Page 2 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7

Editorial

Editorial

About five years ago, I was in a car on a journey to the Netherlands. The
remarkable thing was that Eric Johnson, President of the Society for Chri-
stian Psychology, USA, was sitting beside me and that each of us was wor-
king on his manuscript on a Christian psychology. Together with our wi-
ves, we wanted to travel to the roots of Eric‘s family, which went back to
Holland, and we had declared the car’s backseat to be our office.

In 1986, at the founding of IGNIS, the German Society for Christian Psy-
chology, it was hardly imaginable that a collaboration of this kind could
develop at some point, and, even today, I see it as a great blessing, but also
as a sign that, in the meantime, Christian psychology has really become
an important concern internationally. werner.may@ignis.de

As a result, I was able to set off on a journey to Canada (at my writing desk) around nine months ago
to plan this number. I did not yet know exactly what kind of adventure I might be letting myself in for
and began by making contact with some „old“ names I was familiar with. That was my starting point
in this large country in which, in the course of the months, more and more pearls began to shine
through, taking me as far as Vietnam.

I would not like to claim that I have now explored Canada, not even in relation to the question of how
the force-field between psychology and faith has developed there and presents itself today. My insight
into the history and into the current situation in the country, including specifically the whole field of
psychology there, is too limited and my personal contacts are too few. My only „Canadian“ encounter
was with James Houston and Bruce Hindmarsh of Regent College in California at the end of 2013.
(Here you can listen to “ The Glory of a Human Being Truly Alive - James Houston and Bruce Hind-
marsh on Christian Psychology” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvs4vdUzvqU)

I must say that I am very glad to have had the privilege of collecting the various contributions by
Canadian colleagues and brothers and sisters in faith, providing emphases that I have not found in
this form in the other countries which have left their stamp on the previous numbers of the e-journal
Christian Psychology Around The World.

And I would like to point to the contributions from around the world in the forum on a central topic
of Christian psychology: “Guidance through the Holy Spirit during the counseling or therapy sessi-
on: blessings and problems”.

Thanks to everyone for this splendid number.

Werner May, Germany

This edition is accompanied by the
artwork of Michael O’Brien. He is the
author of twenty-eight books and since
1970 he has also worked as a professio-
nal artist and has had more than 40 ex-
hibits across North America.
“In all my work I seek to contribute to
the re storation of Christian culture. I
try to express the holiness of existence
and the dignity of the human person
2
situated in an incarnational uni verse.”