The Church's Healing Ministry. David Atkinson
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The Church’s Healing Ministry
David Atkinson is a pastoral theologian and ethicist. A research chemist before he was ordained, he taught ethics and psychology of religion at the University of Oxford. His most recent book is Renewing the Face of the Earth: A Theological and Pastoral Response to Climate Change (Canterbury Press, 2008).
Prior to his retirement he was Bishop of Thetford.
Also by the same author and available
from Canterbury Press
Renewing the Face of the Earth: A Theological and Pastoral Response to Climate Change
978 1 85311 898 2
‘The range of topics to which David Atkinson refers, the sources from which he draws, and the challenge of its practical conclusions, make this book of particular interest and value.’
Bulletin of the Society of Ordained Scientists
The Church’s
Healing Ministry
Practical and pastoral reflections
David Atkinson
© David Atkinson 2011
First published in 2011 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
Editorial office
13–17 Long Lane,
London, ec1a 9pn, UK
Canterbury Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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the publisher, Canterbury Press.
The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
978 1 84825 077 2
Originated by the Manila Typesetting Company
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
1 The Church’s ministry of healing
What is health?
Disease, illness and sickness
A whole person
Shalom
Healing in the New Testament
The healing ministry of Jesus
Historical sketch
Pastoral care today
Proclamation and teaching model
Nurture model
Service model
Therapy model
Charismatic/Pentecostal model
Sacramental model
The story of Job
Job’s three friends
Two interludes
Is there a suffering that heals?
3 Emotional health: Christians and counselling
‘Christian counselling’?
Fully alive
Some history of pastoral care
The conversation between theology and psychology
Four models of this relationship
Pastoral counselling
Assumptions
Assumptions about human nature
Assumptions about values
Processes of change
Love casts out fear
The truth that sets free
Pastoral counselling in a church context
4 Standing with the vulnerable: justice and forgiveness
Justice
A Christian concept of justice
Shalom: peace with justice
Forgiveness
The meaning of forgiveness
The tears of God
Social forgiveness?
Healing for the Church?
Justice, forgiveness and the healing ministry
of the Church
5 Healing and the kingdom of God
The story of salvation
Abraham and Moses
Prophets
The New Testament
The suffering creation and hope
The kingdom fulfilled
The Church’s ministry of healing
Two frequent questions . . .
Disease, suffering and sin
Miracles of the kingdom
Humanity, the priest of creation
Healing and the Church’s sacramental ministry
Creation healed
Penitence
Ministry of the word
Intercessory prayer
Holy Communion
For Sue,
and for Kate and Roger,
with gratitude
1
The Church’s ministry of healing
The Church’s ministry of healing covers a very wide range of activities, not all compatible with one another. ‘Healing Service at 6.30 p.m. Come and experience a miracle’ says the poster outside a rather shabby corrugated-iron evangelical tabernacle in the inner city. People with back pain come and receive prayer. It is all very informal and rather noisy. One or two go away saying the pain has