ABSTRACT
Ministry may be one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Pastor Paul Tripp recently called the minister’s life—with its unrelenting personal and spiritual demands—a dangerous calling. 1 Ministers are called to be active and wise pastoral shepherds to a wide range of flawed and fallen human beings. To make matters worse, pastors themselves are mortal, imperfect, and naturally limited in their capacity to understand and help with every problem and situation presented by parishioners. In addition to preaching, teaching, evangelizing, and generally administering the local church, pastors are likely to spend a great deal of time counseling men, women, and families who come to them with the widest possible array of personal problems. At times, psychological disorders undermine parishioner health and happiness.
