Grace Moment by Moment-monthly column
A Theological and Practical Approach to Pastoral Care
A Better Understanding of Pastoral Care
Over the course of this class, I have listened, observed, processed and absorbed what I believe God is saying to me concerning the ministry of pastoral care. That is, in order to stand for Him, be His Light and His physical presence I must do so in participation with other believers. Alone, I am weakened, divided within and without, my actions on behalf of Him, become superficial and inefficient. When united, arm-in-arm with other believers near and far, the support structure put in place by God, holds up the weaker members, and equals, then multiplies, the output of all.
If one member resists God’s leading, that person jeopardizes not only themselves but everyone around them, by succumbing to the very darkness they were initially fighting. This domino effect inflicts collateral damage that can make the whole structure weaken.
For example, I counseled a lady named Tara during a time she experienced ill health and depression. Initially, she tried to hide, and then denied what was going on. When confronted through several people (myself included) with the Sovereign reality of God’s love, she acted out and became defensive. Still, people continued to pray and encourage her. There was a point in her struggles with health issues where she landed flat on her back in bed, too sick to move. At that time she repented and God brought back part of her health, for which she praises Him. But she still has doubts, broken trust issues, and some residual resistance to God’s leading, due in part to a perceived delay of God’s promise to restore her health completely. She like all of us, continually battles with the darkness as it seeks to deepen its hold through unhealthy bad habits, or erratic, questioning behavior. The only way victory over the darkness can be achieved is by realizing the most crucial truth—spiritual growth is a lifetime process—it does not happen over night.
The Lifetime Process of Pastoral Care
There are several key ingredients in this process. Trust, vulnerability, and compassion are essential building blocks for the foundation of a pastoral care ministry. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (NKJV).
Trusting in God for everything is paramount for a Christian’s walk, as much for the spiritual growth and development of Christ-likeness, as for anything else. Showing vulnerability with each other, ourselves and God is scary and filled with risks. Examples of these risks include the fears of rejection by God and others, facing the unknown without firm ground to stand on or engaging battle with the Enemy while wondering if someone’s covering your back. There is also the experience of enduring ridicule, for standing up for God’s Word against the mainstream of a pervasive and antagonistic society, which is bent on conformity to an individualistic mindset; rather than a radical embracing of group unity through Christ-like characteristics. This same spiritual culture clash frowns upon caring and showing compassion for others more than oneself.
Eugene Peterson in his book, The Contemplative Pastor, states that “Grace is everywhere” (3).
However, people today are confused by the muddled, distorted representation of God’s Grace that they witness revealed through Christians everyday. So many Christians say one thing, but live a lie-based demonstration of faith that it leaves unchurched, and unreached people (and other Christians, too!) uneasy and wary. Sometimes, this misrepresentation gets so bad that they and other people easily become hardened bitter shells, rather than reflect who Christ wants them to be.
That is why I like what Peterson wrote about the lifetime process of pastoral care. He said, “There are long stretches of darkness and invisibility and silence that separate planting and reaping” (Contemplative Pastor, 3). It’s the same for spiritual growth. Often, we believe if we get the intellectual message that a particular lesson takes time to learn, we will have completed the spiritual growth process for that lesson. I could only wish it were that simple! In reality, God applies a real physical experience to entrench the spiritual lesson more firmly in our hearts and soul. It is not until both “head lesson” and “heart application” come together that we truly participate in the spiritual growth process. This spiritual connection will take as much time as God deems necessary, not a moment less or more! I’ve seen this happen and experienced it many times personally. When His Will clashes with our will, and our wants and desires interfere with His plans for us, the spiritual growth process can be delayed and stunted for years.
Conclusion
Going back to Tara, the lady I mentioned earlier. While her physical health has stabilized, she now believes that the physical source has been identified, God will swoop in and rescue her restoring her back to full health. He still could. However, she is unwilling to accept that God may desire to use this physical challenge as a way to teach her to trust and rely on Him for everything she needs, even if He chooses not to heal her. This health issue could be her “thorn in the flesh” like something else was for Paul (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). Regardless of whether or not He does heal her, and chooses to providentially step in or not, we know God keeps His Word. He cannot do otherwise or He would not be God. He is faithful, all-present, all-knowing. He sees what we do not. Surrendering ourselves to His Will and authority means accepting life as He knows we need it. With absolute confidence, we must believe He will continue the process of spiritual growth, until He calls us home to be with Him.
Works Cited
The Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers. TN: Nashville, 1984.
Cloud, Dr. Henry and Townsend, Dr. John. How People Grow: What the Bible Reveals about Personal Growth. Zondervan. MI: Grand Rapids, 2001.
Peterson, Eugene H. The Contemplative Pastor. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing. MI: Grand Rapids, 1989.
What Is Ministry?
Ministry isn’t just turning the other cheek
it is speaking up, too
so that those who seek
the Truth, can see Christ reflected through me and you!
Ministry then, is breaking the cycle of abuse
by choosing to act
in order to defuse
the potential of a more violent attack.
By setting a chain of events into motion
the value of life is honored, and fear gives way to peace
freeing the Spirit of less cumbersome emotions
oh, what sweet release!
Hope defers despair,
acknowledges pain
and surrenders the green-eyed monster of self to another’s care.
A taste of humble pie is acquired and this sweetens the refrain.
Ministry is a voice that speaks out
for those who are without a voice
and vanquishes concerns or doubts
this was the wisest course, for there are always consequences for every poor choice.
Peace,
moves in to replace
fear’s stranglehold! Oh, what sweet release!
By not getting what we deserve; this offers praise to God for His Grace!
Written by:
Belle Anne Leslie
Written on:
April 23, 2008
Scripture References:
Matthew 25: 31-46; Romans 6:23;
Romans 8:28 & Ephesians 2:8-9
About Me
- Belle Anne Leslie
- I love to write poetry, fiction, non-fiction and feature articles!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
What is Pastoral Care Ministry?, Part One
Grace Moment by Moment-monthly column
A Theological and Practical Approach to Pastoral Care
Introduction:
A wise pastor recently shared this counsel with me. He said, “If you want to have a pastoral care ministry, get into line at a grocery store, cinema complex or baseball stadium. Watch, see and listen to the people around you; before you know it, God will open doors of communication so that you can walk through them and be in the center of His plan for your life” (Pastor Warren Kirkwood).
As I lived, breathed, and applied the principles the Professor shared these past few weeks, I’ve come to understand that pastoral care and counseling, if it is what God is calling you to do, will become a natural extension of your faithwalk with Him. It doesn’t matter to God if you have a ministry degree or doctorate, whether you are a pastor, shepherd and/or spiritual director with all kinds of accreditation. So long as you love God, and submit your will and life to His leading, He will guide you on the path He has called you to walk. All we have to do is trust Him as the ultimate “Source of everything, be vulnerable and open without duplicity and without brokenness or breach, and be willing to live life [fully] in submission to God” (People Grow, Cloud & Townsend, 29-31).
What Pastoral Care Means to Me
The first images that God brings to mind when I think of how this class has shaped my view of pastoral care is Matthew 25:31-46, and Acts 2:42-47. These Scripture passages sum up what I believe is Jesus’ definition of the ministry of pastoral care. If we are to love people the way God loves and sees them, unconditionally, we must first “love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, NKJV). By keeping who we serve in mind at all times, we can (hopefully!) maintain a balance in our lives, ministry and family. Failure to do that will sabotage, and dilute the Holy Spirit’s work within and through us, personally and professionally.
Another image that God brings to mind to shape my view of pastoral care is the people in this class. Over the course of the last seven weeks, we, as a loosely knit team have supported, prayed, encouraged, counseled, and loved each other. Team-wise, we are an extension of Christ’s Love to His body, the church. I saw this time and again, first with Ted, and his situation involving consequences for the poor choices he made before he reconciled with God. To Alicia, and her family with the choices forced upon her by her husband’s increasingly irrational behavior. Then me last week as several friends and classmates witnessed unpredictable behavior by another student who believes I did her wrong. The truth of that mess is better left for God, the police, and campus security to deal with. The point is, though the situations were all different, the gifts God used through each of us ministered God’s grace to the myriad needs expressed.
Prayer Makes All the Difference
The instant I realized the danger of the situation I was in, I immediately went to the bathroom, called my family and friends and asked for prayer. God also brought to mind key people who were fellow students attending class that night that I knew were prayer warriors/intercessors, who I asked to pray for me. At the beginning of class, I made the same unspoken request of my classmates and the Professor, and they too lifted me up in prayer. Though I still continued, physically, to look over my shoulder to make sure no one was approaching me unawares, spiritually, I was confident God was interceding on my behalf. When it came time to go home, I was relieved. I knew or thought at least, I’d be safe in my apartment. However, when I got home I found another message on my voicemail from the person I had dealt with earlier at school. I had a hard time sleeping that night.
The next morning, my sister called to check on me and in the course of the conversation, told me what God had revealed to her the night before, when I asked her to pray. She said, “Immediately after going to prayer God revealed to me I was to pray for your safety. He impressed on me your life was in danger.” She had no idea why God impressed such an urgency on her spirit until I shared with her the details of what had happened at school, and when I returned home the previous night.
Needless to say, I was shook up. Ever since then I’ve been wrestling with the demon of fear, and my physical reaction to such. My mind, heart and soul understand I am held in the palm of God’s hand, and He will protect and shield me. However, calming my body’s instinctive, natural tendency to alternately hide and/or fight has been tough.
The one thing I know that has made all the difference is the reassurance that people are praying for me. This reassurance has given me the courage to speak up about it, first to Loretta, then more recently to the police, and campus security. I’ve found that this courage comes not from the absence of fear, but prayer in the midst of it. Like the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the Day of Jesus Christ.”
So, what began as a physical reaction to fear has turned into a spiritual expression of Truth. Chiefly, that God knows “you are all partakers of grace with me” (Phil.1:7-11).
I am not afraid of what will happen to me so long as I know other Christians join in a concert of prayer on my behalf; I will stand by faith in God’s Grace until the day he calls me home to be with Him. I will stand, therefore, girded in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), prepared to battle Evil and spiritual darkness, and the rulers of this world, not in my own strength but in Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil. 4:13).
The Full Armor of God:
Weapons of War to Defend God’s Light
Resistance to God’s Will rather than surrendering our own
builds a wall between us rather than a bridge to our Celestial home.
If we are to fight the Darkness with the power of God’s might
we must turn instead to the weapons of the Light.
Do not be afraid to speak the Truth
in love, even when it hurts; this strengthens the weak and bolsters the youth.
The choices we make in life count for something
if we honor Christ, otherwise they cause us and those we love, harm for nothing.
If we walk the pathway of life led by God
we will spread the Good News of His Peace all across this sod.
With the shield of faith held aloft to blunt the insidious arrows of the Evil One
we will conquer the Enemy’s mental tape recorder of our faults one by one.
Each time we go to battle stations
we proclaim victory through God’s Salvation
by using God’s Word
as the Spirit’s Sword.
When we combine these weapons of Light with prayer
We behold a vision of God’s Power that is beyond compare!
For if we remain united in Christ, we will stand, but if we become divided we fall
victim to the very Darkness we are called to fight. But, most of all
we must never give up or stop believing that Christ has got our six
we must just keep trusting in Him no matter what else comes next.
These weapons of war
have prepared countless generations who have come before
we ever entered the fray,
so if we want others to follow our example we must not be afraid to lead the way.
So get out there and put on the full armor of God
And show the Enemy just what we are made of!
Written by:
Belle Anne Leslie
Written on:
May 28, 2008
Scripture Reference:
Ephesians 6:10-20
A Theological and Practical Approach to Pastoral Care
Introduction:
A wise pastor recently shared this counsel with me. He said, “If you want to have a pastoral care ministry, get into line at a grocery store, cinema complex or baseball stadium. Watch, see and listen to the people around you; before you know it, God will open doors of communication so that you can walk through them and be in the center of His plan for your life” (Pastor Warren Kirkwood).
As I lived, breathed, and applied the principles the Professor shared these past few weeks, I’ve come to understand that pastoral care and counseling, if it is what God is calling you to do, will become a natural extension of your faithwalk with Him. It doesn’t matter to God if you have a ministry degree or doctorate, whether you are a pastor, shepherd and/or spiritual director with all kinds of accreditation. So long as you love God, and submit your will and life to His leading, He will guide you on the path He has called you to walk. All we have to do is trust Him as the ultimate “Source of everything, be vulnerable and open without duplicity and without brokenness or breach, and be willing to live life [fully] in submission to God” (People Grow, Cloud & Townsend, 29-31).
What Pastoral Care Means to Me
The first images that God brings to mind when I think of how this class has shaped my view of pastoral care is Matthew 25:31-46, and Acts 2:42-47. These Scripture passages sum up what I believe is Jesus’ definition of the ministry of pastoral care. If we are to love people the way God loves and sees them, unconditionally, we must first “love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, NKJV). By keeping who we serve in mind at all times, we can (hopefully!) maintain a balance in our lives, ministry and family. Failure to do that will sabotage, and dilute the Holy Spirit’s work within and through us, personally and professionally.
Another image that God brings to mind to shape my view of pastoral care is the people in this class. Over the course of the last seven weeks, we, as a loosely knit team have supported, prayed, encouraged, counseled, and loved each other. Team-wise, we are an extension of Christ’s Love to His body, the church. I saw this time and again, first with Ted, and his situation involving consequences for the poor choices he made before he reconciled with God. To Alicia, and her family with the choices forced upon her by her husband’s increasingly irrational behavior. Then me last week as several friends and classmates witnessed unpredictable behavior by another student who believes I did her wrong. The truth of that mess is better left for God, the police, and campus security to deal with. The point is, though the situations were all different, the gifts God used through each of us ministered God’s grace to the myriad needs expressed.
Prayer Makes All the Difference
The instant I realized the danger of the situation I was in, I immediately went to the bathroom, called my family and friends and asked for prayer. God also brought to mind key people who were fellow students attending class that night that I knew were prayer warriors/intercessors, who I asked to pray for me. At the beginning of class, I made the same unspoken request of my classmates and the Professor, and they too lifted me up in prayer. Though I still continued, physically, to look over my shoulder to make sure no one was approaching me unawares, spiritually, I was confident God was interceding on my behalf. When it came time to go home, I was relieved. I knew or thought at least, I’d be safe in my apartment. However, when I got home I found another message on my voicemail from the person I had dealt with earlier at school. I had a hard time sleeping that night.
The next morning, my sister called to check on me and in the course of the conversation, told me what God had revealed to her the night before, when I asked her to pray. She said, “Immediately after going to prayer God revealed to me I was to pray for your safety. He impressed on me your life was in danger.” She had no idea why God impressed such an urgency on her spirit until I shared with her the details of what had happened at school, and when I returned home the previous night.
Needless to say, I was shook up. Ever since then I’ve been wrestling with the demon of fear, and my physical reaction to such. My mind, heart and soul understand I am held in the palm of God’s hand, and He will protect and shield me. However, calming my body’s instinctive, natural tendency to alternately hide and/or fight has been tough.
The one thing I know that has made all the difference is the reassurance that people are praying for me. This reassurance has given me the courage to speak up about it, first to Loretta, then more recently to the police, and campus security. I’ve found that this courage comes not from the absence of fear, but prayer in the midst of it. Like the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the Day of Jesus Christ.”
So, what began as a physical reaction to fear has turned into a spiritual expression of Truth. Chiefly, that God knows “you are all partakers of grace with me” (Phil.1:7-11).
I am not afraid of what will happen to me so long as I know other Christians join in a concert of prayer on my behalf; I will stand by faith in God’s Grace until the day he calls me home to be with Him. I will stand, therefore, girded in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), prepared to battle Evil and spiritual darkness, and the rulers of this world, not in my own strength but in Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil. 4:13).
The Full Armor of God:
Weapons of War to Defend God’s Light
Resistance to God’s Will rather than surrendering our own
builds a wall between us rather than a bridge to our Celestial home.
If we are to fight the Darkness with the power of God’s might
we must turn instead to the weapons of the Light.
Do not be afraid to speak the Truth
in love, even when it hurts; this strengthens the weak and bolsters the youth.
The choices we make in life count for something
if we honor Christ, otherwise they cause us and those we love, harm for nothing.
If we walk the pathway of life led by God
we will spread the Good News of His Peace all across this sod.
With the shield of faith held aloft to blunt the insidious arrows of the Evil One
we will conquer the Enemy’s mental tape recorder of our faults one by one.
Each time we go to battle stations
we proclaim victory through God’s Salvation
by using God’s Word
as the Spirit’s Sword.
When we combine these weapons of Light with prayer
We behold a vision of God’s Power that is beyond compare!
For if we remain united in Christ, we will stand, but if we become divided we fall
victim to the very Darkness we are called to fight. But, most of all
we must never give up or stop believing that Christ has got our six
we must just keep trusting in Him no matter what else comes next.
These weapons of war
have prepared countless generations who have come before
we ever entered the fray,
so if we want others to follow our example we must not be afraid to lead the way.
So get out there and put on the full armor of God
And show the Enemy just what we are made of!
Written by:
Belle Anne Leslie
Written on:
May 28, 2008
Scripture Reference:
Ephesians 6:10-20
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