The author's purpose in writing this book was to offer some guidance to those who give pastoral care to people who are dying. When we hear the word "pastoral," we may well be inclined to think it refers to the work of a minister. He is the one who, first and formost, does the work for a shepherd in the congregation he serves, and also in the hospital, and perhaps in the nursing home if he is a chaplain. Naturally, the author does not deny these things. But it is a mistake to limit the term "pastoral" to this kind of work. The kind of help he is talking about must be understook in a much broader range - it is part of th ecalling of every believer.
