Effective Casemanagement/Pastoral Care, Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EFFECTIVE CASE MANAGEMENT/PASTORAL CARE OF

THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM A MENTAL ILLNESS AND/OR
PERSONALITY DISORDER-- (continued), lesson 2,Copyright 2012

 

Utilizing pastoral counselors and mental health professionals

to provide optimum care for the mentally ill within the local

Church

 

Introduction

God cares deeply for the mentally ill. He recognizes the intense  pain of a broken spirit. Proverbs 8:14 states, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?" The church of Jesus Christ must provide skilled comfort and help to those within its ranks who are mentally ill.

 

Below are a few practical suggestions for Bible study.

They are certainly not exhaustive in the area of Biblical
theology.

Preferably you have taken basic theology classes (not

just Christian Life), Bible Study Methods classes etc.

You should be reading your Bible every day and

applying what the Holy Spirit teaches you through the

Word. You should have a working knowledge of the

Wisdom Literature, Job – Ecclesiastes. The book of

Proverbs is full of wisdom, counseling principles etc.

So it is paramount that we have the ability to understand Scripture

and use it as part of our assessment tools and validation/change

strategie

 

You should have some key books available, for instance:

 

1. A Good Study Bible, It will have notes on passages and

cross references. I would either get a  New King James version, a

New American Standard Version or a New International Version. 

For more information on choosing a  Study Bible, please go to  http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=844809&sp=1003

 

2. A Strong’s Concordance which enables you to look up the use of a

word every time it occurs, the Bible. It also has a Hebrew-Greek Dictionary.There are a number of free Bible concordances on line.  One of my favorites is  found at  http://www.biblestudytools.com/

 

3. A Bible dictionary which has pertinent facts about subjects, names, places and also some theological definitions. The classic set is ISBE, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.   Again this can  be found free on line at http://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/ .You can also buy  others at a Christian book store or online. A good one is Zondervan Illustrated  Bible Dictionary which can be found on line at http://www.christianbook.com/zondervan-illustrated-dictionary-based-articles-encyclopedia/j-d-douglas/9780310229834/pd/229834

 

4. A Topical Bible which categorizes texts by subjects, the most famous

 being Nave’s Topical Bible.

 

5. A one volume commentary, which has an exposition of basically

 all the verses in the Bible. Always be sure to get good evangelical

commentaries.  If you have questions about this please email me at

camimovement@yahoo.com or respond in the comments section of this blog.

 

As mentioned, today you can get all these helps and more through

computer software. If you are computer literate, this

would be the way to go. However, there are some good

bible study helps that do not have computer software

programs.

 

You should have knowledge of suffering/glory themes in the Bible.

 For example,  2 Timothy 2:10-13: (10) Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that theyalso may obtain the salvation which  is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (11) This is a faithful saying: For if we diedwith Him,We shall also live with Him. (12) If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him, He also will deny us. (13) If we are faithless, He remains faithful;

He cannot deny Himself (NKJV.).

 

A good principle of Bible Study is that you apply a literal,historical,

grammatical, interpretation to it. Below are three words that can be

used when studying a Biblical text:

 

Observation, What does the biblical text say?

 

Interpretation  What does it mean?

 

Application  How should I respond?

 

This to to be continued