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Power and Boundaries in Ministry
In a world that has lost confidence in the church's willingness and capacity to steward power, pastoral leaders need to be constantly monitoring and managing pastoral authority. In part A, this paper seeks to explore the main building blocks of good power stewardship within pastoral roles, including the use and abuse of power; forms of power inherent in the role, dual relationships and conflicts of interest. part B focusses on how to establish and maintain healthy boundaries within the pastoral role.
The Boundaried Life: establishing and maintaining healthy limits
Relationships need clear limits in order to be and remain healthy. How do we determine what is mine and what is not mine; what I should and should not take responsibility for; what is a reasonable request and what is not? What are the healthy limits for giving and receiving? What are the factors I need to consider before setting boundaries in my relationships? What different types of boundaries are there? These questions are amongst those explored in this paper, with a dedicated section on healthy relationships within marriage and family life.
Hiding behind Faith: Christians and Spiritual Bypassing
The spiritual life is meant to be a pathway to greater connection - with the Divine, ourselves, others, creation, reality. Sometimes, however, we can develop beliefs and practices which disconnect us from what truly matters. Spiritual Bypassing (SB) is one particular form of such disconnection. SB represents spirituality that seeks to avoid what is difficult, thereby stunting growth. This paper explores some of the main causes and costs of SB, how it typically manifests, and suggests how spirituality can become again a pathway to connection.
When a Minister Falls
This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion around finding better practices for the church when addressing clergy boundary violations, specifically sexual misconduct. It explores pastoral sensitivity and ethical processes towards victims, collateral victims, and perpetrators; and suggests pathways for truth-telling and justice-making.
Feed Your Wolf: Owning your Shadow in Ministry
Throughout our personal and vocational formation, we are shaped into a community of selves comprising the idealised (public persona) me and the hidden or secret (shadow) me. This paper invites you on a journey towards integration of these often disparate selves. We propose that the pathway to wholeness is by naming, owning, taming, and then appropriately feeding our shadow.
Ministry Burnout Factsheet
Ministry burnout describes the condition of clergy who have exhausted the reserves of the emotional energy they normally draw on to do the work of ministry. They have given all they have in serving God until they find there is nothing left in the bank. It has been described as a declaration of emotional bankruptcy…
Counselling For Pastors
It is not unusual to hear a minister talking about their counselling load. What that usually means is that the pastor is spending time with individuals and/or couples discussing issues or problems in their lives and helping them to select Biblically-oriented ways to improve their life situations…
Feed Your Wolf: Owning Your Helping Professional Shadow
In Jungian psychology, the shadow is a part of the unconscious mind. It consists of shortcomings, repressed weaknesses and instincts, as well as our strengths, and is a term used to describe the ‘dark [hidden] aspects of the personality’ - both the unknown and the harmful (Jung, 1959). While counsellors often consider dark side schema in working with clients, there is a rich yet relatively underdeveloped exploration of the concept within professional caregivers themselves. This paper will explore the development of the shadow in the persona, role and profession of the therapist. The goal of this journey is the integration, not condemnation, of the therapist’s hidden side, and a gentle encounter with the shadow.
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Towards Better Mental Health
Don’t most people worry and have blue days? What then is the difference between a person who is worry-prone and an anxiety condition? How do we distinguish between a person who is very negative, or is having a few down days, and a depressive illness? The simplest answer is that if the worry or sadness is at a point where it interferes with or disrupts everyday functioning in a person’s life – then that points towards a mental health issue.
Growing Healthy Relationships
Loving our loved ones better is reminiscent of something that has often been said - that our deepest needs are to know and be known, and to love and be loved. If that is so, understanding ourselves and developing relationship microskills has to be a priority. As risky as loving is, not learning to love others may be the height of risky behaviour! This handout seeks to explore these two issues of knowing and loving.