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Showing posts from April, 2011

Grace And Pastoral Counseling

I think I need learn to pastor with more grace. What does that mean? To live gracefully means to conduct your life in such a way that is consistent with the fact that you are yourself a recipient of grace. To speak with grace is to speak in such a way that points to the grace of Jesus Christ. One can live graciously in two ways. One can point to one's own sinful nature, essentially demonstrating the point that, “we are all in the same boat morally”. Or one can point to the beauty of God's goodness and the riches of his mercy. A gracious word is one that leaves the recipient thinking, “wow, this guy truly understands that he is no better than me.” A ungracious word leaves the recipient feeling sheepish or guilty. A gracious word leaves the recipient feel accepted and loved, shown grace from a fellow recipient of grace. Consider the following scenario. You are looking after a Bible study leader who is constantly late for meetings, writing Bible studies late, and doing a poor jo