My working definition is:
To offer spiritual, emotional and practical support, irrespective of the decision taken by those for whom we are caring.
One immediate issue that such a definition raises is that of church discipline. It was quite clear from the discussions and interactions that the withdrawal of care was, for some, part of the process of care. I'm not judging either way, it's a complex issue at the best of times, but I still like my definition because it expresses a sense of care even if we don't like what a person chooses to do.
Anyway, perhaps part of the struggle to develop meaningful pastoral care systems in our churches is precisely because we haven't actually defined what it is we're trying to do through our care.
More thoughts to come.
1 comment:
Richard - I dig the definition of pastoral care. Even though I am a pastor by title, i'm more of an evangelist, and the pastoring stuff comes hard, so the definition is much appreciated and helpful.
I am a church planter from Las Vegas, NV that utilizes the mass thru traffic to win souls and make disciples, train people how to share their faith, and plant church, locally and abroad. (approx. 40 million people a year come through las vegas from nearly every town in the US and most countries around the world).
Anywho, that’s the nutshell. I just finished a book that is the foundation for our work here and am looking for some outside reviews. Would you be willing to look over a .pdf copy if I emailed it to you? I am waiting for some more input before it’s released on Amazon, etc…so it’s still in “draft form”, but it has been pretty well edited. Thanks for considering, and thanks for the website.
Scott Linklater
pastorscott@vegaschurch.org
Post a Comment