Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Too Easily Confused
Milt Stanley links to Biblical Preaching on, "Preachers are Theologians not Therapists":
I agree that the role of neither is therapeutic, but the role of pastor is that of a shepherd. Teaching is a component of that role, but not necessarily its defining characteristic.
The thing that concerns me most about the post is that it seems to ignore the fact that many people comes to the truth by many paths. The first comment notes:
We do, way too often confuse therapy and the pastoral role, but theology is not the substitute. Sometimes apastor had just to refer the person to a good therapist. Ther point is the pastor serves, he does not always preach.
I found the following quote quite insightful:I have to agree and disagree here. He seems to use "preacher" and "pastor" interchangeably, so I will assume we are in a tradition that combines those offices.The rise of therapeutic concerns within the culture means that many pastors, and many of heir church members, believe that the pastoral calling is best understood as a “helping profession.” As such, the pastor is seen as someone who functions in a therapeutic role in which theology is often seen as more of a problem than a solution.
I agree that the role of neither is therapeutic, but the role of pastor is that of a shepherd. Teaching is a component of that role, but not necessarily its defining characteristic.
The thing that concerns me most about the post is that it seems to ignore the fact that many people comes to the truth by many paths. The first comment notes:
Theology is indeed the solution not the problem.Indeed, theology is NOT the problem, but it may or may not be the solution. People need a lot of things in a lot of situations - not all of them have theological answers. Some just require a touch or a reassurance.
We do, way too often confuse therapy and the pastoral role, but theology is not the substitute. Sometimes apastor had just to refer the person to a good therapist. Ther point is the pastor serves, he does not always preach.
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