Julia Vernon

From the time I was 3 until the offender died when I was 11,1 was the victim of incest. As I grew up, I suffered physically, psychologically, and morally. And when I became a Christian, my suffering did not automatically end.

Even…

Back in 1950 when Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) was celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, one of the movement's founders, Anton Boisen, stated: "This movement has no new gospel to proclaim: we are not seeking to introduce anything…

Of course I do," answered my ministerial colleague. "I pray for gays as a group. In addition, I pray for individuals I know who are gay."

"What kind of prayers do you pray?"

"Well, let's see. I pray…

My patient was a frail, elderly woman. Under religion on her chart were the code letters "OTH," a catchall term for "other" religious groups not large enough to warrant their own code. Mabel* seemed withdrawn into herself, a bundle of misery…

The gathering had been a spiritual feast. Those of us who were weary with the duties of ministry were revitalized by days of electrifying sermons. Those of us who were still learning about what we had been called…

Something out of the ordinary was going on at the camp meeting. "What's happening? asked Pastor Knap* as he hurried toward a buzzing knot of teens and young adults. "We're talking about evangelizing the Metro area,"…

One of my first questions after I began working with military veterans was, "Why is the speech and literature of war so full of ethnic-slurs?" The answer was, always the same. "These names dehumanize the enemy and…

Affirmation is an essential tool of pastoral care. But its overuse led a colleague to refer to therapists as a profession that should be hyphenated: "the-rapist." We intrude into someone's worst nightmares and all…

CS. Lewis noted that there are two dangerous positions Christians take about the devil: we can either reject any belief in his existence, or dwell too much on him. The first position blinds us to the devil's attacks;…