Perhaps overly simplifying the need to share the gospel as just a short, brief prayer as the only answer to all a person’s problems. It is uncomfortable and hard to walk alongside a person through valleys of grief, doubt, anger, trauma and fear. It takes a lot of creativity from the Holy Spirit, because the population is so very diverse. For me…

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To offer support wherever the person is at through listening, accompanying to court, praying, sickbed and hospice support, grief support…the list is almost endless. The ultimate goal is for people to come to know Christ.

Currently I am a chaplain who serves in a very diverse population. There is great diversity of age, race, culture, religion and sexual identity. One common desire is peace. That only comes through Christ, so my earnest prayer is that I can reflect Him to others as I sit with them in their highs and lows. I listen a lot. My desire is to listen…

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I am thrilled to see someone else did the Soul Care Courses. Has the Lord been using this in your ministry since you posted? Not sure if you will see this. I want to do the Ministering to Hurting People Course next. Bless you as you serve others.

Yes…in a way it is often a “Job’s friends” approach

Your approach seems holistic and very helpful

I had a significant trauma 2 years ago, where my entire world view felt snatched away, and like I was living in a nightmare. What helped:

-Waking early without condemning myself for insomnia, and coming to meet with the Lord and just weep

-He led me to a godly counselor who was so very gentle with me and didn’t try to fix anything. The empathy…

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Sacrament of Delight: Affirmation of what we see God delighting in in that person. This is a time for hope and encouragement.

Discipline of truth: each person shares a scripture that has been speaking to them, and the others listen with eyes closed. Then they read it with intent to listen to the Spirit speaking to them.

Opportunity to hear:…

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Without a vision the people perish. Also He is among this kind of group

J and K

A multitude in unity, entering one another and each exalting the other

I have always loved Hebrews 10:24 as well, as a mission statement.

Safety: sound doctrine PLUS real people who are up front about their struggles, and eager to explore what the Spirit is up to in you. Sound doctrine plus soul care equals safety. This would foster transparency and vulnerability, and excitement over God’s word being alive.

Vision: People who are seeking the Lord about everything, and sharing…

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In many ways. I have a very hard time being vulnerable in any community that is not “safe.”

Tasted grace

Right now we see through a glass darkly. We aren’t home yet. We live in a fallen world. We struggle with sin, flesh and the devil. We walk by faith and not sight. But we have a treasure in the jar of clay. Our light and momentary troubles are achieving a weight of glory. The Holy Spirit Indwelling us tells us what is to come, and guides us into…

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To avoid pride and elitism

Not sure yet

He is there with us. His presence changes everything

To see what the Holy Spirit is doing, or what direction they are going in as they speak; flesh or spirit

Because viewing it as something they need to DO is like telling them to enter under the law like any other religion. It will crush them. Releasing the Spirit to work is rest for the soul

Whoops I included that in my first answer

SD with unbeliever: work toward conversion

SD with believer: assume the Spirit is at work at that very moment, listen for the passions and discern if they are of the flesh or spirit, don’t try to change the direction just yet, be aware of your own feelings as they speak, and as the passion wanes, use that as a moment to ask a deeper question that…

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The battle is often in the mind. Wounds cause a flesh response, that, if not taken captive can turn into lies, bondage, and a real stronghold in our lives.

I am not sure. I currently serve in ministry in such a way that this need for soul care is ever present daily. I serve in a secular environment and speak to believers and non-believers daily who are struggling.

It means we know through the authority of scripture their true nature and deepest desires…and how flesh has tried to bring healing, comfort and protection apart from him

We can know what is wrong beneath the surface

He can show us the path home

Spiritual directors have eyes to see the path

This makes sense to me and satisfies a restlessness I feel. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. We are told to fixate on what can spur our brothers and sisters on to love and good deeds. We are priests in the new covenant. What more is needed? If the professionals were the answer, or secular help, Hollywood would be…

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An earthly haven!

They have distinct roles in our society:

Counselor: mild psych pathology

Pastor: severe spiritual hunger

Psychotherapist and psychologist: severe PP

Spiritual director : severe SH

Spiritual friend: what is really needed for soul care

Anyone with the Holy Spirit who is aware of this and depending on Him

With expectancy of what is going on underneath that and what He can do

That it is a work of the Spirit. Because I trust the image of God in that person and what the new covenant says is true of them, deep inside

Knowing what is going on inside me, and brokenness over this, and dependence on the Holy Spirit that produces confidence in Him and a sense that I’ve “come out of the wilderness and am leaning on my beloved.”

Right before I called a Christian counselor for help. I called her and she has been immensely helpful

An inner vow made in the flesh

Currently I am dealing with a major issue that He does not seem to be answering. I battle discouragement, which tells me there is something off in my deepest desire

Our own flesh’s pattern to find satisfaction in something other than God

He lives in us, we are His temple. If we leave Him, we leave our new nature and home. To come back to our true self we have to return to Him, to our first love

I think currently I am dealing with a huge heart wound by looking to my husband in a way that only Christ can truly fulfill.

So that we can know what to say in that moment, based on knowing the person and being heart to heart with them

To be in tune with the deepest part of ourselves, the inner sanctuary where the Holy Spirit dwells

It takes humility to receive. My counselor

It means that there is no ulterior motive or agenda but love, and Love covers a multitude of sins

Aware of the life of Christ within me, and free to pour that out to others. Because otherwise we are operating in the flesh

Unwholesome words I’ve uttered: “You need to get out of your head”

A response to the pain over the devastation from Helene in my home: “The power of water is crazy.”

They do not require the Spirit and don’t go deep enough. The Holy Spirit accomplishes soul care

What the Spirit is stirring in the deepest appetite of a Christian

That we treasure something more than God. It’s wretched because He is the source of everything. It can be a “normal” flesh pattern passed down to us, and we just don’t see it…or it can be hidden behind moral behavior or religious activity