Pastoring the Temperament: A Guide for Pastoral Counseling

By Dr. Selvyn M. Sewell

Jesus declared that His mission was to heal the brokenhearted, deliver the captives and liberate the oppressed. He also declared that we would be judged based upon our care for those who were in need. Pastoring the temperament is a book designed to help Christians understand how to care for people. By understanding their temperament traits, the Pastor and Counselor can better understand their weaknesses and strengths.

Our emotional and spiritual needs are influenced by our Temperament. We respond to the call of God and the power of the holy sprit in different ways because of this influence. Individuals express and respond to persons and situations based upon their temperament predispositions. This book will open the eyes of its readers to a better understanding of themselves and others. It will also help the readers understand how to please God, and help others to do the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 26, 2008
• ISBN: 9781469101781

Dr. Selvyn M. Sewell

Dr. Selvyn Sewell is a professor of psychology and counseling at the Cornerstone Christian University in Orlando Florida. As President of his church conference, he presides over churches in the USA and Jamaica. He ministers to the homeless through the Solid Rock Outreach Ministries in Orlando. Dr. Sewell holds a PhD degree in Christian Psychology and Counseling. As a licensed Temperament counselor with the National Christian Counselor Association (NCCA), and Creation Therapy specialist, he studies people’s behavior according to their temperament. His doctorial dissertation put forth the premise that Creation Therapy is the most effective therapeutic procedure for Christian psychologists and counselors.

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Copyright © 2008 by Dr. Selvyn M. Sewell.

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Final Words

Endnotes

Bibliography

DEDICATED TO

MY COLLEAGUES

IN

THE CHURCH OF GOD (SEVENTH DAY)

Introduction

Not too long ago the Holy Spirit inspired me to preach a two-part sermon entitled The Silent Cry. It had to do with the fact that there are so many hurting people, all dressed up, sitting in the pews of our churches each time we have services, and their problems are not addressed adequately. These persons are crying out for help but they are smiling. The untrained eyes are not able to see beneath the masked smile and the untrained ears are not able to hear the silent cry. After the sermon, a young woman approached me and asked me what the purpose of the sermon was. She suggested that sermons like these open old wounds and exposed the people to their hidden fears. I told her that that was exactly the purpose of the sermon. The Lord wanted the sermon to peel the band-aid off the wounds and expose it. The wounded would then seek healing instead of covering up the wounds. With tears in her eyes, she hugged and thanked me in a way that suggests she was going to seek help and start her journey to complete healing.

The main purpose of this book is to help Pastors and other ministry workers gain an understanding of Temperament Theory in order that they might be more effective in their ministries. It is my intention to help them understand that counseling is a crucial component in ministry. A church will become relevant when it uses counseling as the healing process after the preaching of a sermon. Knowledge of Temperament Theory will help the evangelist to see how different individuals will respond to the gospel call in different ways based on their temperament. Jesus showed us, that by using approaches specific to the each individual, witnessing for salvation could be more effective. He did a personal one-on-one with the woman at the well in Samaria, (John 4) but with Zacchaeus He did it with a house full of people. (Luke 19:1-10) A church community with this kind of understanding will be equipped, and can reach out to the wounded and hurting more effectively. They will no longer attribute every problem or concerns to sin in the life of the individual. Some problems we face are because of our own sinful actions. However, we do face problems because of what others do to us.

I hope this book will introduce a more effective therapeutic procedure to the Christian counselor, the Creation Therapy procedure. In particular, the case studies included in this book will show the appropriate use of Christian psychology and this unique therapy that can safely be termed the Christian’s tool for counseling. After an in-depth study of Temperament Theory along with the structured use of the Arno Profile System (A.P.S.), formally known as the Temperament Analysis Profile (T.A.P.) I began to see people in a different light. I worked with 30 individuals in several counseling sessions using this method and the result was outstanding. My study provided me with an understanding of the uniqueness of individuals as God created them. It also helped me to see how their temperament contributes to their behavior.

An understanding of each individual’s temperament needs, and how to help them meet those needs in Godly ways, will more easily bring about healing to the wounded and hurting in the body of Christ. Christians should choose Creation Therapy over secular therapies because secular therapists base their theories on humanism and not on God. Their evolutionary thinking led them to assume that man’s life is at random. They have no standard by which to measure man’s behavior. Therefore, it is difficult for them to bring about change. On the other hand, Creation Therapists base their theory on the fact that man was created by a higher power. That power is Almighty God. The Scriptures are the standard by which man’s life is judged, and we are either condemned or justified.

The information presented in this book will not sufficiently address all aspect of Temperament Theory but is enough to stimulate the appetite and send the interested persons on a journey to find more answers. The Pastor who wants to facilitate healing of the Body of Christ will seek to have a better understanding of people’s temperament. They will be able apply the word of God to heal wounds based upon the individual’s temperament dispositions. Individuals will respond in different ways to the healing process based upon their temperament. Therefore, when using the Scriptures to help someone, the Word of God has to be applied in different ways according to the temperament of the person being helped.

Definitions of Terms

Affection: The term is used in this book to mean one’s deeper relationships. It has to do with the emotions and is one of the temperament areas being measured.

A.P.S. (Arno Profile System): The term is used in this book to identify the system used to measure one’s responsive and expressive scores in the areas of temperament need. This System was formerly called Temperament Analysis Profile (T.A.P.)¹

Control: The term is used in this book to mean the decision-making need. It has to do with the will and is one of the temperament areas being measured.

Creation Therapy: This term is used to identify the method used to understand man’s unique self and the therapeutic procedure used to help them find a balance in order to relieve their inner stresses. Creation Therapy is Bible-based, Christ-centered, Christian counseling using the scripture as the premise:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV).

Moreover, Creation Therapy is based on Temperament Theory, which is the means by which man is given the understanding of his temperament and the knowledge to find balance and the perfect place God has designed for him.²

Inclusion: The term is used in this book to mean one’s social orientation and intellectual need. It has to do with the mind and is one of the temperament areas being measured.

Temperament: The word temperament is used to mean the inborn part of man that determines how he interacts with his environment and the world around him. God implants temperament in each individual at conception. Temperament theory is based on the concept that one or more of five temperaments direct every individual’s behavior. Each temperament has different characteristics that will predispose the individual to certain types of behavior. These types of behaviors can be modified by understanding the underlying motivations of the individual and learning how to meet those temperament needs in Godly ways

Psychology: The word Psychology was derived from Greek word psyche, meaning Soul, and logos, meaning word or law. Therefore, psychology literally means the study of the soul. Since psychology is the study of the soul and the Christian’s belief is based on salvation of the soul (I Thessalonians 5:23, Heb. 10:39 & James: 20), the discipline called Christian Psychology has evolved. No one is better able to counsel than the Christian who has an understanding of the soul. As one writer puts it, After all, only Christians have the resources for comprehending the nature of the human soul and understanding how it is transformed.³

Chapter 1

IDENTIFYING THE NEED

—JESUS’MISSION—

To many in our society the church seems to be out of touch with the human soul. It seems to care more about conformity and doctrine than about the struggles of men and women to find new ways to live together in an equality and justice expressive of God’s love. It seems to have turned its back on the suffering of the oppressed, siding instead with the patriarchal establishment.⁴

The leaders in the church communities should take seriously this observation made by Philip Culbertson, and then they would make provisions for the care and healing of those they seek to lead. Ignorance of the Christian’s therapeutic method and lack of training have caused Christians to seek counseling and therapy from secular sources. It is impossible for a humanist to direct people in the ways of God or to teach a biblical approach to solving human’s problems. A humanist is one who rejects the power of the supernatural God and stresses instead on self-realization through reasoning. Their teachings and their methods of healing are not based on spiritual attributes. The Bible teaches that those who seek to help others should be spiritual:

Brothers if someone is caught in a sin you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But, watch yourself or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the laws of Christ." (Galatians 6:1-2 NIV)

Pastors need to be equipped with effective counseling methods and the ability to understand how human behave. Just as how it is very dangerous to ask a novice to do electrical wiring, so it is to ask untrained persons to counsel. Reading the scriptures and committing them to memory are good habits to practice. However, as Pastors and Counselors, we all need to learn to apply the Scriptures appropriately to solve problems and heal hurts.

In his book, The Psychology of Counseling, Clyde Narramore pointed out that counseling focuses on the needs of individuals. He said that pulpit preaching is a blessing but it may not always meet one’s specific need.⁵ Sometimes the pulpit preaching opens up wounds that are not healed. It then becomes necessary to administer one on one counseling and prayer as a follow-up to the sermon. This can