Tori Thomason
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be address to Tori
Thomason Email: tthomason@liberty.edu
Tori Thomason
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
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Journal Article Review: Practicing Discernment: Pastoral Care in Crisis Situations
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Summary
Landes (2010) applies Doehring’s preliminary structure on The Practice of Pastoral
Care: A postmodern approach (2006), to provide a description of the practical applications of
narratives, accounts, and the use of discernment. Utilizing this structure can help benefit clients
during a crisis. Landes (2010) encourages counselors to examine their calling into ministry from
the perspective of discernment. Through this perspective, counselors can apply psychological,
systemic, and theological assessments. These assessments outline key points in supporting care
seekers to build trust, grieve, and sort through life situations.
In this article, Ruth is a care seeker to whom Landes provides pastoral care. She is facing
a critical season in life due to her husband’s weakening health. Given this crisis, Ruth is feeling
like she is beginning to lose control of the situation and wants to make the best decision possible
for her husband, herself, and her family. Ruth shares different stories with the chaplains who are
assisting her, and they can pick up on a theme of her concerns and emotions. As the chaplains
begin to build trust through relationship with Ruth, she begins to discuss more of what is
happening in her life. Given the stories she shares, as fragmented as they might be, they discern
the likely connotation through contextual assessments.
By looking carefully through the lens of discernment, caregivers can piece together
phrases from the client’s stories and compile parallel figurative and metaphorical conceptions
that can be construed to the current situation and discern which stories best inform pressing
decisions (Landes, 2010). These notions lead to feasible resolutions to the situational crisis. The
chaplain helps Ruth through the discernment process by making moral, spiritual, and life
decisions in a well-timed fashion that benefit her husband and family. As the chaplain listened to
Ruth’s stories, he was able to assist through organizing meetings with physicians, hospital staff,
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and family. He did this to help give clarification with any doubts, hesitations, and
presuppositions either through previous experiences or current situations. This helped Ruth to
prepare in her decision making as she attempted to rectify her predicament.
In the conclusion of this article, Landes assists Ruth in practicing discernment. This was
through the act of discovering answers to adamant questions she had along with making
decisions that helped benefit her situation. Moreover, this stipulated answers to moral
predicaments she was undergoing. The application asserted that there is a place for narratives
within pastoral care and the need to advert to psychological and universal aspects that can help a
care seeker work through a crisis (Landes, 2010).
Interaction
This article delivered a well-defined and concrete application of the benefits in applying
discernment through a care seeker’s narratives. Utilizing discernment through a storytelling
process can help the care seeker perceive the situation more openly to make decisions.
Additionally, this can give them a better outlook into the situation. This article was informative;
however, it did lack spiritual correlation between the counselor and Ruth. The author did not
once mention The Holy Spirit as the provider of all wisdom, knowledge, and discernment.
Care givers should practice discernment when providing support to an individual
pursuing assistance in crisis. The Holy Spirit intervening is significant in helping to guide the
counselor in better supporting the client by ministering to their pain and grief. Matthew 10:20
says, “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (English
Standard Version). I do not believe in coincidences. I believe in Jesus and Him placing people in
my life for a divine reason. When God places someone in my path, I immediately rely on The
Holy Spirit to speak through me. Even though I have the impliments to help prepare me in
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certain circumstances; I still find that pursuing The Holy Spirit’s guidance will better prepare me
in providing the best possible care. Proverbs 1:7 has helped me in my own act of discernment as
it states: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction” (English Standard Version). Fearing The Lord looks like submitting to Him and
His will. He wants us to fear and give all power and authority over to Him because we trust
in His divine and good plan.
Landes has encouraged me to read Doehring’s book The Practice of Pastoral Care: A
postmodern approach because it gives amplification on conceptions, approaches, and tactics,
used by exercising discernment. I want to be able to gain insights and practices that I can
personally utilize. Furthermore, I want to acquire listening skills on how to cultivate spiritual
care through discussions that can benefit clients as they move through their situation. My goal is
for clients to better acknowledge how to use discernment in the event of a crisis.
Application
As a Christian counselor, one of my biggest objectives is to make sure that my client is
getting the best possible care. I find that I am better able to pour into the individuals that need
assistance when I can gain more knowledge and seek Christ. I want to be able to hold onto and
apply the resources in my toolkit while also relying on The Holy Spirit to move in me through
my words and actions.
I am currently helping a client maneuver through the pain of church hurt. This is a very
significant situation as it has hindered her from trying out new churches to be in community with
other believers. While her situation is imperative and it goes deeper into what the leaders in the
church did not do, it has fragmented her emotionally and spiritually. In our sessions, we have
slowly been able to uncover the truth of how even church leaders mess up. One thing that I have
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learned in my own experience of church hurt is that not all pastors are called to be counselors.
There are many pastors in churches who have knowledge of Biblical teachings, but do not have
the necessary tools to help their church members in time of calamities.
Johnson and Johnson state: “The average pastor reports spending between 10 percent and
46 percent of his or her time counseling” (2014, p. 2). Many pastors have little formal training in
identifying and dealing with psychological disorders and trauma. Through the narrative my
current client has shared and with what she is maneuvering through in this season, I have already
built trust with her. I also want to gain the extra support and information from her crisis by
applying discernment principles in helping her through the decision-making process.
One tool that I have been utilizing myself is through Clinton and Hawkins’ Quick
Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling. There are various topics throughout this book, but the
one that stands out regarding discernment is the topic of decision making and the will of God
(Clinton & Hawkins, 2009). I would plan to encourage my client to wait on God’s answer and to
earnestly seek Him through this time. I also would encourage her to focus on her personal
relationship with The Lord. I would remind her that although her emotions are valid at this
present moment, they can also be misleading and cause her to fall into sin. It is imperative for her
to pursue God and what His Word says. This is an act of discernment.
Clinton and Hawkins (2009) give action steps in discerning the will of God. This is
shown through trusting that God will show His will, being patient with the process, being
proactive through the act of obedience, listing out wise options to keep her in community with
others, stating what is obvious, continually praying, seeking wise counsel, and making the
decision (Clinton & Hawkins, 2009). In addition to these significant steps, I will also deliver
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Biblical understandings that will pertain to what she discerns given her narratives. I will also
provide any support and encouragement she needs to enhance her current situation.
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References
Clinton, T. E., & Hawkins, R. E. (2009). The Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling.
Baker.
Johnson, W. B., & Johnson, W. L. (2014). The minister's guide to psychological disorders and
treatments (2nd ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Landes, S. D. (2010). Practicing discernment: Pastoral care in crisis situations. Journal of
Pastoral Care & Counseling: Advancing Theory and Professional Practice through
Scholarly and Reflective Publications, 64(1), 1–8.
https://doi.org/10.1177/154230501006400104
