Jump directly to the Content

The Preaching Ingredient

People usually see a professional counselor for psychological relief. People often go to a pastor for spiritual relief. This puts the pastoral counselor in not only a healing role but also a discipling role.
—Gary Gulbranson

My wife's father and mother used to attend our church. One Sunday night, as she had done many times before, my mother-in-law played piano in the service. Two days later she collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where the doctors determined she had a brain aneurysm. On Friday she died.

Although grieving with my family and congregation, I decided to preach on Sunday. My sermon, from the Book of Joshua, discussed the sovereignty of God. I related the message to her death and spoke openly about my own feelings.

Later in the foyer, I overheard a woman from the church say, "Well at least now Pastor Gulbranson knows a little about the pain some of us have gone through." At the moment I thought it was a cruel statement.

Later I thought about her comment. It was, in fact, a ...

Tags:
Posted:
March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close