Formation Toward Healthy Pastors

A recent blog posting by Dr. Chuck DeGroat of the Newbigin House of Studies (@ http://www.newbiginhouse.org/Training-Healthy-Pastors-A-Historical-Context) has served as a good reminder to me about why the MFCA has included in its program the emphasis on the development of the pastor as a healthy and whole person. Since requiring that our candidates take a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), the MFCA has made it a priority to view pastoral formation as being a unique and balanced combination of academic learning, character development, spiritual understanding and emotional / relational health.

Many of our candidates are more than capable when it comes to classroom learning. When academic deficiencies are identified, it is often a simple exercise to develop a program of study to address the said deficit. Health issues are more difficult to address, especially when it involves emotional, spiritual and relational health. Candidates often enter the process with unresolved family of origin issues, self esteem struggles, behavioral tensions, relational conflicts and, in some cases, psychological disorders.  Some are drawn to ministry as part of a pursuit to find healing and recovery for their personal lives. Addictions and codependency, often well hidden from most others, control the candidate and suppress spiritual sensitivity along with limiting the ability to lead others toward health. It is not uncommon to have ministerial candidates who require attention and care from others in such large doses that 1) the minister is incapable to offer care and be present to those in need, and 2) those in need quickly recognize that the minister is in crisis and, rather than seeking their help, begin to assist the minister. Roles get reversed and the system may promote dysfunction and perpetuate the problems of both the parishioner and pastor.

Recognizing that the health of individuals, especially those preparing for pastoral leadership, is part of the responsibility of the MFCA, the following are measured and reported on for all candidates in the program:

·         The development of self-awareness.

·         Awareness of how one’s personality and ministry style affect others.

·         Understanding of pastoral authority and boundaries.

·         Healthy balance between professional and personal life.

·         Holistic pastoral identity integrating attitudes, values, assumptions, strengths and weaknesses.

·         Healthy awareness of and engagement with contextual factors (e.g. social conditions, family systems, racial, economic, and cultural factors) that bear on ministerial practice.

·         Capacity to integrate theological understanding with pastoral identity and practice.

·         Healthy and constructive engagement with peers.

·         Use of peer interaction and supervision to enhance ministry effectiveness.

Where candidates cannot gain access to a unit of CPE, the MFCA offers them the Seminar on Pastoral Formation. Dr. Jaco Hamman of Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is the facilitator of the seminar which will again be offered in the spring of 2011. The seminar utilizes some excellent books to assist individuals in reflection on these crucial areas for ministry. The following are recommended for any pastor seeking a healthier existence and ministry:

Hamman, Jaco J. Becoming a Pastor: Forming self and soul for ministry. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2007.

Harbaugh, Gary L. The pastor as person: Maintaining personal integrity in the choices and challenges of ministry. Augsburg Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1984.

Richardson, Ronald W. Becoming a Healthier Pastor: Family Systems Theory and the Pastor's Own Family Creative Pastoral Care and Counseling Series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005.

MFCA Identifies Core Values

The MFCA Board of Trustees met in Paramount, California this past weekend and defined the core values of the agency. The core values are listed below and will be utilized to direct strategic planning and its policy governance statements.

We value being proactive in contributing to the success of our candidates therefore we

-          help candidates discern and respond to their call to ministry with integrity

-          offer equal and fair access to those who are called to ministry

-          recognize that barriers exist (language, disabilities) but we do not allow them to deter the candidate from responding to the call to ministry

-          demonstrate love and respect for every candidate

We value the integrity of a certification process that balances care for candidates and the church’s traditions therefore we uphold

-          rigorous but not rigid application of the standards

-          being instinctively and intentionally relational as we approach our work

-          the distinctive roles of all parties in the process

-          honest, direct communication with the candidate

We value the distinctive role the MFCA plays in strengthening the ministry of the RCA therefore we commit to

-          providing an educated clergy from all regions of the church

-          working with diverse candidates from non-traditional backgrounds

-          remaining culturally relevant

-          a diversity of voices around the table

-          good stewardship of the resources given to us

Lesslie Newbigin

There is a confession that I need to make: With the exception of coming across the occasional quote by Lesslie Newbigin, I had never read anything by him and know little of his work. For me, Scot Sherman of City Church in San Francisco is the closest I have really gotten to Newbigin. I am pretty sure that Scot was influential in claiming the Newbigin name for the new seminary project that has, until now, been sponsored by the folks at City Church in San Francisco. At the moment they go by the name “The Newbigin House of Studies.” 

I am aware of numerous partners interested in working with the Newbigin House of Studies as it gets its start, including Calvin Seminary, Fuller Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary and Western Theological Seminary (WTS). I understand that a delegation from WTS will be visiting San Francisco this month for the purpose of negotiating and formalizing a cooperative relationship. 

It was a surprise to me, while cleaning out some boxes in our garage belonging to our children, that I came across a college book of my daughter’s that was written by Lesslie Newbigin. I decided to rescue this book from the recycling bin and took it with me on my trip to Cleveland this week. The book was a quick, yet profound read. It was only 150 pages and was titled “Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture.” (Eerdmans, 1986)

My trip to Cleveland was capped by a rather unique and entertaining leg on the inaugural flight of the “Oprah: The Final Season” plane, but, what stands out more in my memory is reading the Newbigin book. I read it on my way out and during times of reflection found myself thinking a fair bit about ministry in a post-Enlightenment world. And specifically for me, preparing people for ministry in a world that is more caught up with the science of technology and social networks than it is one where people are trying to understand the Bible and how it speaks into one’s life. I was intrigued by Newbigin’s mention of sphere sovereignty and theologians with whom I have become acquainted with such as Kuyper and Dooyeweerd. 

As he wrote about the Bible, Newbigin made a marvelous statement that not only provided food for thought, but also challenged me in my own faith and the role of scripture in it. He wrote: “The scholar examines the text but is not, in any profound sense, examined by it. If he is a believer, he will draw from the text illumination for his own faith. But his faith does not rest on the authority of the text. It is rather that he perceives a congruence between the faith to which the text bears witness and his own.” (Pg. 47)

In his last chapter, Newbigin asks the question “What must we be? The Call to the Church.” He makes the point that “The privilege of the Christian life cannot be sought apart from the responsibilities.” (John 20:20) (Pg. 124) I would suggest that the response to a call to ministry comes with even greater responsibilities. Newbigin provides six points in which he describes what we must be and do to be relevant and minister in the culture in which we find ourselves. I will summarize them briefly… “To have a missionary encounter with our culture:”

1. “The first must be the recovery and firm grasp of a true doctrine of last things, of eschatology.” (Pg. 134)
2. “…a Christian doctrine of freedom. Surely the greatest gift the Enlightenment has left us is the recognition of the right of all people to freedom of thought and of conscience.” Pg. 137)
3. “…A de-clericalized theology…. The missionary encounter for which I am pleading will require the energetic fostering of a declericalized, lay theology.” (Pg. 142)
4. “… a radical theological critique of the theory and practice of denominationalism. Richard Niebuhr’s dictum, ‘Denominationalism represents the moral failure of Christianity.’” (Pg. 144)
5. “… the necessity for help in seeing our own culture through Christian minds shaped by other cultures.” (Pg. 146)
6. “… the courage to hold and to proclaim a belief that cannot be proved to be true in terms of the axioms of our society… Our modern scientific culture has pursued the ideal of a completely impersonal knowledge of a world of so-called facts that are simply there.” (Pg. 148)
   
   And then Newbigin adds a seventh
   
7. “There is one thing more that must be said. This humble boldness and and this expectant patience are not the product of human heroism. They are the spontaneous overflow of a community of praise. They are the radiance of a supernatural reality. (Pg. 149)

Given this brief exposure to Newbigin may provide insight into the new mission of the seminary and house of studies on the west coast. Knowing the leaders of the Newbigin House of Studies suggests to me that some of Newbigin’s work will provide identity to the seminary. And then again, some won’t. None the less, I appreciate this book that challenges all of us to have a missionary encounter with our culture!

Cor