Caring Ministry: A Contemplative Approach to Pastoral Care

Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer on pastoral care
Review: Sarah A. Butler's book is an excellent primer on pastoral care for those who are entering a caring ministry either on a professional or lay level. The sections on "Listening" and "Focus on Feelings" are good basic stuff, but absent in most introductory pastoral care books. I am making this book mandatory reading for basic Clinical Pastoral Education students and it should be mandatory for any lay ministry training. Experienced parish pastors and chaplains will find it a good review that provides needed "capatability checking" for their own pastoral ministry. The "Spiritual Application" sections at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and pedagogical.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer on pastoral care
Review: Sarah A. Butler's book is an excellent primer on pastoral care for those who are entering a caring ministry either on a professional or lay level. The sections on "Listening" and "Focus on Feelings" are good basic stuff, but absent in most introductory pastoral care books. I am making this book mandatory reading for basic Clinical Pastoral Education students and it should be mandatory for any lay ministry training. Experienced parish pastors and chaplains will find it a good review that provides needed "capatability checking" for their own pastoral ministry. The "Spiritual Application" sections at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and pedagogical.