I will discuss a number of motifs or
metaphors for pastoral care outlined in the subject “Foundations of Pastoral
Care” at Morling College which resonated with me, such as ‘the shepherd’, a
‘prophet’, a ‘fool or clown’, and ‘the wounded healer’.[1]
Sheep and shepherds are mentioned about 180
and 80 times (respectively) in the Bible.[2]
I think the reason why this motif is used so prevalently in pastoral care is
because at the same time as being so scriptural, it is true of many Christian’s
personal testimonies. “We all, like Sheep have going astray; we each have
turned to our own way” (Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 44:22; Romans 8:26; Peter 2:25).
This verse emphasises the propensity of Israel to stray. And so do us all when
we did not know Jesus. There is reference to the servant ruler in (53:7) “like
a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb.” At times
the Bible seems to suggest that the ruler of Israel is their shepherd (Numbers
27:16-17). Jesus associates himself with the shepherd. He tells the story of
the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7, Matthew 18: 12-24), which illustrates the gracious
love that seeks the one who has wandered away, a love that goes out of its way
and takes the trouble to bring back even the most wayward of sinners.[3]
The author of 1Peter expands on the
shepherd motif more than any other Epistle writer does. He asserts that the
Jesus is the shepherd and guardian of our souls (1Peter 5:1-5). His greatness
is profoundly linked with his preparedness to give his life for his sheep (1
Peter 2:25). The Lord’s capacity to guard his people in the face of difficulty
and persecution is part of his distinctive greatness. Those in pastor
leadership in local congregations are to imitate their Lord in the way they
care for God’s flock.[4]
Tidball[5]
discuss care that is ‘tough but tender’. I believe the shepherd is the best
motif to demonstrate pastoral care. As a carer we need to have a strong burden
for lost souls, and long lasting patience to care for people who are not
particularly pleasant or lovable, to persevere even when society attacks our
values, and to have the wisdom to exercise biblical informed discernment and
set appropriate boundaries so that we constantly reflect on what is the
underlying motivation or fuel that is driving us, and do not burn out or place
ourselves in situations where it is easy to fall into temptations.
Brueggemann[6]
suggests that there is a misunderstanding about the prophetic dimension of
Israel’s faith. The conservatives tend to make too much of the predictive
element, as though the prophets are forecasting, while the liberals tend to
understand the prophets primarily in terms of social action and righteous
indignation. Both have an element of truth: on one hand, the prophets do care
about the future, and they do believe that in the future, God will bring the
historical process to obedience. On the other hand, the prophets do care
intensely about the moral shape of society. As prophets understand it, society
consists in an organisation of social
power. This may refer variously to land, money, hardware, technology. The
organisation of social power is derived from and dependent on the management,
control and articulation of social
symbols that, in our day, may be understood as access to the media. The
organisation of social power and the administration of social symbols are
intimately linked together. The two together constitute a social system that orders, defines, values and legitimates all
life. It inclines to be effective at delivery of a “good life” for those who
participate in and support the system. Such support is given through a variety
of modes: political conformity, economic solidarity, ritual commonality, etc.[7]
‘The system’ works well for all those
who accept its definitions of reality, and “is the solution” for all social
needs and hopes.
However, the prophet’s task is to act as a destabilising presence, so that the
system is not equated with reality.[8]
Driven as they were by the call of God they saw that it was necessary for their
peers to understand that no social system is absolute, all societies need to be
critique. The critique is best done by persons who are informed about the
divine intention for human faith and life.[9]
Indeed, in my own experience, the contemporary society is full of competition
and is performance/achievement orientated. However, this is not the way of the
Kingdom, whereby Jesus is the authority over the Kingdom as the Messiah, and
the in breaking of God’s reign means dramatic reversal of oppressive situations
and unfortunate conditions as per the Beatitudes, which radically challenge
conventional thinking concerning how unjust conditions should be viewed and
remedied[10],
so as to inaugurate social structures that promote the prophetic vision of
justice and restore the shalom of
God's people fundamentally expresses God's kingship.[11]
Grenz[12]
states that Jesus demonstrates ideal humanity. Jesus’ teaching on the church
and the community of believers is prophetic (Matthew 16:13ff, Matthew 18:15-20;
John 14-16; 20: 19-23), because he spoke of his own Spirit who would invade and
make concrete the transformation of disciples' lives and relationships. Indeed,
pastoral carers should be anxious to see their peers actively concerned for
humility, justice, and hospitality to strangers and mercy as values that are
upheld and promoted within contemporary society.[13]
After all, we can see from the example of the parable of the wicked tenants
that Jesus has handed the kingdom of God to ‘a new nation’, ethnos, which is a term Peter later uses
in the context of the ‘stone’ passage to refer to the church (1Peter 2:9).[14]
And our role as the regenerated people in the kingdom of God means our lives
produce the fruit of righteousness (Matthew 5:20) and good works (Colossians
1:5-10), the fruit of the Spirit produced transformation of character (Galatians
5:21-24), and the fruit of new generations of disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) that
will bear witness to the reality of the kingdom on earth. So, looking at the
life and teaching of Jesus on the Kingdom, I agree with Brueggemann’s comment
that to suggest that there is a dichotomy of prophetic and pastoral is a
misunderstanding of both. In fact, instead of bringing the Kingdom out into the
community, I have observed some churches fall into the trap of bringing ‘the
system’ into the church and worshipping it as ‘the successful way’ of running a
church!
Sometimes people see Christians as ‘the
fool’, because we do not conform to the worldly view of ‘success’. In fact,
Tideball[15]
points out that Paul often uses the image of ‘fool’ to depict himself, for
example: receive me just as you would a fool (2 Corinthians 11:16), a ‘fool for
Christ’s sake’ (1 Corinthians 4:10), and later in 2 Corinthians 101-13 Paul is
actually delighted about being serving the Lord and thereby being designated a
‘fool’. Rather than calculating success based on numbers (eg. the amount of
money, the score, the number of people, the number of diplomas/certificates
etc.), the Christian life is relational. The author of Galatians stresses that
Christian life is relational and community based in a Christ centred fellowship
where there is active mutual care of members. Caring for others is incompatible
with a bloated self-importance[16]:
the heart of pastoral care is not ‘shop-keeping’ but ‘shepherding’. In fact,
God sometimes place people in our lives who frustrates us so much that we feel
we are throwing our energies into a black hole and nothing is happening.
Therefore I sometimes try to remind myself that spiritual growth itself is a
slow process for everyone including myself[17],
so I should also be more patient with others. After all, pastoral care is not
about my personal gains or my personal sense of achievement. As Christians, we
are all in the process of learning about the ‘unconditional love’ of Christ,
which is often seen as foolish in society.
On the motif of the pastor as ‘the wounded
healer’, Nouwen[18]
describes that we live in a society in which loneliness has become one of the
most painful human wounds. When it comes to pastoral care, no minister can
offer help for others without a constant and vital acknowledgement of his or
her own experiences.[19]
In my own life I find this to be true. It is hard for me to understand the pain
of others unless I have been through the same pains, and it is not convincing
for me to tell others what to do when I have not experienced the same things as
they did. However, Nouwen also warns against the tendency to misuse the concept
of the wounded healer by defending a form of spiritual exhibitionism. For
example, when the minister makes remarks such as “don’t worry because I suffer
from the same depression, confusion and anxiety as you do”, it helps no one.[20]
Instead of wearing their wounds as badges, ministers should realise that they
suffer from the same predicaments of life as those whom they seek to serve.[21]
How does healing take place? Many words, such as care and compassion,
understanding and forgiveness, fellowship and community, have been used for the
healing task of the Christian minister. Nouwen sums these up into the word
‘hospitality’.[22] Messer[23]
states that compassion is out of style in many parts of the world today when
the predominant attitude often seems to be “what is in for me?” Bleeding heart is a term applied to any
person who thinks the government should care for “the least of these” in
society.
Nouwen[24]
describes that ministry is a very confronting service. It does not allow people
to live with illusions of immortality and wholeness. It keeps reminding others
that they are mortal and broken, but also that with the recognition of this
condition, liberation starts. To be a wounded healer, one must affirm and
accept one’s own life story. Along with the happiness of life come heartaches;
with triumphs and success come temptations and scars.[25]
No minister can save anyone. He or she can only offer him or herself as a guide
to fearful people. This creates a unity based on the shared confession of our
basic brokenness and on a shared hope.[26]
Suffering makes some strong but others callous, bitter, insensitive, and
defeated. In contrast, the wounded healer accepts life’s struggles and
suffering, “making friends with pain,” and draws from the well of life’s triumphs
and tragedies the healing waters that flow from the divine spring within each
of us.[27]
I agree that wholeness and perfection is an
illusion in this fallen world. In fact, I find it harder to turn to God when
everything is smooth sailing. I cry out to God for help when I realise my
limitations and vulnerability. For example, the sudden passing away of my
father in 2013 made me revaluate my relationship with my father and realise the
shallowness of it. It made me realise our communications tended to be
task-orientated. This event made me slow my pace down and treasure my
interpersonal relationships more. This event shifted my life direction as I
wanted to avoid making the same mistake again. My focus started shifting onto
building relationships, especially the relationship with my mother, which
subsequently led to her faith in Christ and baptism. Although I have learned a
lot from this life event, my relational skills have constant room for improvements. I have no magic solution for anything, but I believe I can empathetically
walk alongside people who experienced similar events and share about how I
coped with it.
Messer[28]
believes it is the earthquakes that shake our existence which force us to take
a new outlook of life. At such times we may realise how much we need a
supportive community of the compassionate. Ideally, this is Christ’s community,
the church. Unfortunately sometimes this very body has been the least compassionate.
Too often the story of the church has been rejection of those who have ‘fallen’
in the eyes of the community. Grace is not an abstract theological doctrine,
but where we know what it means to be alienated and then forgiven. Effective
ministry means to enter the lament of the prophet Jeremiah, “for the wound… of
my people is my heart wounded”.[29]
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “whom you would change, you must first
love”.[30]
In response to this statement, I find it very important to constantly remind
myself not to fall into a ‘works-based narrative’ where love and forgiveness
are viewed as commodities that are exchanged for performance.[31]
After all, wounded healers are ministers who reach out to the broken people
Jesus came to save.[32]
Summary:
Shepherd
l There’s a propensity for people to
go astray like sheep, so the shepherd needs to have gracious love for lost
souls.
l A preparedness to give his/her
life for the sheep, guarding people in the face of persecution.
Prophet
l A destabilising presence, driven
by the call of God, they saw the necessity for their peers to understand that
no social system is absolute and all societies need to be critique.
l Jesus, who is prophetic, spoke of
his own Spirit who would invade and make concrete the transformation of
disciples' lives and relationships.
Fool
l Do not conform to the worldly view
of success.
l Shepherds rather than shopkeepers,
focusing on relationships rather than numbers.
The wounded
healer
l Constant and vital acknowledgement
of his/her own experiences, in order to act as guides for others only, as no minister can
save anyone.
l A “bleeding heart” for the least
fortunate in society.
l Grace: to know what it means to be
alienated and then forgiven. “Whom you would change, you must first love”.
The long view
It helps, now and then, to step back and
take a long view.
The fullness of the kingdom is not only
beyond our single efforts; it is even beyond our narrow vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny
fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's
mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes
everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that
they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further
development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond
our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a
sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do
it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the
rest.
We may never see the end results, but that
is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
AMEN
by Bishop
Ken Untener of Saginaw, 1979
Bibliography:
Bruce, F. The Epistle of Paul to the
Galatians. Exeter: Paternoster, 1982.
Brueggemann, Walter. “The Prophet as a
Destabilizing Presence.” In The Pastor as
Prophet, edited by Earl E. Shelp and Ronald Sunderland, 49-77. New York:
Pilgrim Press, 1985.
Cole,
Jr A.H. “What Makes Care Pastoral?”. Pastoral
Psychology 59, no. 6 (2010): 711-23.
Gerkin, Charles V. “Earlier Chapters in an Old Story.” In An Introduction to Pastoral Care, 23-51.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.
Grenz, Stanley J. “Our Nature as Persons Destined for
Community.” In Theology for the Community
of God, 151-80. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000.
Laniak, Timothy S. “Shepherds in the Ancient World.” In
Shepherds after My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions
and Leadership in the Bible. New Studies in Biblical Theology, 42-57.
Downers Grove, Ill.: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2006.
Messer, Donald E. “Wounded Healers in a Community of
the Compassionate.” In Contemporary Images
of Christian Ministry, 81-96. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989.
Moodle. “PC603 – Pastoral Skills and Methods:
Pre-reading from PC602.” Accessed July 24, 2015. http://morlingcollege.trainingvc.com.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=54735.
Nouwen, Henri J. M. “Introduction.” In The Wounded Healer; Ministry in Contemporary
Society, 81-96. Garden City, N.Y.,: Doubleday, 1972.
Russell, Michael, “An integration of Biblical
anthropology and neuropsychology and its implications for Christian education
and discipleship”, College Station, Texas (unpublished), 2002.
Smith, James Bryan. The Good and Beautiful God. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2010.
Stairs, Jean. “A Comparative Summary.” In Listening for the Soul: Pastoral Care
and Spiritual Direction, 189. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.
Tidball, Derek. “The Writings of John.” In Skilful Shepherds: An Introduction to
Pastoral Theology, 78-98. Leicester: IVP, 1986.
Tidball, Derek. Builders and Fools. Leicester: IVP,
1999.
Wang, Ying-fan Yvonne. Dr Yvonne Wang’s Blabberings. Last
modified July 28, 2015. http://dryvonnewang.blogspot.com.au.
Wilkins, Michael J. Matthew: The NIV application commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2004.
[1]“PC603 – Pastoral Skills and Methods: Pre-reading from PC602,” Moodle,
accessed July 24, 2015.
http://morlingcollege.trainingvc.com.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=54735.
[5]Derek Tidball, Builders and Fools, (Leicester: IVP, 1999), 138-143.
A good listener, to have clear boundaries to do with respect for persons, straightforward
honesty and grace. Tough pastoral care comes into place when the carer
exercises biblical informed discernment.
[6]Walter Brueggemann. “The Prophet as a Destabilizing Presence,” In The Pastor as Prophet, ed. Earl E. Shelp
and Ronald Sunderland, (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1985), 49.
[9]“PC603 – Pastoral Skills and Methods: Pre-reading from PC602.”
[10]Chouinard, “The kingdom of God,” 238.
[11]Chouinard, “The kingdom of God,” 236.
[12]Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans 2000), 282. Jesus is the revelation of humanness as intended by God.
He was and is what each of us is designed to be and what God intends, even
destines us to become.
[13]“PC603 – Pastoral Skills and Methods: Pre-reading from PC602.” The
spirit would empower the believing community to focus its worship on Jesus. The
Spirit would enable the church to be a community of belief that would be a
bridgehead into the new transformed world that would ultimately come into being
at the return of Jesus. (Mark 13, Matthew 23).
[15] Derek H. Tidball, Builders and Fools, (Leicester: InterVarsity
1999), 71-86.
[16]F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, (Exeter:
Paternoster, 1982), 153. In this injunction there is no suggestion of
paternalism but of proactive care that is genuine and gentle.
[17]Paul Goodliff, Pastoral Care in a Confused Climate. (London: Darton,
Longman and Todd 1995), 10. Pastoral care is the ‘healing, sustaining, guiding,
personal/societal formation and reconciling of persons and their relationships
to family and community by representative Christian persons (ordained or lay),
and by their faith communities’.
[18]Henri J. M. Nouwen, “Introduction,” in The Wounded Healer; Ministry in Contemporary Society, (Garden City,
N.Y.,: Doubleday, 1972), 83.
[19]Nouwen, “Introduction,” 88.
[20]Nouwen, “Introduction,” 88.
[22]Nouwen, “Introduction,” 88-89.
[23]Donald E. Messer, “Wounded Healers in a Community of the
Compassionate.” In Contemporary Images of
Christian Ministry, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989), 83.
[24]Nouwen, “Introduction,” 93.
[26]Nouwen, “Introduction,” 93.
