In a recent blog article, pastor Jack Wellman identified five aspects of pastoral ministry that he especially appreciates. His list included: Mentoring, Soul Winning, Preaching the Gospel, Loving the Flock, and Mentoring. The fifth privilege/responsibility he picked is of special interest to us–counseling

Jack confides,

“This might be something you wouldn’t expect but when people come to me, they know that they can confide in me and I won’t share their struggles with anyone. I keep all of my counseling sessions in strict confidence. When people tell me that they’re struggling with pornography, drugs, sexual addictions, same-sex attraction, alcohol, marital problems or whatever else it is, the most frustrating part is that sometimes I can’t help them but I do know Who can and it’s not a human. I heard one pastor say that living the Christian life is not hard…it’s impossible so we need God’s supernatural strength to help all of us to overcome in different areas of life but during the times that I can actually help someone to transform their life through prayer, the Word of God, intervention, accountability applications or whatever it is, there is tremendous joy in this. I also tell those that I counsel that I am not their solution, God is and what I can’t do, He can but to have people come to me with problems that they have only shared with God and no one else makes me feel that they trust me thoroughly and know that I won’t gossip to anyone about their weaknesses because I too have my own personal struggles.”

What if every evangelical pastor were equipped and empowered with a simplified, clarified, illustrated model of biblical counseling that was potentially life-transforming. We believe that the fuller message of the cross can be applied to the heart of the matter–whatever it is–which is usually a matter of the heart.

As we personally appropriate Christ as Lord and Life, we minister from the overflow of our union with Him. Let’s “make the most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:16) to offer not only care but cure .

-JBW

from “Why I Love Being a Pastor: 5 Favorite Things”
by Pastor Jack Wellman

http://christianmediamagazine.com/art-creativity/why-i-love-being-a-pastor-5-favorite-things/