TAKING ON THE GODS: The Task of the Pastoral Counselor by Merle R. Jordan

Professor Norm Thiesen teaches Pastoral Counseling at Western Seminary and has assigned us 10 hours of reading from a variety of Christian and secular books on counseling. As I read Merle R. Jordan's "Taking on the Gods" this morning on my train ride to work, I was struck by this quote:

Howard Thurman tells of an idea impressed upon him by his beloved grandmother, who had been a slave on a southern plantation:

"The idea was given to her by a certain slave minister who, on occasion, held secret religious meetings with his fellow slaves. How everything in me quivered with the pulsing tremor of raw energy when, in her recital, she would come to the triumphant climax of the minister: 'You -- you are not niggers. You -- you are not slaves. You are God's children.'" (p. 23)

Amen to this amazing truth! An appropriate reminder during this month of February which also commemorates Black History Month.

...and woe to the rappers and modern day slave-makers who preach otherwise. Praise to the God who elevates us over the derogatory names and profanities and lies that the world spews and instead, gives us His name, His grace, and His identity in which we can fully rest!

Get the book "Taking on the Gods: The Task of the Pastoral Counselor" by Merle R. Jordan here: