Pastoral Care in Context

by John Patton

Book Overview

An expert in the field of pastoral care, John Patton demonstrates that pastoral care is a ministry of the church. He focuses on the community of faith as an authorizer and source of care and upon the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0664229948
• ISBN13: 9780664229948
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Ed Williamson critiques Pastoral Care in Context.

In reading this book I tried to get under the authors skin as to why this 245 page book came to be. My experience with authors and their legacies (books) leads me to conclude that main reason they are written is to chronicle, promote a new idea or entertain/educate. Looking at the biography and the age of the author (80+) reminds me that in his beginnings as a United Methodist Pastor to his present emeritus positions Dr. Patton was in a unique historical position to observe pastoral counseling in the classical form evolve into its present form. Dr. Patton is true to his roots as a pastor as he chronicles this change in pastoral care. He strives to cut to the chase and describes pastoral care as being meaningful only when counselors convey that they care and can express this concern to their clients. The threefold comparison of classical, clinical and communal contextual paradigms was very helpful. This comparison would serve as a Rosetta Stone to new students of pastoral care, granting enlightenment to the various approaches that they will observe. The purpose of this book actually fulfills all three of my aforementioned reasons for writing a book. He chronicles pastoral care development, promotes the communal contextual paradigm as a rather new and novel approach to care and educates and entertains with his anecdotal information and examples. Simply put, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in doing or assisting with pastoral care. I enjoyed Dr. Pattons ecumenical style in dealing with clients and counselors. I think he succeeds in quantifying the near impossible in this book - the task of pastoral care to the masses and the various styles one can employ to meet the needs of hurting people.