The best counsellors?

This book is a further exploration of this idea, which he examines in detail and concludes, ‘We have made a terrible mistake. For most of the 20th century, we have wrongly defined soul wounds as psychological disorders and delegated their treatment to trained specialists’. Larry Crabb believes that this dependence on professionals has had a most damaging effect on care in the Christian community, including asking less of the community than it could offer and being too easily satisfied when church budgets are met, conversions are reported and tensions do not interfere too much with church activities. He is passionately committed to Christians connecting with each other in a way that leads to sensitive, caring and honest involvement with each other and longs to see ‘the community of God back in business as the major provider of soul care’.

Isabel Courtney