Ministry Between Miracles
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About this ebook
This book by an experienced pastor, hospital chaplain, and seminary professor will help you develop your caring skills, discover tools to assess spiritual needs, and learn practical methods to give soul care. You will be able to avoid hurtful mistakes and offer compassionate, competent, and Spirit-led pastoral care in the local church and h
Thomson K Mathew
Author, speaker, and academic consultant Thomson K. Mathew is a third-generation minister. He is a graduate of Bishop Moore College, Yale University Divinity School (MDiv, STM), Oral Roberts University (DMin) and Oklahoma State University (EdD). He is Professor Emeritus and Former Dean of the College of Theology and Ministry at Oral Roberts University. He speaks at conferences internationally on Spirit-led ministry, leadership, pastoral care, healing, and Christian/Theological education. Learn more about the author at his website: www.thomsonkmathew.com
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Ministry Between Miracles - Thomson K Mathew
1
A History of Pastoral Care
The history of pastoral care begins with God the Heavenly Shepherd. David the Psalmist sang about the Shepherd God in the 23 rd Psalm. The Apostle Paul described God as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort …
(2 Cor 1:3), whose caring nature revealed itself to humanity in his Son, Jesus Christ. The history of pastoral care is the continuing story of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
Old and New Testaments
The Old Testament describes the shepherding ministry of prophets and priests who were servants of the Shepherd God. The New Testament presents Jesus Christ as the Great Shepherd of the new covenant who gives up his life for the sheep. He appoints apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to continue his work of perfecting the saints. The pastor-teachers are to lead (Acts 20:28-31), guide (1 Pet 2:25), instruct (1 Tim 2:7), and correct (1 Cor 12:28-29) the people of God. They are instructed to feed (1 Pet 5:2), edify (2 Cor 13:10), build up (Eph 4:12), comfort (2 Cor 1:3-4), rebuke (Titus 1:13), warn (Acts 20: 31), and watch for souls (Heb 13:17).
Charles Ver Straten sees the connection between the Old and New Testaments in this regard and points out that Jesus the Good Shepherd intentionally trained his apostles to do the work of the ministry. Jesus ordained his disciples so that they could preach, teach, heal, and drive out demons (Mt 9:36-38, Mk 3:14, 15; 6:13), but New Testament ministry was much more than performance. Pastoral ministry in the New Testament was a ministry of the heart. This ministry of the heart is evident in the fact that while the Jewish elders functioned as administrators, the Christian elders (presbyteros) functioned like shepherds.¹
Major Themes in the Church Fathers
The Shepherd
It appears that the 2nd Century Church viewed the bishop as the successor of the apostle. While this was a deviation from the practice of the primitive church, it emphasizes the importance the early church gave to pastoral work and ministry. The pastoral concern of the early church is seen in Polycarp’s description of the qualifications of a presbyter: [They] must be compassionate, merciful towards all men, turning back the sheep that are gone astray, visiting all the infirm, not neglecting a widow or an orphan or a poor man.
²
The writings of the church fathers give clear evidence of the strong position of pastoral care in the ministry of the developing church. Both the person of the caregiver and the caregiving method received their attention. Thomas Oden has done a great service by providing a collection of these writings in his Classical Pastoral Care series.³ Gregory the Great wanted each pastor to be a person who out of affection of heart sympathizes with another’s infirmity.
⁴
The Trained Pastor
John Chrysostom emphasized the importance of training for pastoral caregivers: Anyone who is about to enter upon this ministry needs to explore it all thoroughly beforehand and only then to undertake this ministry. And why? Because if he studies the difficulties beforehand he will at any rate have the advantage of not being taken by surprise when they crop up.
⁵
The shepherding metaphor is strong in the writings of early fathers. The Good Shepherd makes it His business to seek for the best pastures for His sheep, and to find green and shady groves where they may rest during the noonday heat,
says Origen.⁶ Therefore, dearly beloved Brother, take heed that the undisciplined be not consumed and perish, that you rule the brotherhood as far as possible with salutary counsels, and that you counsel each one for his salvation,
advised Cyprian.⁷ Chrysostom saw shepherding as an awesome responsibility. He made sure that the limits of the shepherding metaphor were not ignored: You cannot treat human beings with the same authority with which the shepherd treats a sheep. Here too it is possible to bind and to forbid food and to apply cautery and the knife, but the decision to receive treatment does not lie with the one who administers the medicine but actually with the patient.
⁸
The need for preparation for pastoral work is described in the writings of Origen and Tertullian. Origen compared learning of secular subjects by priests to the spoiling of the Egyptians by the Israelites: How useful to the children of Israel were the things brought from Egypt, which the Egyptians had not put to a proper use, but which the Hebrews, guided by the wisdom of God, used for God’s service?
⁹ Tertullian did appreciate the need for acquiring secular knowledge for polemic reasons, but he cautioned against uncritical reliance on secular knowledge for the work of the ministry. "What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church? What between heretics and the Christians? Our instruction comes from ‘the porch of Solomon’ who himself wrote: ‘Set your mind upon the Lord, as is your duty, and seek him with simplicity of heart’ (Wisdom of Solomon 1:1). Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition.¹⁰
Ministerial self-awareness and congruence were important to early fathers. You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself,
said Athanasius.¹¹ Black Moses, a 3rd Century African ascetic, said: If a man’s deeds are not in harmony with his prayer, he labours in vain. The brother said, ‘What is this harmony between practice and prayer?’ The old man said, ‘We should no longer do those things against which we pray.’
¹² Gregory the Great wrote, While he is obliged to speak what is good to those under his charge, he must first observe matters of which he speaks.
¹³
Pastoral Duties
Pastoral care in the early church gave priority to the resources of the church, such as Word, prayer, and sacraments. The Word of God was seen as central to the care of souls. Pastoral prayer held a very high place in ministering to people. The sacraments of baptism and communion served as noble instruments of care.
Teaching was an important ministry of the caregivers of the early church. The assumption was that through teaching the Word, one can guide souls toward higher levels of virtue. Clement of Alexandria¹⁴ and Athanasius¹⁵ wrote on the pedagogical aspects of ministry. Jesus was their model teacher. They noted that he also embodied his own teachings.
Supportive Community
The community of faith was an important resource in the care of souls. The church as the body of Christ was not only the context of caregiving, but it was also a participant in that ministry. In addition to being the sacramental community of healing, the congregation became a provider of care by financially supporting the needy among them as well as the priestly caregivers.
Reconciler
Reconciliation was a major theme of pastoral work in the early church. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, wrote about his approach to dealing with a fallen clergy. You too, for your part, must not be over severe with them, for people of that kind are not to be looked on as enemies; you have to restore them, like parts of your own person that are ailing and going wrong, so that the whole body can be maintained in health. Do this, and you will be promoting your own spiritual welfare at the same time.
¹⁶
Counseling was a major part of pastoral care in the early church. Empathy was seen as a very important ingredient of good soul care. Several images of the counselor can be seen in the early writings. The caregiver is a physician bringing healing to people. He is a guide to those who are on a journey. He sets people free from bondages and teaches them like a faithful educator. ¹⁷ To summarize the earliest form of a theology of caregiving: God is the original caregiver, who initiated the ministry of caregiving. We learn this ministry from his Son. The care one gives is a reflection of the care of God. The Holy Spirit is the best Counselor. We are led by the Spirit in our ministry of counseling. In the case of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete must be understood in the sense of comforter, inasmuch as He bestows consolation upon the souls to whom He openly reveals the apprehension of spiritual knowledge,
said Origen.¹⁸
Pastoral counseling and teaching should be fully based on the Word of God. Scripture provides the wisdom for counsel. According to Clement of Alexandria, The inspired Word exists because of both obedience and disobedience: that we may be saved by obeying it, educated because we have disobeyed.
¹⁹ According to Origen, by studying the Word of God one becomes a participator of all the doctrines of his counsel.
²⁰
The church fathers wrote about the methodological issues of counseling. They paid attention to the importance of silence, the use of language, and the reading of body language. For them, counseling was not value-free. Pastors were expected to give moral counseling. Scripture was to inform them in moral guidance.
The church fathers emphasized the importance of using one’s words wisely. Careful attention must be given to the use of language in counseling and ministry. Ambrose wrote, The Spirit of Wisdom described in the Book of Wisdom is subtle and lively, because in her is the spirit of understanding, holy, one, manifold, lively; and she grinds her words before speaking so that she may not offend in any mode or meaning.
²¹
Discerner
Spiritual discernment was also important to the church fathers. Pastoral counseling required spiritual discernment. One needed to be open to the Spirit and the Word to exercise proper discernment. Scriptural counsel had to be given with spiritual discernment.
According to Oden, the artificial separation of psychology, ethics, and theology did not exist in classical pastoral care. A balance between the sternness of the law and the mercy of the gospel was maintained. The tension between guilt and forgiveness, grace and effort, discipline and freedom, and law and gospel were acknowledged by the early church.²²
Therapist
Habit modification was a concern for earlier pastoral counselors. Oden points out that behavior modification is not a modern discovery. Earlier pastoral counselors documented the behavior of their counselees for the purpose of observing changes. They utilized special strategies to assist individuals to change their unhealthy behavior patterns.
Theologian
Crisis ministries were part of classical pastoral care. Many classical writers discussed the importance and methodologies of crisis intervention. Special emphasis was given to the care of the sick, especially the seriously sick. Efforts were made to offer the ministries of the church to the sick and dying.²³
The issue of suffering was discussed in detail by early pastoral writers. Pastoral work required an honest encounter with the issue of suffering. Classical pastoral writers struggled with the issue of theodicy. The connection between evil and suffering was of considerable interest to early church fathers. Athanasius wrote, for instance, "The truth of the Church’s theology must be manifest: that evil has not from the beginning been with God or in God, nor has [evil] any substantive existence; but that men, in default of the vision of good, began to devise and imagine for themselves what was not, after their own pleasure. For as if a man, when the sun is shining, and the whole earth illuminated by his light, were to shut fast his eyes and imagine darkness where no darkness exists, and then walk wandering as if in darkness, often falling and going down steep places, thinking it was