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From Trauma to Triumph: Josh Clink on Pastoral Health, Counseling, and Soul Care – Episode 326
From Trauma to Triumph: Josh Clink on Pastoral Health, Counseling, and Soul Care – Episode 326
On today’s 95Podcast, Dale Sellers sits down with Josh Clink to discuss his journey from unexpected pastoral leadership at age 26 through the aftermath of moral failure, COVID-19 burnout, compassion fatigue, and seven miscarriages—and how biblical counseling, spiritual formation, and anchored hope restored him. Josh shares practical pathways for pastors facing trauma, depression, anxiety, father wounds, and isolation, plus how CCEF equips small churches with counseling referrals, intensives, consultations, and the new Biblical Counseling for Pastors course.
Josh is the Counseling Manager and a counselor at CCEF. He holds a master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and is working on his Doctorate of Education in Biblical Counseling from SEBTS. He is ordained by North Wake Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC.
Prior to CCEF, Josh served as a pastor at FBC Afton in Afton, NY, for over seven years. He is passionate to see God reach down into the broken and hard moments of people’s lives to provide hope and healing. Josh has been married to his wife, Stephanie, since May 2014. He enjoys a fresh cup of coffee, cheering on his favorite sports teams, playing volleyball, working on cars, and fishing.
Links to Resources Mentioned or Related
- Website: Anchored Virtual
- Website: CCEF.org
- CCEF Course For Pastors
- CCEF Monthly Newsletter For Pastors
- CCEF Counseling Referrals
- CCEF Weekly Newsletter
- Email Josh
- Easter Devotional From Fishhook
- Link to NEW! Soul Care Essentials Online: 3-Session Video Series
- Link to NEW! Soul Care Essentials Cohort: 6 Weeks of Guided Conversations for Post-Conference Groups
- 95Network – Soul Care Essentials
- 95Network – Healthy Church Assessment
- Read Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There By Now
- Watch Podcast on YouTube
Key Takeaways
- Trauma layers; it doesn’t replace itself. Unprocessed pastoral trauma from moral failure, COVID-19, conflict, or personal loss compounds beneath the surface until the “floor caves out.”
- Compassion fatigue is real. When you spend more of yourself than you receive in fellowship, community, and care, anger and resentment toward people’s needs signal soul depletion.
- Father wounds shape your view of God. Naming what your earthly father couldn’t provide—and connecting those unmet desires to Scripture—reveals how your Heavenly Father has been meeting those needs all along.
- The personal God gets personal with us. Biblical counseling explores the active, desiring heart beneath behavior and connects it to Christ’s finished work and the Spirit’s present ministry.
- Pastors don’t have to carry counseling alone. Small churches can build sustainable care through referrals, elder accountability, lay-counselor training, and specialist partnerships (like CCEF).
- Recovery requires multiple supports. Prayer + therapy + accountability + practical safeguards + community—not one alone—create the “wall” between you and the struggle.
- Rest is a discipline, not a luxury. Taking a literal day off every week is foundational to making good decisions and sustaining long-term ministry.
- Help is available and affordable. CCEF’s counseling, consultations, and Biblical Counseling for Pastors cohort provide accessible, faith-rooted care tailored to the realities of small churches.
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