Excellent Book for Training Pastoral Associates

It has been a real joy to train our first group of Pastoral Caregivers at my church. As I prepare to go on sabbatical, it means the world to have a terrific team of lay pastors to “walk the parish” and to make calls and visits on behalf of the church. We introduced them to the congregation this past Sunday and will do a formal Commission in the fall.
But for now, I just want to share that although I read a ton of books in preparation for the training sessions, and have taken many classes, seminars and workshops on pastoral care, I found this book to be the best guide of all in organizing our sessions.
A Pastor In Every Pew: Equipping Laity For Pastoral Care by Leroy Howe. I just think that, chapter for chapter, Howe’s book is the most conversant with the realities of pastoral caregiving, […]