Comments From the Editor
Paul D. Robbins
October 1, 1980
Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, wrote, "Among all my patients in the second half of life (over thirty-six years of age) there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life . . . and none of them has been really healed who did not regain this religious outlook." Though Jung was not known to be a devout churchman, his observations reminded me of a statement Augustine made in his Confessions: "You have made us for yourself, and we are restless until we rest in you." These are challenging words for any Christian leader, Fallout from an almost totally secular culture has created an enormous need for sound, biblio-centered therapy. David Seamands, one of our forum participants says, 'We live in a sick society that produces emotional cripples the way Detroit mass-produces automobiles. The Holy Spirit wants to work in people's lives; sometimes he needs a temporary assistant. That's the theological basis for counseling." Pastoral care and counseling is one of the largest agenda items confronting the local church. If my mail is any indication, Christian leaders are inundated with "people problems" and are struggling to keep pace with the demand. One pastor/friend put it this way: "When I go home at night, I feel like I've been bled dry." Another said, "I feel more and more people want a piece of my soul; the better I try to do my job, the more problems I seem to attract. This good problem is killing me!" Sound familiar? Actually it's a very old problem. Richard Hunt (another forum participant) points out that "As fast as Jesus helped one person, he was deluged by a crowd of needy people." Even Christ had to find relief from the pressure of people and their problems. How ...
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