i'm reading a great book right now for school, called The Handbook of Christian Counseling. my current class is focusing on - you guessed it - the pastor's role as a counselor. counseling has always been a subject of interest for me, and when i pray about my future ministry, i pray that counseling will be a large part of it.

anyway, this book is great. it doesn't cover as much of the psychological side of counseling, it covers the hows and whys of counseling, showing you how to relate to your counselees, teaching you how to protect your integrity and blamelessness (which, as a Christian, a pastor, and a wife, is extremely important), etc. and that's just the first chapter.

my other materials for this class don't arrive until thursday, and i might very well be done with the text before they do! anyway, if you have any interest in counseling as a Christian, i'd highly recommend checking out this book.