Theology: Practical Theology: Intoduction Pastoral Care

Pastoral care has been traditionally understood as pastoral acts administered to individuals or small groups by an ordained or lay religious practitioner. As congregations in the twenty-first century begin to reclaim the missional nature of church, this view must be broadened to include care and concern for the needs of the larger community. A missional perspective of pastoral care embraces the notion that all of God's people--not just trained professionals--are called to partner in the healing and redemption of the world. In Beyond Church Walls, Rick Rouse sets out to articulate precisely what such an approach to pastoral care looks like--and the substantial impact it can have on congregations and communities. A skilled teacher and pastor with deep experience in real communities, Rouse leads readers through the changing realities of the twenty-first century and to new ways for missional churches to succeed in offering pastoral care for the whole community.

"With generative wisdom, Gerkin moves beyond the predominance of the psychotherapeutic paradigm in pastoral care to a dynamic, interactive process which balances faith, culture, community, and individual well-being. . . . Gerkin's history of pastoral care is skillful. . . . His analysis of the current transitions in the field of care will make this book a classic."--Jeanne Stevenson Moessner, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, and the Georgia Association for Pastoral Care "Out of the abundance of his many years as a pastoral caregiver and theologian, Gerkin introduces readers to the history, theory, and practice of pastoral care. This book represents the best of Protestant liberal pastoral theology and fills a long-standing gap. . . . The narrative-hermeneutical paradigm which Gerkin offers holds and works with many of the complexities of pastoral care in postmodern times."--Carrie Doehring, School of Theology, Boston University "Gerkin's Introduction to Pastoral Care breaks new ground for an introductory text in its emphasis on care as 'the central metaphor of life in the Christian community.' Thus the scope is much larger than the more usual focus only on individual and family needs. He is deeply sensitive to both individual and community dimensions through his quadrilateral nexus of tradition, individuals and family, community, and cultural context."--James N. Lapsley, Princeton Theological Seminary "The formula appears simple: take the very best of pastoral care theory and research of the past, build upon it the best of contemporary literature and practice in the pastoral arts and sciences, season it with rich experiences of a pioneer in the pastoral care, counseling, and education movement, and you have a solid bridge to the 21st century. Gerkin has proven the formula. . . . [Gerkin] articulates a pastoral care for the 21st century."--Orlo C. Strunk, Jr., Pastoral Psychotherapist at The Coastal Samaritan Center, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Christian pastoral care is a narrative, ecclesial, theological practice (NET). As a narrative practice, pastoral care attends to the inseparable interconnection between our own lifestories, others'' stories, the larger cultural stories, and God''s story. As a ministry of the church, pastoral care is an ecclesial practice that derives its motivation, purpose, and identity from the larger mission of the church to bear witness to and embody God''s mission of love that extends beyond the church for the transformation of the world. As a theological practice, pastoral care is grounded in God''s love story. God''s profound love for humankind heals our brokenness when human love fails and invites us into an ongoing process of growth in love of God, self, and neighbor.Intended for those who provide care with and on behalf of religious communities, author Karen Scheib focuses on listening and "restorying" practices occurring in the context and setting of congregations. By coauthoring narratives that promote healing and growth in love, pastoral caregivers become cocreators and companions who help others revise and construct life-stories reshaped by the grace of God.What Karen Scheib has done in this book is to reposition pastoral care as a theological activity performed in the context of the church. She draws deeply upon her Wesleyan theological heritage, upon an understanding of life in its fullness as growth in love and grace, and upon a "communion ecclesiology" undergirded by a communal understanding of the Trinitarian life of God. Thus grounded, she envisions pastoral care first as a rhythm of the life of the whole church and secondarily as a work of trained pastors.In her vision, pastoral care is rescued from a narrow understanding of it as exceptional acts of intervention performed only in moments of dire crisis. Instead, it becomes a "daily practice of pastoral care," an attending, in love, to the stories of others and a "listening for ways God is already present in a life story." Solidly theological, grounded in the life of the church, and eminently teachable - Karen Scheib has given us a great gift in this book." from the Foreword -Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor of Preaching, Emeritus, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. "In a wonderfully engaging, reflective, and useful way, Karen Scheib captures something absolutely essential to pastoral care and yet often overlooked--the utter centrality of storytelling/listening, the power of stories to heal, and their vital connection to bigger stories told within religious communities. This book is a real milestone, reclaiming the importance of "narrative knowing" and grounding care not only in community but also within a comprehensive theological framework." --Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, The Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, TN"Implementing narrative personality and therapy theories and anchored in ecclesiology and Wesleyan theology (NET), Karen Scheib''s book advances a long awaited and holistic approach to pastoral care. Her NET approach presents the embodiment of pastoral care by emphasizing both narrative and paradigmatic knowing, proposes the subjectivity of our stories in pastoral care by pointing out the interchangeability between us and our stories as subject and object, and underscores the dynamic process of pastoral care through the interconnection of the storyteller, listener, and context. Scheib''s image of story companion contributes to the field as a new paradigm of pastoral care and promises to be a significant resource in generating hope and growth in love for both pastoral caregiver and receiver." --Angella Son, Associate Professor, Drew University, Madison, NJ"Pastoral theologian Scheib describes a narrative, ecclesial, and theological approach for listening to people''s life stories in such a way as to engender spiritual formation and growth in love. Scheib clarifies the connections between caring conversations and Christian theology. Clear and accessible prose as well as helpful exercises and discussion starters make this a fine teaching text." -The Christian Century, Sept. 29, 2016.

In today's world the challenge of care is how to respond to people's emotional as well as their economic circumstances. How can we be respectful of the individual and the community in ways that affirm both? How are we to live respectfully with difference and ambiguity? Where shall we find our models of life and care from--the dominant Western or else some kind of global perspective that includes indigenous knowledge? In our theologies do we continue to privilege the study of abstract, conceptual theory or do we give place to pragmatic, aesthetic, and nonverbal forms? In the face of increasing extremism, terrorism, and violence, is it possible to make a sensible choice between radical relativism and absolute essentialism? Are we to be drawn towards the various expressions of religion or to the opportunities and ambiguities of spirituality as it is called upon in many societies today? With the scarce resources available or allocated to health care in many national budgets across the world, shall we give greater attention to the eradication of disease through increasingly advanced technologies and therapeutic strategies or to the promotion of health through primary health care and public health education? Pastoral Theology in an Intercultural World presents practical theological resources for the broad vision, deep passion, and thoughtful action needed for pastoral care in the twenty-first century.

Clergy, students of pastoral care, and lay visitation volunteers will find Nancy Gorsuch an effective guide in developing an intentional, proactive program of pastoral visitation in the local church. To increase the pastoral visitor's positive experiences of effectiveness, the author presents basic "how to" information in a straightforward manner characterized by vivid illustrations and case studies. The book provides a theological basis for pastoral visitation and goes on to explore the types and purposes of visitation, preparation and resources, training and basic helping skills, assessment and follow-up, and methods of sustaining pastoral visitation as a means of building a caring community of faith.

Practical Theology is a growing discipline in its own right, and the latest thinking in practical theology; of how to use theological learning in practical situations, is fully explored in this new edition of an established textbook. The authors examine methodologies of the social sciences and questions how they can enable the task of theological reflection; examine the relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods and highlight the significance of both for the task of practical theology. They also take the reader through the actual process of developing and carrying out a research project using the author's own research as case study examples. Previous case studies include: the rise in spirituality; the decline in church attendance, evidence-based medicine compared to needs-led assessments, the growth in chaplaincy and how it is understood as separate from parish ministry.In this second edition, case studies and all bibliographies have been updated plus a new chapter has been added.

The first comprehensive resource for spiritual and pastoral caregivers--a vital resource for clergy, seminarians, chaplains, pastoral counselors and caregivers of all faith traditions. This essential resource integrates the classic foundations of pastoral care with the latest approaches to spiritual care. It is specifically intended for professionals who work or spend time with congregants in acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, rehabilitation centers and long-term care facilities. Offering the latest theological perspectives and tools, along with basic theory and skills from the best pastoral and spiritual care texts, research and concepts, the contributors to this resource are experts in their fields, and include eight current or past presidents of the major chaplaincy organizations. Contributors include: Rev. Nancy K. Anderson * Rev. Dr. Willard W. C. Ashley, Sr. * Dr. Nancy Berlinger * Rev. W. L. (Bill) Bross * Rev. Robin C. Brown-Haithco * Rabbi Zahara Davidowitz-Farkas * Paula DeAngelo * Chaplain D. W. Donovan * Dr. George Fitchett * Rev. Bill Gaventa * Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein * Chaplain Dr. Daniel Grossoehme * Sr. Norma Gutierrez * Rev. George Handzo * Rev. Curtis W. Hart * Rev. Brian Hughes * Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs * Chaplain Gerald L. Jones * Rev. Robert A. Kidd * Rev. Yoke Lye Kwong * Rev. Michele J. Guest Lowery * Rev. Marcia Marino * Rev. Lynne M. Mikulak * Rev. Nancy Osborne * Rev. Jon Overvold * Rev. Brent Peery * Chaplain Linda F. Piotrowski * Rev. David B. Plummer * Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts * Rev. Dr. Glenn A. Robitaille * Chaplain Timothy G. Serban * Bishop Dr. Teresa E. Snorton * Rev. Dr. Dane R. Sommer * Rabbi Dr. Shira Stern * Rev. Jo Clare Wilson * Rev. Sue Wintz

An ideal starting point for all, including seminarians, who are exploring a call to chaplaincy ministry. Unlike most other books in this field which are specific to one form of chaplaincy and are often written from an autographical viewpoint only, this new resource meets a critical need for an introductory and overview look at chaplaincy in general.