{"id":21818,"date":"1997-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1997-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1997\/04\/01\/where-healing-belongs\/"},"modified":"1997-04-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1997-04-01T00:00:00","slug":"where-healing-belongs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Healing Belongs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why would a man redirect his life’s work at its zenith?\n\nTwo years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today<\/em>, Larry Crabb,\na Christian psychologist and best-selling author, announced, “In the end,\nall counseling—intentionally or not—deals with issues of sanctification.\nThe primary context for healing, then, should be the Christian community,\nnot the antiseptic world of a private-practice therapist.”\n\nPut simply, Crabb has had a conversion experience, and his new thinking has\ndirect implications for pastoral work.\n\nCrabb coined the term eldering<\/em> to describe what he believes ought\nto go on in the local church between older, wiser members and younger, struggling\nmen and women. He believes this interaction can often be more redemptive\nand healing than traditional psychotherapy.\n\nLeadership<\/em> wanted to know what eldering looks like in the local church\nand how it affects the way pastors care for believers.<\/p>\n

You’ve called for new ways that the church can help people change. What’s\nwrong with the current approach?<\/p>

\nLarry Crabb<\/strong>: Much of the church for too long has had a limited approach\nto helping people change. I would simply describe it, “Do what’s right.”\n\nThe counseling community then came along and said, “No, there’s something\nbeneath people’s outward problems that’s all messed up.” They came up with\na model that perhaps simplistically I dub, “Fix what’s wrong.”\n\nMy understanding is that beneath all the damage, because of the New Covenant,\nthere is something good that God has placed within us-his Spirit and a new\nheart. Rather than fixing what’s wrong or doing what’s right, we need to\nrelease what’s good.\n\nA connection between elders and friends awakens within them what is powerful\nand good.\n<\/p>\n

Are you really advocating that “eldering” can replace private-practice\ncounseling?<\/p>

\nThere will always be a place for good therapists. But what they are doing\nis closer to what the Bible calls “shepherding” than what our culture calls\n“therapy.” And that has implications. I envision a community of shepherds\nand friends with the power to address the underlying issues beneath most\nof what we call “psychological problems.” But I now use the word “shepherding”\nmore than “eldering.” People thought I was talking about the business people\nof the church. They said, “I wouldn’t go to the elders in my church.”\n\nCan “shepherding” be programmed?\n\nI’m loathe to introduce programming too soon. In a Sunday school class I\nwas teaching, I used an illustration from one of Henri Nouwen’s books where\nhe discusses one of his dark nights of the soul, what a psychologist might\ndiagnose as “clinical depression.” Nouwen talks about an older priest who\nwould take Nouwen’s head and pull it to his chest. The priest would hold\nit there in silent prayer for a length of time. That particular act, said\nNouwen, expelled the demons of despair and would let him rise up with new\nvitality.\n\nA week or two later at church, an older gentleman was listening to a younger\nfellow tell about several miscarriages he and his wife had suffered. He was\nsharing emotionally about the pain of that. After class the older gentleman\nwent up and took the young man’s head and pulled it into his chest for a\nwhile.\n\nHe meant well, and the younger man told me he was encouraged. But it’s too\neasy to reduce a wonderful idea to a technique and expect it to work every\ntime. In this case it was a good thing, but I don’t want to reduce this\nmysterious work of the Spirit to “Here’s what you do the next time this happens.”\n<\/p>\n

If shepherding can’t be programmed, what’s the first step in moving a\nchurch toward your model?<\/p>

\nWhat’s lacking most is belief that ordinary relationships have power that\nhas not been released. There needs to be teaching that shepherding and friendship\ncan reach deeply into people’s souls. I’d love to see church mission statements\ninclude this.\n\nWe can also ask the question, “What is the major message that somebody who\nvisits our church for three months would get?”\n\nIs this a church where the preacher is popular? Is this a church where you\nhave a bunch of programs? Or, is this a church that believes the power of\nthe Spirit can move quietly and deeply and profoundly between ordinary Christians\nas they relate?<\/p>\n

How are pastors identifying these skilled, godly men and women?<\/p>

\nA pastor friend in North Carolina, Jim Kallam, has gotten together people\nand said, “Whom do we know in the church who seems to have a shepherd’s heart?\nWith whom would we want to share our deepest problems?”\n\nThey identified ten or twelve people and formed “The Society of Shepherds.”\nThey meet once a month to discuss what could happen and to swap stories about\nhow they’ve been involved in somebody else’s life.\n\nThey’re also getting training in how to listen well and what kind of categories\nto think in if somebody has a problem.\n<\/p>\n

How much training do shepherds need?<\/p>

\nThe word “training” is such a mixed-bag word. I like the word “equipping.”\n\nShepherds need help to think in biblical categories about people they’re\nworking with. They also need honest feedback about things like: Do I tend\nto give advice too quickly? Do I talk so fast nobody can follow what I’m\nsaying?\n\n<\/p>\n

So what you’re training shepherds in is, well, almost theological.<\/p>

\nAbsolutely. It is theology. I see it as biblical theology: What is the nature\nof the being sitting in front of me? This person bears the image of God.\nWhat is the flesh\/spirit struggle?\n\nFinally, something pastors can do for which they were trained. Wouldn’t that be nice.\n<\/p>\n

Should pastors be concerned about litigation in your model?<\/p>

\nThat’s going to be a question till the Lord comes back. We’re never going\nto be entirely safe. We have to decide that a certain movement is directed\nby the Lord and even though there’s a risk involved, it needs to be taken.\n\nHaving said that, I don’t think we should be stupid. Certain kinds of problems\nneed a kind of management that the church can’t handle. Pastors will still\nrefer specific cases.\n<\/p>

How does a shepherding relationship begin?<\/p>

\nThis is going to be difficult on both sides. The older person is not going\nto feel comfortable going to the young person and saying, “Would you like\nme to mentor you?” The younger person is not going to feel comfortable saying\nto the older person, “Could I talk with you?”\n\nMy wife and I are planning a group for five older and five younger couples.\nWe’re hoping to meet weekly for ten weeks and say, “Would you be interested\nin hearing us old fogies talk about what we’ve learned? And can you help\nus see things we’ve forgotten that we need to remember?”\n<\/p>

So these relationships would have a specific time period.<\/p>

\nMy vision is to develop a connected community of shepherds and friends.\n\nIn a true community you have friends that last a lifetime and shepherds that\ncan minister meaningfully in seasons. If you’re deeply involved with somebody\nas a friend, hopefully, that will not have an endpoint.\n\nBut there will be times when what I’m up against may require more wisdom\nthan I have. That’s where somebody who-and I don’t know how to use this word\nproperly—is “trained” or seasoned who fits the description of the biblical\nshepherd can move into that person’s life for a definite season. It might\nbe during a particularly hard time—after a divorce, perhaps, or after a\nchild’s suicide. The shepherd can move into the life of someone in a more\nintense way.\n<\/p>

The big push in recent years has been on accountability. I hear you saying\nthe real need is for friendship.<\/p>

\nPeople who emphasize accountability sometimes do it because they don’t know\nhow to be friends. When accountability becomes the central tool, it falls\nunder the moralistic model of “Do what’s right.” It’s essentially trying\nto accomplish change through pressure.\n<\/p>

Who were your shepherds in moving you to think of counseling in terms\nof community?<\/p>

\nSpirituality professor Jim Houston, one of my heroes, pushed me in this direction when I heard him say, “If the church is going to know a second reformation, it will depend on the church’s recovering the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications for human community.”\n\nI’m trying to get my mind around what New Covenant realities can be released into one another. Can I speak to your good heart out of my good heart, and can that lead to something wonderful developing in both of us? I believe it can.\n<\/p>\n\n

1997 by Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why would a man redirect his life’s work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and best-selling author, announced, “In the end, all counseling—intentionally or not—deals with issues of sanctification. The primary context for healing, then, should be the Christian community, not the antiseptic world Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[2246],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[653,156,655],"tax_ctp_tags":[3548,3698,4127,4604,4606,4608,4792,5023,5042,5046],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-21818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-larry-crabb","tax_publications-1997-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-spring_1997-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-caring","tax_ctp_tags-counseling","tax_ctp_tags-healing","tax_ctp_tags-pastor","tax_ctp_tags-pastors-role","tax_ctp_tags-pastoral-care","tax_ctp_tags-relationship","tax_ctp_tags-soul","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-direction","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nWhere Healing Belongs - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Healing Belongs - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Larry Crabb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"CMS Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/85018388509706870f1ad6829069e1a3\"},\"headline\":\"Where Healing Belongs\",\"datePublished\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\"},\"wordCount\":1496,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\",\"name\":\"Where Healing Belongs - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where Healing Belongs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/85018388509706870f1ad6829069e1a3\",\"name\":\"CMS Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b746e0581dc75423e361301b595167f5234d819bbff5b0a82621db777cbfeb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b746e0581dc75423e361301b595167f5234d819bbff5b0a82621db777cbfeb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CMS Admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where Healing Belongs - CT Pastors","description":"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where Healing Belongs - CT Pastors","og_description":"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","og_site_name":"CT Pastors","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","article_published_time":"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Larry Crabb","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CTpastors","twitter_site":"@CTpastors","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/"},"author":{"name":"CMS Admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/85018388509706870f1ad6829069e1a3"},"headline":"Where Healing Belongs","datePublished":"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/"},"wordCount":1496,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","name":"Where Healing Belongs - CT Pastors","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website"},"datePublished":"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"1997-04-01T00:00:00+00:00","description":"Why would a man redirect his life's work at its zenith? Two years ago, in an interview with Christianity Today, Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where Healing Belongs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","name":"CT Pastors","description":"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization","name":"Christianity Today","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","caption":"Christianity Today"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/85018388509706870f1ad6829069e1a3","name":"CMS Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b746e0581dc75423e361301b595167f5234d819bbff5b0a82621db777cbfeb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b746e0581dc75423e361301b595167f5234d819bbff5b0a82621db777cbfeb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CMS Admin"}}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Where Healing Belongs","url":"http:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/where-healing-belongs\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Uncategorized","author":"Larry Crabb","creator":"Larry Crabb","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"CT Pastors","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z","datePublished":"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z","dateModified":"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Where Healing Belongs\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.christianitytoday.com\\\/pastors\\\/content\\\/where-healing-belongs\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.christianitytoday.com\\\/pastors\\\/content\\\/where-healing-belongs\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"\"},\"articleSection\":\"Uncategorized\",\"author\":\"Larry Crabb\",\"creator\":\"Larry Crabb\",\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"1997-04-01T00:00:00Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/christianitytoday.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","byline":{"writer_byline":"Larry Crabb","writer_byline_override":""},"primary_category":null,"secondary_categories":[],"featured_video":null,"related_articles":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21819,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21818\/revisions\/21819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_authors?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_books","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_books?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_categories?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_field_guides","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_field_guides?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_format?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_multimedia","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_multimedia?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_point_editor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_point_editor?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_publications?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_tags?post=21818"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_topics?post=21818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}