Richard Baxter: Puritan Ministry for Modern Churches

In a thought-provoking piece, Ric Rodeheaver shares his admiration for the pioneering work of Puritan Richard Baxter, a 17^th-century English pastor. Baxter engaged in regular counseling care for his congregants and argued that preaching alone is an insufficient view of the pastorate. Rodeheaver agrees and asserts that counseling must be part of every pastor’s schedule. Based on his experience, he offers three ongoing practices to help a church build a culture of care and counseling that includes trained lay counselors who can support the pastor in fulfilling the call of this crucial ministry.