Total Church and Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care in the local church vexes me. I worry about it. I wonder about it. I wish we, I, did it better. And I wonder where it's all gone wrong. Is it the way we are turning out leaders rather than pastors or is it about the context in which we understand pastoral care to happen?

I've always seen pastoral care as a whole church thing. Something we all do because we are all part of the community. We may express it differently, but we all do it. Some people are wired up to turn up at the first sign of trouble, others are not. Some worry about appearing to interfere, others don't see it that way at all. It's all part of the rich diversity.

Our problem is that we live in an individualistic society where self-sufficiency is the rule of the day and interdependence the unacceptable face of a nanny culture. But we were not created to live as individuals, we were created to live as community.

As I continue to read Total Church I've reached that part of the book that looks at pastoral care, hence the blog post! I would almost say that the book is worth it just for this chapter, but that would be overstating things a little too much. 

Early in the chapter we are pointed towards the work of Frank Furedi and the issues that arise from a therapy culture. A culture that, according to Furedi has made, "individuals disinclined to depend upon each other in the normal routine of relationships." Relationships thus become 'professionalised' as we seek the help of trained counsellors and therapists to help solve our problems and address our issues.

The impact on the care life of the community of faith is such that we see our pastors as professional dispensers of 'proper care'. Now I think we are trying to break that barrier down, but if we don't put in place good structures to encourage accountable relationships and to support the wide diversity of care that we should be experiencing through community, we'll end up back at square one, the professional pastor model.

I worry that we presume we only grow through the teaching and discipling ministry of the church and not through the many relationships we have. As a result we don't build those relationships, we don't share our lives and we become increasingly reliant on the professional services of the church. I think we also begin to think we don't have anything to offer as 'ordinary Christians' struggling to make sense of faith and life.

As Timmis and Chester point out, when it comes to addressing our problems:

While the need for specific counselling sessions in a more formal setting will remain,  healthy engagement with others in committed relationships will deal with so many of the presenting and underlying causes

After all, when did we start sending our children to schools and clubs in order to learn how to become adults? Don't they learn that from us as parents? Don't we set the example? And if we do, then maybe that explains a lot about our current societal ills!

My point is this: When we abdicate our responsibility for setting the example, we force others to become the professional guides. Living a mature life, a dedicated life, a submitted life, whatever life it is, becomes something beyond the reach of ordinary folk. That cant be right. 

The kingdom of God is not beyond our reach, it is among us.

And so it is with all our care. It is not the preserve of the professionally trained. Life is lived by everyone. There should be no better place to learn to live than the community of faith that is deeply connected to the gospel because, as Peter says: 

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3