"… what really counts is that in moments of pain and suffering someone stays with us. More important than any particular action or word of advice is the simple presence of someone who cares." (Henri Nouwen)

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal 6:2)

I was a youth minister on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon when these words began to make an indelible impact on me. Amidst the joys of being involved with youth in ministry I became aware of the intense pain and suffering of some of the students and their families, and I began to long to know how to be helpful. This was the beginning of the passion that drives my teaching … a desire to understand the historic soul care ministry of the church and the current resources available in the mental health fields, and to prepare students to be able to utilize these in their ministry.

My wife Sydney and I have two boys (Mitchel, 9, and Matthew, 5), a baby girl (Skyler, born on July 29, 2004), and our greatest joys include bike rides, swimming, and any time we can spend playing together outdoors at HoneyRock, the Northwoods Campus of Wheaton College.

• CE 234 Foundations of Youth Ministry
• CE 322 Human Development and Ministry
• CFM 681 Integrative Seminar
• CFM 515 Nature and Development of Persons
• CFM 522 Spiritual Formation II: History
• CFM 534 Care & Counseling in Ministry
• CFM 631 Youth Ministry
• BITH 623 History of Pastoral Care
• (Click here to view department syllabi--past and current.)

• American Psychological Association
• Christian Association of Psychological Studies
• North American Professors of Christian Education
• Youth Ministry Educators

Manuscripts and Publications:

• Yarhouse, M.A., Butman, R.E., & McRay, B.W. (under contract). Modern psychopathologies: Psychopathology through the eyes of faith. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• Meek, K.R., McMinn, M.R., Brower, C.M., Burnett, T.D., McRay, B.W., Ramey, M.L., Swanson, D.W., & Villa, D.D. (in press). Maintaining personal resiliency: Lessons learned from evangelical protestant clergy.
• Dunkelblau, E., McRay, B., & McFadden, M. (2001). “Funny ... you don’t sound like a supervisor!”: The use of humor in psychotherapy supervision. In W.A. Salameh & W.F. Fry, Jr. (Eds.), Humor and Wellness in Clinical Intervention. (pp. 221-235), West Port, CT: Praeger Publishers.
• McRay, B.W., McMinn, M.R., Wrightsman, K.R., Burnett, T.D., & Ho, S.D. (2001). What Evangelical pastors want to know about psychology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 29 (2), 99-105.
• McRay, B.W., McMinn, M.R., & Meek, K.R. (1998). Questioning the "slippery slope": Ethical beliefs and behaviors of private office- and church-based therapists. Counseling and Values, 42(2), 142-150
• McMinn, M.R., & McRay, B.W. (1997). Spiritual disciplines and the practice of integration: Possibilities and challenges for Christian psychologists. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25(1), 101-109.
• McMinn, M. R., Meek, K. R., & McRay, B.W. (1997). Beliefs and behaviors among CAPS members regarding ethical issues. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 16(1), 18-35.

Select Presentations:

• McRay, B.W. (2003, March), Youth ministry as soul care, and Caring for the souls of hurting teenagers.  Seminars presented at the Get Real one day training conference of Metro Chicago Youth for Christ. Wheaton, IL.
• McMinn, M.R., McRay, B.W., Ramey, M., Swanson, D., & Villa, D., (2002, October). Learning from those who thrive in ministry: Implications for training, supervision, and care of youth ministers. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Association of Youth Ministry Educators. San Diego, CA.
• McMinn, M.R., Ramey, M., Swanson, D., Villa, D., & McRay, B.W. (2002, April). Lessons learned from exemplar clergy. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. Arlington Heights, IL.