David Seamands, professor of pastoral ministry at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, was for sixteen years a missionary in India, and for more than twenty years a pastor. His own books include Healing for Damaged Emotions and Healing of Memories. He recommends these favorite titles on emotions:
Your Inner Child of the Past (Simon and Schuster)
by H. S. Missildine
I’ll begin with the bottom line-self-awareness, discovering what makes us feel and act the way we do. Although not directly Christian, this classic for two decades has helped Christians become aware of the “childish things” that hold them back from Christian maturity. It reviews the family situations that shape our emotional reactions. Chapters are devoted to the causes of common emotional problems plaguing Christian workers: overanxiety, guilt, irrational anger, unreasonable expectations, and procrastination, that most troublesome one.
Mere insight of itself will neither bring about healing nor change feelings or behavior. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. But the accurate self-knowledge this book brings certainly helps us know what to watch and where to pray.
The Art of Understanding Yourself (Zondervan)
by Cecil Osborne
Another classic, this book examines some of the same emotional needs through Christian eyes. Its focus is on relationships, with an emphasis on the redemptive fellowship of the church and the healing power of small groups. Many of us Lone Ranger types need to be reminded that we will never find true emotional healing until we share and pray with others.
Counseling Christian Workers (Word)
by Louis McBurney
This book is a gold mine for Christian workers as well as those who counsel them. Dr. and Mrs. McBurney run the Marble Retreat Center in Colorado, where they have helped several hundred pastoral couples whose lives and marriages needed repair. A deep, inside knowledge of Christian workers adds to McBurney’s gilt-edged Mayo Clinic training.
His fine descriptions of “The Hurting Christian Worker” and “The Problems and Pressures of the Ministry” help us understand ourselves and how to handle our unique roles. Then he deals with the personal and marital maladjustments many of us face. McBurney writes with penetrating insight yet tender understanding. He is indeed a pastor’s pastor.
Forgive and Forget (Harper and Row)
by Lewis Smedes
One of the greatest problems we face is dealing with the anger and resentment that arise from the endemic hurts of ministry. We think it is Christian to say “Forget it,” and forgive too quickly and easily. Smedes deals with this kind of Christian Stoicism and the unresolved emotions it produces.
He reminds us that in true forgiveness we must face up to the hurts of life and acknowledge our real feelings toward those who have hurt us. Then he leads us gently but firmly through both the crisis and process of forgiveness. Smedes’s book is well written and full of important truth.
Understanding Mourning (Augsburg)
by Glen W. Davidson
A Grief Observed (Seabury)
by C. S. Lewis
Both books provide excellent help for an emotion we face continually in others and inevitably in ourselves.
Davidson’s is “A Guide for Those Who Grieve.” He deals with the frightening mood swings that hit us when we are ambushed by grief. It is clinical but in no way technical and gives us the facts we should know about the grief process.
Lewis’s book is unsurpassed as a description of the battle between faith and feelings when death intrudes. Here is the great defender of Christianity in what he later called “my yell at God.” He offers a ruthlessly honest look at faith’s battle with and conquest of grief.
To Understand Each Other (John Knox)
by Paul Tournier
This tiny book, written by one of the greatest counselors of our age, addresses a basic emotional concern-achieving true understanding of one another in marriage. In Tournier’s typical “let me talk to you” style, he covers the basics: the mysteriousness of your spouse, communication, sex. Best of all, he emphasizes a mutual submission to Jesus Christ.
Leadership Spring 1987 p. 97
Copyright © 1987 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
