Psycological Testing for Ministers Who Confess Struggles in the Christian Life

CRF has been profiting greatly from the study of John Bunyan's classic work Pilgrim's Progress. I've been using this commentary as a guide for the study. I've thought these words of application were quite worthy to be put here. They come from the section on Giant Despair and Doubting Castle which has a lot of cross references to Bunyan's own struggles with doubt/despair as recorded in his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Cheif of Sinners.

For a pastor today to publish a work such as Grace Abounding would be for him to probably find himself disqualified from many a pastoral vacancy. The assessment would perhaps be supplemented with psychological testing that indicated he evidenced too many symptoms of an unstable psyche.

Yet what is it that has made the tinker’s spiritual autobiography such a classic? Is it not the fact that Bunyan’s scrupulous honesty has allowed him to bare his soul in a way that contrasts so sharply with popular religious pretense, and especially the masquerading testimonies of today? The fact is that we are neither as honest as he, nor do we enter into the joys of his reconciliation with God through the grace of Jesus Christ. The starting point for us, as Bunyan so obviously indicates, is a deeply humbled spirit that is not afraid to be honest with regard to our frequent poverty of soul.

The current fad of openness and transparency is not in mind here; this usually has human relationships in mind, but not the more penetrating search of a holy God. Rather, Bunyan would encourage us to admit to our abysmal lack of confessing the struggles we have with Satan, assurance, and indwelling sin, and then discover the joys of reawakening to the keeping power of free and distinguishing grace.