Visit the Sick

I was incredibly pleased this past weekend to receive a personal copy of the wonderful new book, Visit the Sick: Ministering God’s Grace in Times of Illness.  Written by my gifted pastor and good friend, Brian Croft, this valuable new resource teaches us both why we should visit the sick in our congregations and how to do so without seriously embarrassing ourselves!

Here is an excerpt from the preface which highlights Croft’s intentions in writing:

Perhaps the greatest historical example of visiting the afflicted was the seventeenth-century Puritan pastor Richard Baxter.  Baxter had an amazing strategy of visiting not just the sick but everyone in his congregation throughout Kidderminster regularly and faithfully.  In the midst of his much-disciplined routine, Baxter developed a certain sensitivity to those in his congregation who were sick and homebound.  He wrote in The Reformed Pastor, “We must be diligent in visiting the sick, and helping them to prepare either for a fruitful life, or a happy death.”

Many others in Baxter’s time and since were found to be diligent in this task, yet as society made its turn into the twentieth century, the local church and its priorities began to change.  Somewhere in the midst of industrialized nations and changing churches, the care fore the sick began gradually to diminish.  It is for this reason that we must go back beyond the twentieth century to seek a historical model if we are to recapture caring for the sick in a way that most glorifies God in our modern day.

There are, however, a few challenges to this approach.  It would be difficult on several levels for a pastor today to achieve the standard of care that Baxter and other Puritans maintained.  My solution is to take their principles and try to paint a picture of what they would realistically look like today.

As one who has benefited greatly from visiting the sick with Brian, I encourage all who read this blog (whether you be a pastor, a seminary student, or a corporate executive) to consume the wise counsel recorded in this gem of a book.  In addition, the book (at a mere 91 pages!) can easily be read in a few hours.

Information about Visit the Sick:

Contents:
Foreword (by Mark Dever)
Preface
Introduction
1: Biblical Considerations
2: Theological Considerations
3: Pastoral Considerations
4: Practical Considerations
5: Conclusion
Afterword (by Bill Croft)
A Note to Pastors
Appendix 1: Checklist
Appendix 2: Spiritual Conversation
Appendix 3: FAQ
Appendix 4: “Sickness” by J. C. Ryle (abridged)
Further Information and Help

Recommendations:
“What do pastors do when visiting the sick? Such visits are crucial both eternally and pastorally.  Brian Croft has written a marvelous piece to assist us.  His work is theologically grounded, gospel centered, and full of practical wisdom.  I recommend it enthusiastically.”
Thomas R. Schreiner, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY; Teaching Pastor, Clifton Baptist Church, Louisville, KY

Visit the Sick is an excellent and much-needed resource today when the actual practice of “shepherding souls” is so often neglected.  Many younger pastors (and not so young ones as well) have never received the sort of very practical guidance which Brian Croft gives in this book.  This book has the potential to be a great blessing to pastors and those they shepherd.  It will now be a recommended text in my Pastoral Ministries class and I heartily commend it to others.
Ray Van Neste, Associate Professor of Christian Studies, Union University; Elder, Cornerstone Community Church, Jackson, TN