How can caregivers help families facing a crisis? What can friends say and do to assist church members who turn to them for guidance under stress? What are the first steps compassionate people can take to respond to individuals and families during a traumatic event?

This addition to the Smyth & Helwys Help! series is a collection of short, helpful responses to different crises, designed as a "first steps" guide for ministers and caregivers in a congregation. It assumes biblical principles and values for believers rendering first care. Resources for appropriate referral are mentioned at the end of each topic, and further reading is suggested for more extensive care. In each case we assume that the emergency caregiver is not an expert on the issue, but one who can direct hurting people to proper sources of care, coping, and help.

Topics covered include abortion, abuse, death and dying, guilt and shame, gender issues, hospitalization, imprisonment, birth defects, infertility, job loss, mental illness, panic-anxiety, rape, stress, and suicide. Suggestions are also made about how to listen attentively, how to use prayer and scripture in caregiving, and how to set realistic boundaries in ministry.

Daniel G. Bagby is the Theodore F. Adams Professor of Pastoral Care at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Son of missionary parents to Brazil, Dan is a graduate of Baylor University (B.A., M.S.) and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., Ph.D.). He has pastored for twenty-six years, served in two pastoral counseling centers, and as chaplain to a juvenile detention center and a women’s prison.