Spiritual Formation in Local Faith Communities

A Whole-Person, Prompt-Card Approach

Neil Pembroke, Ewan Kelly, Theo Pleizier, William S. Schmidt, Jan-Albert van den Berg

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781666713756, 9781666713763
• eBook ISBN: 9781666713770
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Spiritual formation in our local churches is too often poorly done or it is virtually nonexistent. We developed this innovative approach to spiritual formation in the congregation because it is desperately needed. The prompt cards are used to spark deep reflection and shape potentially life-transforming conversations with a pastor around spiritual practices, spiritual character, personal and social ethics, and emotional well-being. The model was trialed in five countries. We heard time and time again how the six-week process fired a passion to go deeper with Christ. Some reported praying regularly for the first time in decades. Others found the Scriptures coming alive after years of "going through the motions." In this book, the authors present a simple but powerful method and offer in-depth theological reflection on related issues. Some of the important areas covered are early church approaches to spiritual formation, contemporary spiritual practices, spiritual character, the indissoluble link between spirituality and moral virtue, the spirituality of the pastor, and the positive psychology approach.

1

A Contemporary Paradigm with Historical Roots

The Pastor as Spiritual, Psychological, and Moral Guide

In this opening chapter, we discuss the pastoral functions of spiritual, psychological, and moral guidance. With this chapter we establish the foundation for the project and present important markers that anchor further perspectives presented in the ensuing chapters.

Key to the description of the project is the view of the pastor as guide on the believer’s holistic journey of formation in the Christian life.18 The research project not only identifies the spiritual, psychological, and moral dimensions of pastoral care, but also how these integrated fields are directly associated with spiritual growth and development in the Christian life.

This first chapter not only serves as background to the research project, but also as an introduction to the various chapters in the book that focus in more detail on specific aspects of the proposed method.19 In this chapter and as background orientation, we present the following: a brief sketch of the development of pastoral care, perspectives on the identity of the pastor, and the nature of spiritual, psychological, and moral guidance.

Against this background, the philosophy behind the project differs from the common understanding of pastoral care as associated with crisis and assistance in dealing with different existential issues in life.20 From the start, the project focuses on how pastoral care can create room for facilitating the development of the Christian life, with the emphasis on the pastor as spiritual, psychological, and moral guide. It must be understood that this chapter’s focus, and indeed also that of the entire book, is precisely not on the professional task of the pastoral therapist dealing with the healing of life in all its dimensions. The concentration is rather on the task of the local pastor who facilitates pastoral care with the aim of the positive development of the spiritual and personal life of the members of the community of faith.

To further specify this aim, we believe that in pastoral care the Bible and the Christian spiritual and moral heritage in general need to be integrated into the ministry. Further, we affirm that pastoral work is the joint responsibility of the pastor and the community of faith; the faith community supports the individual’s spiritual journey of healing, growth, and transformation.

Consonant with the aim of this chapter of orientation to the project and its undergirding philosophy, a concise history of the development of pastoral care is presented in the following sub-section. We aim to point up clear resonance with elements in our own approach.

Sketching the Development of Pastoral Care

To begin, we present a couple of orienting perspectives. The word “pastoral” in the term “pastoral care” derives from the Latin pastorem, the shepherd, with the connotation of caring for the defenceless and their needs.21 In addition, this care has a communal orientation. The chief meaning of “care” in “pastoral care” implies the care and guidance of the congregation on all levels, originally specifically referring to Jewish and Christian communities of faith.22 We provide here a short overview of the history of pastoral care as a primary task of religious leadership. This is followed by a concise reflection on the recent development of pastoral care as a discipline.

A (Very) Brief Historical Overview

The practice of pastoral care, of course, is not restricted to the Jewish and Christian faiths; it also refers to designated care in the context of other traditions, including the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu faith traditions.23 It is important, however, for the introduction to this project to highlight the Christian orientation, as clearly pointed out in both the First and Second Testaments, with Jesus’ ministry significantly portrayed through the metaphor of the Good Shepherd.24

Pastoral ministry can be traced back to earliest Christianity.25 The Apostle Paul is clearly practicing pastoral care when he writes to his faith communities to offer theological, pastoral, and spiritual guidance and support. Gregory of Nazianzus views pastoral ministry, the cure of souls, as “the art of arts and the science of sciences.”26 For Gregory, pastoral work is inextricably linked to God’s dealing with humankind in and through Christ. The foundation of the pastoral ministry is the virtue and sanctity of the priest, the mediator of Christ’s grace. This idea was shared by other Church Fathers such as Ambrose of Milan and John Chrysostom. The character of the priest is absolutely central in his pastoral work, which is focused on both the spiritual and the moral dimensions of the Christian life.27 Gregory observes that in seeking to cure the sick souls in his care, the priest needs to “diagnose” each one’s condition and administer the appropriate remedy, just as a physician diagnoses a bodily sickness in order to prescribe the correct treatment.28 John Chrysostom also uses a medical metaphor in discussing pastoral care. The pastor is the “physician of the soul”: “Bestowing attention and tender care, by trying every means of amendment, in imitation of the best physicians, for neither do they cure in one manner only, but when they see the wound not yield to the first remedy, they add another, and after that again another; and now they use the knife, and now bind up. And do thou accordingly, having become a physician of souls . . . ”29 Augustine’s pastoral ministry was of a different order. His doctrinal theology can be viewed as a form of pastoral care. He offers perspectives for a moral, righteous, and worthy Christian life.

Barbara McClure helpfully reviews different epochs in the development of pastoral care. 30 After surveying the early periods as we have done, she notes that in the Middle Ages pastoral care acquired a strong sacramental character, with baptism, the Eucharist, confession, and the last rites providing spiritual uplift, inspiration, healing, challenge, and comfort. This changed during the Reformation, with the emphasis on reconciliation rather than on the sa...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: A Contemporary Paradigm with Historical Roots
• Chapter 2: Spiritual Guidance
• Chapter 3: The Model in Transcultural and Contextual Perspective
• Chapter 4: The Ministry Agent
• Chapter 5: Spiritual Perspectives on Formation
• Chapter 6: Spiritual Practices Supporting Formation
• Chapter 7: Spiritual Character and the Shaping of the Soul
• Chapter 8: Connecting with a Contemporary Perspective
• Chapter 9: Virtue and Spirituality
• Chapter 10: Revisions
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Appendix E
• Bibliography