Counsel In Crisis
When it comes to care, let me begin where the Bible begins, and that is with the gospel. The truth of the glorious gospel allows the pastor to see that the power he needs to help people, and the power for people to change, is not found in the pastor’s intellect, knowledge, experience, or education. Those are all helpful and needed resources, but not the source of power for change. The power that does change lives, is the glorious gospel. You see, God has given us all that we need to care for people. It is found in Christ and His finished work. That reality allows us to confidently direct those we care for as they face the trials of life, to the truth and wisdom of scripture, not to something found in the pastor. Jesus is their Shepherd, and we are those under-shepherds that direct them to the Savior. Remembering this truth helps us from feeling that we need to somehow change people through our preaching, or our teaching, and even our counseling. We can never change a heart, but we can point them to the one that does change them, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:18 - “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Our role is, and will always be, to make much of Jesus. Success in pastoral ministry is to make much of Jesus from the pulpit, the classroom, the counseling oce, and in the various church ministries. May the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 be our goal as it was his goal.
For I delivered to you as of rst importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures…’
May the gospel be to us as ‘first importance’ as it was for the Apostle Paul. That way people are le with the Words of God to comfort them, the power of God to change them, and the peace that is only found in God. (Philippians 4:7). Being faithful to this calling ensures your success in ministry.
The Unexpected Crisis
I hate crisis. I hate crisis in my own life. I hate how times of tragedy and crisis affect people. I hate the confusion crisis brings into people’s lives. I hate how the enemy uses these times to tempt Christians to believe things untrue about themselves, about who they are in Christ, and about the very nature of God himself. I also hate seeing and hearing from people that I love, how they are affected in a crisis. That affects me as a pastor, deeply.
Over the past 30-plus years of pastoring, I find myself being more and more affected by the sorrows of people in crisis, and less able to disconnect emotionally and be as objective as I once was. Sometimes the situations that people live through and bring to me for pastoral help and care can be overwhelming. There are no other words for it, simply overwhelming. I have come to the point to believe that this seemingly ‘less resiliency’ I see in my response, is not the result of years of burdens heaped up, it is the work of God in my heart. I see that God is in the process of truly deepening my love for people rather than somehow weakening my ‘resolve’. A pastor is unlike a surgeon who must approach each situation disconnected emotionally and completely objectively, or his/her decisions may be affected. A pastor is there to be a shepherd, not a disconnected professional, but engaged, not overly objective but emotionally involved, to the extent that we … “weep with those that weep.” Romans 10:15.
Every pastor wants his love for his people, to be experienced by his people. A love that goes way beyond helping, giving direction, and counseling them. A love to be seen and felt as you genuinely walk through life with them. The walk-through life will eventually involve walking through crisis. For them to feel our pastoral love for them in good seasons, as well as needy ones, is the call of a shepherd.
Being as prepared as we can be for a crisis is part of it. However, as important as preparation is, faith for the task is vastly more important. Without faith motivating our outreach to the hurting sheep, faith that God will meet them, our involvement can be perceived by the hurting sheep as simply our pastoral responsibility. But as we care for them knowing in our hearts that God is enough for them, they will feel our faith for them. Then they can see us embrace the privilege it truly is to be the one bringing hope to the hopeless and hurting. Remember,
…without faith it is impossible to be pleasing to God. We must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek after him. (Hebrews 11:6).
Without faith for the task, we are left to operate in our own strength, which is so limited. Plus, why do the hardest things in pastoring and not have it be pleasing to God? In reading the gospels we see how Jesus was unhurried in his ministry to the needy people around him. As people came to him for a healing touch, they never walked away disappointed. Jesus always met them. That was true in the first century and it is still true in the 21st century. We point people to Jesus with the faith that He is enough to meet the need of their crisis at hand. The person may not walk away healed, but they can walk away knowing God’s grace is sufficient for their need, (2 Corinthians 12:9), and we must always believe that it truly is.
I recently left from a hospital visit to a friend in his 50s who has been devastated by a massive stroke, and his life will never be the same. His family’s life may be forever altered as well, in their caring for him. There was no warning as his normal life was interrupted by a call to 911 as the symptoms became evident. Crisis never makes an appointment. That same day I received a call from an out-of-town friend who was dealing with some child abuse issues and the after math of proper, faithful reporting to the police authorities. He was asking for my help and counsel for his soul. Crisis seldom is simple.
As a pastor, my own heart can feel the burden of the sin and tragedy affecting others in crisis. This morning I felt that way as I headed into my home office for my devotions. I felt much more burden than joy, more concern for the wisdom I needed than gratitude for answered prayer, and more aware of the needs of people than the goodness of God. Later that morning, God brought me to the verse I mentioned above
2 Corinthians 12:9 - “…my grace is sufficient for you, my power is perfected in weakness.”
I then realized that this is not only a promise for the one in crisis, but also a promise for the pastor who comes to carry the burden of the crisis with them. The burden then became a privilege. The need melted into dependence upon God. The concern focused on gratitude and the result was renewed joy to serve. My faith for the task at hand became renewed.
As we decide to be with others in their crisis, inevitably some of the burden, some of the ‘mire’ revealed in the crisis, becomes ours to know and sometimes to carry. The burden can be heavy, and a burden that does not easily leave when the end of the business day arrives. As a pastor, it can then become a thought to resist personal involvement, or delegate crisis care to others so that we can try and minimize the additional burdens that come our way. Burdens for a pastor are never in short supply. But for the pastor, carrying burdens is a part of a faithful shepherd’s task. Jesus never turned a need away. Jesus never failed to listen. Jesus does the same for us. May we show the same care to others in our charge.
My point in sharing this is to help you to ‘not miss the joy’. There are many areas of our job that bring joy to a pastor. I want to help you to see that helping people in crisis is one of them. There are few areas that allow you to witness people’s needs and then see God’s provision together with them. When looking at the example of our Savior, we see him reaching into the mess of crisis with people bringing to them help and hope. Jesus touched the ‘unclean’ leper (Matthew 8:2). Jesus touched the ‘unclean’ dead son of a widow (Luke 7:14). Jesus allowed a prostitute to wash His feet (Luke 7:38). He was not concerned about the burdens from people; He was concerned about bringing healing and hope to them in their need. His love for them was evident, and may ours be as well.
Jesus initiated with them, and they were all changed by their encounter with Him. People are not changed by an encounter with their pastor, but they are changed by an encounter with their God. We can help point people to God, help them to see and trust God in the dark mess of trial. To see someone trust God where they did not, to have hope where there was none, is the miracle of the gospel at work before our eyes. God uses trial, he uses crisis, and he uses you to care for the hurting. Don’t miss the joy.
Every crisis is an opportunity to see God move in a way that can change someone’s view of God and therefore their ongoing walk with God. To see someone affected when God meets him or her at his or her deepest moment, bringing change or grace to endure, is a joy that even builds our faith. Is crisis messy? Yes. Is crisis confusing and difficult to know what to do? Yes. Is crisis full of ‘in the moment decisions’ that are difficult? Yes. But also walking with someone through a crisis gives you a ringside seat to see God move in amazing, memorable ways - this is inexpressible joy! Don’t miss it!
