The Pastor as Counselor: The Call for Soul Care
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David A. Powlison
- ISBN：1433573016
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Summary
David Powlison Examines the Unique Role of the Pastor as Counselor
A pastor inhabits multiple roles--teacher， preacher， youth leader， and counselor。 Yet many church leaders feel unprepared to counsel church members who are struggling with difficult， multifaceted problems。
David Powlison reminds pastors of their unique role as the shepherds of God's people， equipping them to apply biblical wisdom to the thoughts， values， moods， expectations， and decisions of those under their care。
A pastor inhabits multiple roles--teacher， preacher， youth leader， and counselor。 Yet many church leaders feel unprepared to counsel church members who are struggling with difficult， multifaceted problems。
David Powlison reminds pastors of their unique role as the shepherds of God's people， equipping them to apply biblical wisdom to the thoughts， values， moods， expectations， and decisions of those under their care。
Reviews
J。 Rutherford
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In this posthumously published monograph， David Powlison makes a short but loaded argument for the necessary connection between the role of pastor and counsellor and the unique shape that counselling takes within pastoral ministry。 I am thankful for the copy I received of The Pastor as Counselor through the Crossway Blog Review Program。Powlison’s claim is simple: whether you acknowledge it or not， as a pastor， you are a counsellor—perhaps a poor one， but a counsellor nonetheless。 The short intro In this posthumously published monograph， David Powlison makes a short but loaded argument for the necessary connection between the role of pastor and counsellor and the unique shape that counselling takes within pastoral ministry。 I am thankful for the copy I received of The Pastor as Counselor through the Crossway Blog Review Program。Powlison’s claim is simple: whether you acknowledge it or not， as a pastor， you are a counsellor—perhaps a poor one， but a counsellor nonetheless。 The short introduction makes this point clear: the question is not whether you will counsel your flock but whether you will do so thoughtfully or not。 The church is， ideally， “a community in which substantial conversations predominate”; the pastor’s calling is a particular role within this broader ministry （16）。 The Pastor as Counsellor only has two chapters （plus an appendix containing resources for further reading）。 The first chapter looks at “the word counseling within a pastoral frame of reference，” the second unpacks “a few of the distinctives that make a pastor’s counselling so unique” （16）。 To unpack “counselling” in reference to the pastor’s work， Powlison juxtaposes it with the general “psychotherapeutic” view of counselling。 He views both works as attempting to address the same task， care of souls facing the troubles of a broken world。 However， both take opposing approaches to the task。 Because of the long history of Pastoral soul care， Powlison does not argue that Pastoral counsellors do secular counselling work， but that “both ‘psycho-therapy’ and ‘psych-iatyr’ attempt pastoral work，” which Freud acknowledged when he defined therapists as “secular pastoral workers” （19）。 In the pastoral frame of reference， counselling is redefined: “a pastor needs a very different vision [from psychotherapy] for what counselling is and can be” （21）。 In sum， “Real ministry engages the same personal and interpersonal problems that the psychotherapies address—but more deeply” （24）。 In chapter 2， Powlison then seeks to put some skin on his vision for counselling as pastoral work， looking at the unique “responsibility， opportunity， method， message， and context” of the Pastoral counsellor （27）。 This chapter is， again， loaded with tightly packed insight。 Powlison says much in 60 pages; it is worth reading and re-reading。 I think Powlison is correct in identifying this key aspect of pastoral ministry and outlining its contours。 I would want to add that as appropriated within a broader Christian understanding of the human condition， some elements of secular psychotherapy， such as cognitive-behaviour therapy， neuropsychology， and psychiatric medicine， can be helpful， but Powlison is absolutely right to recognize that they are pale imitations of Pastoral counselling and fail when they try to replace it。 。。。more
David
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Good， short， focused reminder of importance and value of pastoral care。
Loraena
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Published posthumously from one of my favorite professors， I loved this book because I love all his essays。 Also， it conveys the heart behind why there’s a need for pastoral counseling even when not done by pastors （such as myself）。 Churches need not abandon the personal， intimate care of souls and counselors need not operate independently from the church。 God speaks and cares deeply for even our most personal struggles。
Ivan
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Classic David Powlison， full of wisdom and grace in helping sinners and sufferers。
Trevor Atwood
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Short reinforcement of the need for pastors to be counselors。 Carry on。
Jacob Michael
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A short yet rich reminder of the pastor’s call to counsel。 Powlison’s words are sobering especially when talking about how pastors’ lives counsel others more than their sermons。 Yet he gives deep， gospel-saturated encouragement as he reminds pastors of the uniqueness of their calling。 Essentially， pastors call their people to be changed by Christ。I’m grateful for this refreshing manifesto from Powlison。
Panda Incognito
，
3。5 stars， rounded up。This brief book posthumously publishes new reflections from David Powlison about pastoral counseling。 The book opens with a foreword from Ed Welch， who writes about his personal connection with the author and the ways that this book has sharpened his thinking， and the main text includes an introduction， two chapters， and an appendix with suggested reading from both Christian and secular sources。 Although the book is under eighty pages long， it is full of articulate， biblica 3。5 stars， rounded up。This brief book posthumously publishes new reflections from David Powlison about pastoral counseling。 The book opens with a foreword from Ed Welch， who writes about his personal connection with the author and the ways that this book has sharpened his thinking， and the main text includes an introduction， two chapters， and an appendix with suggested reading from both Christian and secular sources。 Although the book is under eighty pages long， it is full of articulate， biblical， and concise reflections about what counseling is and why pastoral counseling is so uniquely powerful。Insightful and WiseAlthough I read this book from a layperson's perspective， I found it insightful and helpful。 Powlison explains that pastors are always counselors， regardless whether or not they meet one-on-one with people， and show by example what kind of soul care they think is necessary for flourishing。 He encourages pastors to take stock of how they present themselves and what common failings they need to avoid， such as offering platitudes or not listening well。 He also delineates the clear differences between pastoral counseling and secular "therapeutic professionalism。" He explains that because pastoral counseling is gospel-based and flows out of a personal relationship that is free from clinical detachment or professional reserve， it can be particularly powerful to help change people's lives。One ConcernI absolutely agree with this， but unfortunately， Powlison creates a false dichotomy between biblical counseling and professional therapy， making it sound like all resources outside of the church will be unhelpful and spiritually destructive。 The church has unique resources to meet sufferers' needs， and we shouldn't abandon Christians to the spiritually twisted and harmful ideas common within secular counseling， but Powlison creates a false dilemma between abandoning people to godless counseling versus taking on all of their care within the church directly。 He does not address how Christian mental health professionals can support the church's work in complicated cases， and does not indicate what a pastor should do if someone's mental health situation or life struggles are beyond the church's understanding or ability to deal with。Because I am not very familiar with Powlisons's work， I do not know what all of his views are related to integrative approaches to counseling， and it is possible that he has addressed my concerns about this issue in-depth elsewhere。 I certainly did not expect him to cover it in much detail in this very short book， but the oversimplification that he presents calls for discernment and additional reading。 I hope that Powlison's writing here will not make pastors resistant to partnering with professionals outside of the church body， as long as those therapists bring a Christian worldview and gospel implications into each aspect of their work。ConclusionDespite my concerns about this oversimplified element， I would strongly recommend that pastors read this book as a way to evaluate themselves， better understand their unique role in people's lives， and consider how they can better care for others in their context。 Powlison addresses many issues very well in this book， and it is a wonderful resource for pastors who need succinct， encouraging insight into how they can better understand the counseling aspect of their pastoral role and engage in meaningful conversations， caring relationships， and one-on-one care。I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Stephen Brannon
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This is a must-read for anyone considering biblical counseling or counseling in the context of ministry。 Powlison does a fantastic （per usual） job of making simple the wonderful， without sacrificing powerful truth。 If you have not yet engaged in biblical counseling or pastoral ministry， this book will answer question you may have and will serve as a lighthouse in your calling。 If you are already in engaged in soul care， this book will charge you up and get you excited once again for the high， hu This is a must-read for anyone considering biblical counseling or counseling in the context of ministry。 Powlison does a fantastic （per usual） job of making simple the wonderful， without sacrificing powerful truth。 If you have not yet engaged in biblical counseling or pastoral ministry， this book will answer question you may have and will serve as a lighthouse in your calling。 If you are already in engaged in soul care， this book will charge you up and get you excited once again for the high， humble calling。 。。。more
Zach Barnhart
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Powlison is always a gift to read。 What encouraging and motivating words here for pastors to take in。
David Steele
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Posthumous publications are a mixture of pure joy and sorrow。 Joy superabounds when a favorite writer is “resurrected” and an unpublished manuscript sees the light of day。 Sorrow rears its ugly head because the realization of that this writer will never write again sinks in。The Pastor as Counselor by David Powlison is a vivid reminder of the impact he had on the church and the world。 Powlison was a rare blend of scholar and shepherd; a man who possessed a stunning intellect but carried himself w Posthumous publications are a mixture of pure joy and sorrow。 Joy superabounds when a favorite writer is “resurrected” and an unpublished manuscript sees the light of day。 Sorrow rears its ugly head because the realization of that this writer will never write again sinks in。The Pastor as Counselor by David Powlison is a vivid reminder of the impact he had on the church and the world。 Powlison was a rare blend of scholar and shepherd; a man who possessed a stunning intellect but carried himself with godly humility。 His posthumous publication is a testimony to his character， pastoral heart， and love for God。The Pastor as Counselor is warm and hard-hitting。 It will motivate and encourage some; it will rebuke anyone who fails to take pastoral counseling seriously。 Powlison had a way of telling the truth and applying biblical principles in a penetrating and gracious way。 This work is no exception。In my mind， one sentence summarizes the book: “As a pastor， you understand that every person you meet today needs to awaken， to turn， to trust， to grow， and to love God and others。 Everyone needs counseling every day。” One might say that this sentence is a beautiful summary of what drove Dr。 Powlison in his earthly life。My hope is that many readers take heart and receive the God-centered counsel of David Powlison。 The result will only help， strengthen， and encourage individuals and churches。 Dr。 Powlison left a legacy and an example for Christians to emulate in the day ahead。 To God alone be the glory！ 。。。more
Joshua
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I wish this book were longer。 It is vintage Powlison and refreshing to read。
Shawn Paterson
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“A dark disease deranges our character， identity， emotions， thoughts， behaviors， and relationships。 A bright Savior sets about curing such souls。”
Floyd
，
I picked up this book hoping to do a quick scan of the book before writing my review。 I， instead， ended up reading this 80 page monograph and being pleasantly surprised。 The book consists of two chapters， the first details the difference between pastoral counseling and traditional secular counseling。 The second chapter outlines the unique elements that Christian counseling has to offer to broken people。As a seminary graduate， I wished I had access to this content as I took my pastoral counseling I picked up this book hoping to do a quick scan of the book before writing my review。 I， instead， ended up reading this 80 page monograph and being pleasantly surprised。 The book consists of two chapters， the first details the difference between pastoral counseling and traditional secular counseling。 The second chapter outlines the unique elements that Christian counseling has to offer to broken people。As a seminary graduate， I wished I had access to this content as I took my pastoral counseling course; as a pastor， I would have liked to have had this book available to help shape my thoughts as I interacted with my congregants; this book would have been helpful as I completed my Masters in Counseling at a state university （with two committed Christians on the faculty）。 Even now， 25 years after completing my education， I am glad to have access to this material for reference and review。The author has drawn from saints across the ages: Gregory the Great， Dietrich Bonhoeffer， C。 S。 Lewis， Thomas C。 Oden， Richard Baxter， Sally Lloyd-Jones， et al。 He is also not afraid from using help from more secular counselors when appropriate （e。g。 Freud， Satir， and Ellis）。 The book concludes with an extensive bibliography and scripture index - both of which add value to the book。I would think every pastor， every Christian counselor， and every believer involved in helping others would find encouraging material in this small book。 Even the introduction， written by a friend of the author， contains valuable thoughts。 I give the book five stars。______________This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review。 The opinions expressed are mine alone。 。。。more
David
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