Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide (Essential Guide (Abingdon Press)) [Paperback]

John Patton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential Guide (Abingdon Press) | Publication Date: May 15, 2005

The essentials of pastoral care involve the pastor's distinctive task of caring for those who are estranged--the lost sheep. Taken from the biblical image of the shepherd, the pastor by virtue of his or her professional calling cultivates wise judgment in order to hear the hurting and offer guidance, reconciliation, healing, sustaining presence, and empowerment to those in need. This book will outline the quintessential elements pastors need to wisely minister in today's context by discussing four major kinds of lostness: grief, illness, abuse, and family challenges.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Patton is the Emeritus Professor of Pastoral Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 122 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (May 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687053226
• ISBN-13: 978-0687053223
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Pastoral Counseling
  • #18 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Church Administration
  • #72 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Ministry

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You must read this one if you care!, March 5, 2006

By 

Mary J. Laabs (WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide (Essential Guide (Abingdon Press)) (Paperback)

This is a very practical book for pastors..no wasted words or "gush". We are using it in the 4th year of the United Church of Christ Lay Academy for our study in Pastoral Care.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended for CPE, June 30, 2011

By 

Charles Hart - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide (Essential Guide (Abingdon Press)) (Paperback)

There are other and better texts that profile the history of Pastoral Care, e.g. Charles Gerkin's "An Introduction to Pastoral Care." There are other and better introductory texts for ministers, student ministers, chaplains, and CPE students, e.g. Gerald Niklas' "The Making of a Pastoral Person" or Sharyl B. Peterson's "The Indispensable Guide to Pastoral Care." In my opinion, Patton's use of the shepherd and sheep imagery, and his focus on going after the lost sheep, are not as helpful as he imagines. One of his psychological models, Carl Rogers, referenced on pages 37 and 43, stresses the traditional clinical stance. It may esteem self-awareness and a one-to-one encounter, but it lacks an appreciation for and understanding of rapport building, relationships skills, and a contemporary and communal context for both care giver and recipient. Read Peterson's text if you want something more contemporary on how to improve one's basic listening and counseling skills in these areas; and she does so more clearly and briefly. Patton does encourage leading and guiding, but even in the one-on-one encounters he does not seem to understand and appreciate, for example, Jung's well-known lines of communication between the care giver and recipient (conscious to conscious, unconscious to unconscious, conscious to unconscious and so on). Patton does not address how a care giver's understanding and matching and pacing the other's emotional states can help build rapport, especially if the persons involved do not have a prior relationship. Patton's third chapter would have been a good place to address, for example, human anxiety, but he only scratches the surface in understanding its origins and other-than-conscious dynamics and elements. This is not what we need to be teaching ministers and students of ministry. His clinical examples are very poor and should not be used to teach or inform others about ministry and/or the clinical method. They are basic and poorly presented and may give the wrong impression of state-of-the-art pastoral interactions. I have been doing ministry and supervision for almost 30 years as an CPE supervisor and as a hospital chaplain. I taught and practiced what John writes about for many years. It's not what I teach or practice today.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Pastoral Care, November 9, 2006

By 

Emily C. Blank - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide (Essential Guide (Abingdon Press)) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent introduction for those embarking on Clinical Pastoral Education. It is written from a Christian perspective, but is sufficiently ecumenical to be useful to those of other religions.