Pastors as Physicians of the Soul (original) (raw)
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Everyone Can Be Pastoral - Reflections On Soul Care
2023
Much has been (and will continue to be) said, written and practised over centuries with regards to pastoral service and shepherding. At its core, however, the heart of a pastor should beat for the care of souls. All pastors are called to soul care. In this paper, I reflect on how relevant these four tasks are in my own church context and explore how I might bring about changes where one or more of these tasks are not given due emphasis.
Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry
The Master's Seminary Journal, 1995
Current unbiblical changes beginning to overtake the church could injuriously mark the 21st century church if they continue unchecked. A growing number of respected evangelicals believe that the contemporary redirection of the church toward being less biblical and more acceptable to society will ultimately lead to a Christ-condemned church. However, by using Scripture to answer the questions "What is a pastor to be and do?" and "How can contemporary ministry be shaped by biblical mandates?", the church can be revived and obediently realign herself with God's revealed purposes for the bride of Christ. In this manner, it is possible to achieve a biblically balanced, complementing relationship between understanding God's will for the church, engaging in relevant pastoral ministry, and preparing a new generation of pastors for ministry as outlined by God's Word.
The Life of a Pastor: The Worker is as Important as the Work
The Life of a Pastor: The Worker is as Important as the Work, 2012
The purpose of this research paper is three-fold. Firstly, in order to familiarize you with basic reading content relating to the intricacies of the life of a pastor, this paper is drafted as an introductory research paper. Secondly, it seeks to identify the challenges a pastor typically faces. The scope is confined within three broad areas, namely, personal life, family life and ministry. Thirdly, it proposes strategies to help mitigate the various challenges so as to maintain a pastor’s overall well-being. This paper covers challenges arising from the pastor’s personal life, which include the calling into ministry, personal conduct and moral integrity, as well as personal spiritual growth. Those arising from the family life encompass relationships with the family, the spouse and the children while those arising from the ministry include stress, conflict and spiritual warfare. Having presented these challenges; strategies to overcome them are developed on the bases of the insights drawn both from the literature and pastors interviewed.
THE STORIED PASTOR: Pastoral Formation in the Narrative Mode
This paper addresses the question, "How does a person become a pastor?" The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear way forward for those who are intent on becoming pastors and for the Church looking for an approach that will form healthy pastors. By taking a narrative approach to pastoral formation, we recognize and utilize the mode in which people knowing and unknowingly live their daily lives. An awareness of this as well as an understanding of the Jesus story will produce men and women who will lead with a humble confidence that grows out of knowing the story they are in. This paper will acknowledge and describe the identity crisis that exists for those involved in the pastoral vocation and show how formation in a narrative mode can solve this crisis. This paper will evaluate the traditional approach of pastoral formation through seminary education and the primary curriculum of formation in seminary: Bible and
The Expository Times, 2013
The bifurcation of theological scholarship from pastoral ministry has led to a twofold problem in contemporary church/academy relations: the theological anemia of the church, and the ecclesial anemia of theology. This essay explores these twin problems and suggests that the way forward in bridging the gap between academy and church is to reunite the pastoral vocation with the vocation of the theologian. Toward this end, the essay offers a taxonomy of three contemporary models of the pastor-theologian, examining the strengths and limitations of each. Ultimately, the paper calls for a resurrection of an all but extinct, yet historically rooted model of the pastorate—the pastor as ecclesial theologian, and challenges the emerging generations of theologians to consider the pastorate as a viable context for their future theological scholarship.
The Emotional and Spiritual Dimensions of Being a Pastor: Authenticity and Identity
2011
Emotional labor and its influence on authenticity and identity amongst human service workers has been the focus of numerous studies. Often these studies viewed identity as a stable sense of self. This study set out to examine emotional labor amongst clergy and how it may differ from the emotional labor experienced in other occupations, with the premise that individuals have multiple identities that shift and change depending on the situational context. A thematic analysis of interviews conducted with twenty-seven clergy and a textual analysis of denominational/church texts was conducted to examine the following ideas: 1) how clergy negotiated tensions of authenticity and identity in their work; 2) how clergy described the spiritual and emotional dimensions of their work; 3) how denominational texts address issues of spiritual and emotional labor; and, 4) if clergy felt enabled and/or constrained by denominational standards and beliefs. The results of this study indicated that emotional and spiritual labor amongst clergy is unique for several reasons. One, the emotional labor clergy engaged in served a positive function because they see it as means of helping others. Second, clergy were iv aware that emotional labor was intrinsic to the job and they engaged in activities to preempt or manage the tension they felt when the job required them to mask their true feelings and display organizationally preferred feelings. Finally, clergy enjoyed the spiritual dimension of their jobs; thus they were engaged in spiritual work (authentic spirituality), not spiritual labor (inauthentic spirituality). Results also indicated that denominational texts did convey a preferred identity or ideal for how pastors should behave. Pastors indicated that the denominational expectations and guidelines for pastors both enabled and constrained them. The majority of the pastors felt the freedom to disagree civilly and the denomination/church provided venues in which pastors could communicate their dissenting views. However, in some cases, pastors felt the denominational guidelines for the-ideal pastor‖ were in conflict with how they saw their own role as pastor and they left the denomination. Results also revealed how pastors' identities shifted and changed as the context in which they were ministering changed. v DEDICATION Jeff and Schuyler vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Kathy, and my committee members, Barbara, Joel, and Jamie, for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research. Each of you challenged me to pursue excellence, and your feedback strengthened the project. I would like to extend a special thank you to Kathy whose patience, gentle redirection, encouragement, and kindness enabled me to push through those difficult moments. Thanks to my dad, mom, and sister who began this process with me. I so appreciate your encouragement, prayers, and support. And most importantly to the love of my life, Jeff, whom I met and married in the middle of this process and who has been my strength, support, and motivation for completing this process. I could never have made it through to the end without your love and encouragement. Thanks! Thanks also to my friends and colleagues, especially Jill Yamasaki, Rachel Jumper, Martha Shoemaker, and the department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not include a heartfelt thanks to all the interview participants. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these ministers through the interview process and hearing their stories. They are a unique set of individuals who have a strong commitment to God and who are willing to make many sacrifices to fulfill their calling as ministers. Thanks! vii
Many have written on the difficulties of pastoral ministry, backed by research into the demise of those who become discouraged in the work. These studies provide useful descriptions and helpful insights into the culture of ministry and how it might be changed. Much of this recent work, however, lacks deeper reflection on the biblical- theological themes that frame life in ministry and provide categories through which its difficulties must be understood. This article explores the framework for suffering in ministry through Paul’s letters, focusing on his correspondence with the Corinthians, with the aim of recovering the rich redemptive-historical narrative of ministry that is grounded in Christ’s death and resurrection.