In his presentation, Benner (2003) argues strategic pastoral counseling and psychological advise share a long history in help-seeking endeavors. Yet, distinctions arise betwwen both areas when pastoral counseling is adequately placed in a broader context of soul care. According to Benner, five forms of soul care should be integral to any Christian church life namely, pastoral ministry, pastoral care, pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. This reaction on pastoral counseling lays particular emphasis on friendship as a cardinal precept in community-based vis-à-vis pastoral-based counseling in light of recent developments of community concepts and expanding peer sharing and learning strategies.
Given growing knowledge capacity based on peer-to-peer strategies, Benner's emphasis on friendship is most striking in how a service as old as spiritual counseling is capable of metamorphosing into one catering for non-centralized, community-based needs of spiritual emancipation. Notwithstanding importance of pastoral counseling, friendship stands out as a broader framework of soul care by community members at large. Further highlighting importance of friendship and peer-to-peer counseling is lack of resources for pastors who on large part do not receive adequate counseling education.
Interestingly still is spiritual direction in which friendship is developed between a director and a directee in order to attain spiritual salvation in God's presence. This friendship has love as an essential basis: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7-9 New International Version). Similar to peer-based sharing platforms, friendship is spritual counseling sharing space in which directors and directees exchange places.
That friendship, moreover, should cater for broader community needs speaks of pastoral as well as community-based counseling importance vis-à-vis psychological counseling. Friendship, just as Benner emphasizes, does not refer to a typical personal relationship between a pastor and a parishioner but a guided spiritual direction in God's presence.
Similarly, in a community-based counseling friendship is weaved over prolonged periods into persons consoling's and ones seeking spiritual care's lives. Further, friendship in such light is understood as not merely problem-focused or person-centered in a specific context but provide a platform for sharing experiences and communicating counseling expertise.
That way, frienship bypasses typical advising sessions given by community members and professionals and acquires further meanings in enduring relationships charcterized by empathetic sharing. As well, pastors are better informed by criss-cross experiences shared by congregations. Not only will pastors be able to relate actual stories in sermons and counseling services – stories speaking to church members' deepest concerns and longings – but will also leverage knowledge repertoires of counseling services, without having to tap solely into constructed counseling services by more informed pastors. The importance of friendship cannot be overemphaszied. Friendship does offer a foundation for all meaningful spiritual counseling based on informed insights from close associates.
References
Benner, G. D. (2003). Strategic Pastoral Counseling: A Short-Term StructuredModel. Available from http://books.google.com
