Written for pastors who counsel, the author sees pastoral counseling as a form of psychotherapy in which relationship is the essence of counseling.
Dayringer holds up Jesus as the minister's ideal counselor, who does not emphasize external behavior but seeks to know the inner person. He proposes that pastor-counselee relationships be marked by nine prerequisites. Pastoral counselors should: (1) have responded to divine calling; (2) be given built-in authority through ordination that points to God's power; (3) know that their role has been confirmed by society; (4) counsel within a context of fellowship; (5) be accountable to their congregations and to God; (6) assume the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit during counseling; (7) use special re sources, such as prayer, Scripture, worship, and small-group support; (8) be committed to confidentiality, respect for others as God's creation, and account ability to God for their behavior; and (9) have their counseling goals include divine forgiveness and redemption rather than just human relief.
Pastoral counseling does have its pit falls. Counseling failures and abuse of relationships occur because the pastor does not bring the Holy Spirit into the relationship as the True Counselor. Dayringer likes lists, and each chapter averages two or three of them. But the comprehensive volume offers concrete help and provides ladders for those suffering counseling pitfalls. It gives guidelines and structures for counseling acquaintances, terminating the counseling while keeping the parishioner, handling discomfort when meeting outside the counseling setting, and problems in opposite-sex counseling.
Dayringer sees relationship as a sacred reach across an abyss of isolation that characterizes most human dysfunction. He recognizes a fact all pastors need to explore—that relationships based on genuine concern for persons radiate Christ's presence.
