jay E. Adams. Godly people, wise and experienced in living the Word,
have applied Gods word to the problems of life in all times and places.8
3. Drug Abuse, addiction and therapy:
Drug addiction fills the stage of violence, stealing, arrests, intense emotional highs,
periods of pirate craving, and possible death from overdose. The stability actually cause (bring)
about the fluctuation stability of both the addict and the family. It is also accepted that in addition
5 Harold Taylor, Applied Theology 2 Tend My Sheep, 24.

6 D.W. Waanders, Reformed Pastoral Care, in Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counselling,
Rodney J. Hunter, General Editor (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2014), 1051.

7 David Powlison, Biblical Counselling in the Twentieth Century, in the Introduction to

Biblical Counselling, a basic guide to the principles and practice of counselling, John F.
MacArthur, Wyne A. Mack and the Masters College Faculty (Pune: Grace to India, 2007), 45.

8 David Powlison, Biblical Counselling in the Twentieth Century, 47.

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to the family economic, environmental, and conditioning determinants are also crucial. Drug
abuse has its origin in early age of adolescence. During the process of growing up,
experimenting with new behaviours, becoming self-assertive, developing close (usually
heterosexual) relationships with other people outside the family and leaving home. It is found
that more serious drug abuse is predominantly a family phenomenon that the peer group has little
or no influence as long as the family remains strong.9This therapy helps the addict (abuser)
getting the family involve in the therapy and treatment with a trained counsellor to overcome
addiction and lead a normal life involving the family.
3.1. Crisis in Shame and guilt, Illness and grief:
Disruptive crisis may arise at any state of development, turning an ordinary experience
into an unbearable situation. They are disasters, emergencies and nasty/mean dysfunctions during
which a person may be pressed to endure. At such times, a person or family turns to a support
community for rescue, reassurance, companionship, even survival itself. The word crisis, from
the Greek krisis or krinein, to separate implies a turning point or decisive moment in
experience. This is one kind of Ministry for Pastoral Care and Counselling to deal with great care
and to comfort and give support to the affected persons in times of crisis.10
3.3. Bereavement Care and Counselling:
Bereavement is the universal human crisis, striking everyone sooner or later. Ministers
are the only professionals with training in counselling in helping people with this crisis. It is
necessary or right for Pastors to develop a high degree of competence in bereavement care and
counselling.11
4. Marriage Enrichment and Marriage Crisis counselling: Marriage and family enrichment
and marriage crisis counselling are among the Pastors most important helping skills. A
reasonable degree of expertise in all types of care and counselling is important. But in the area of
family life, as in crises and grief, the ministers opportunities are so frequent and crucial that a
high degree of competence is required. Many people in our society are not aware of marriage
enrichment and marriage crisis counselling but it is the most needed counselling in our society
which is practised in many developed countries.12
9 David Powlison, Biblical Counselling in the Twentieth Century, 49.

10 M. Duncan Stanton, Thomas C. Todd, and Associates, The Family Therapy of Drug Abuse
and Addiction (New York: The Guildford Press, 1982), 7-8.

11 C.W. Brister, Pastoral Care in the Church, Third Edition Revised and expanded (New York:
Harper Collins Publishers, 1992), 239.

12 Howard Clinebell, Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counselling, Resources for the Ministry
of Healing & Growth (India: Survatha Bhavan, 1984), 189-190.

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5. Conclusion:
The need for theological students, Ministers, and Christian to learn to be equipped with
the proper trainings of Pastoral Care and Counselling is so much needed for the growth of the
Church and in dealing with the issues problems which the Church lacks.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brister, C.W. Pastoral Care in the Church, Third Edition Revised and expanded. New
York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992.
Clinebell, Howard. Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counselling, Resources for the
Ministry of Healing & Growth. India: Survatha Bhavan, 1984.

Duncan Stanton, M. Thomas C. Todd and Associates. The Family Therapy of Drug
Abuse and Addiction. New York: The Guildford Press, 1982.

Powlison, David. Biblical Counselling in the Twentieth Century, in the Introduction to

Biblical Counselling, a basic guide to the principles and practice of counselling, John F.
MacArthur, Wyne A. Mack and the Masters College Faculty. Pune: Grace to India, 2007.
Taylor, Harold. Applied Theology 2 Tend My Sheep. Delhi: ISPCK, 2000.

Waanders, D.W. Reformed Pastoral Care, in Dictionary of Pastoral Care and

Counselling, Rodney J. Hunter, General Editor . Bangalore: Theological Publications in
India, 2014. 1050.