DOES ANYONE REALLY CARE?

By David Woodbury

Corps Cadet Congress - Sydney - 1972.

Perhaps one of the greatest failings of the contemporary church or Salvation Army corps is its inability to effectively care for its people. In the early days of the Army, a ward system operated very effectively which helped to keep the flock together and cared for. In larger corps the operation of sections like corps cadets, band, home league etc. acted as an informal pastoral care group.

Over the last half-century or so much has changed in society with the technological revolution changing many of the norms of society. Salvation Army corps have changed and are not as integrated as they once were. Irregular meeting attendances have further fractured any sense of real pastoral care. One of the unfortunate outcomes is that there has been a splintering of the framework that ensured effective care for those within the Christian community.

As the fracturing developed, more emphasis was placed of corps officers to carry most of the burden of pastoral care and this became an expectation with monitored visitation books used to validate the officer’s activity. It may have been marginally successful in smaller corps but in larger ones, it was all but impossible.

That is not to say that the spiritual leader is devoid of any responsibility for pastoral care; quite the opposite. The good spiritual leader knows the flock needs to be cared for and his responsibility is to ensure that it happens, and careful dialogue and planning with his people can achieve significant and beneficial outcomes.

Nowhere in the Bible is there a better or simpler strategy for effective pastoral care than in Peter’s letter to his churches in 1 Peter Chapter 5.

As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 

Apparently, by this stage of development of the Christian community, there was some sort of structure in place with the appointment of elders. There was always, once leaders are appointed,  the possibility of a sense of entitlement and/or self-importance, both of which are unchristian attitudes. Wisely, Peter feels he needs to remind the elders of the privileges and responsibilities of their office.

The presence of elders does not in any way negate the ministry of the royal priesthood in caring for each other. The Christian community, where all members feel a sense of concern and caring for those around them, is a healthy and vibrant community, a community to which others will want to belong.

Peter commences from a base of equality noting that he himself is also an elder who has been a witness to the life, ministry and suffering of Jesus. Like his fellow apostles, he is in awe of the ministry thrust upon him. There is nothing dictatorial about his language, but rather it is couched in the spirit a genuine plea: As a fellow elder, I appeal to you. Perhaps Paul best sums up the attitude of authentic Christian leadership; humility and a sense of a divine and irrevocable calling. Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! (1 Corinthians 9:16 - NLT). The authentic Christian leader has a compelling inner-awareness that they have been called in great humility by God, to a task they cannot avoid.

Care for the flock

Peter’s advice to his elders could have come out any modern pastoral care manual beginning with the very basic but crucial: Care for the flock. In the 10^th chapter of John Jesus is cast as the epitome of the caring shepherd of the flock. Here is a very pertinent and telling example of what caring for the flock is crucially all about, even to the point of death. There is no more powerful parable in the Bible than the one in which Jesus cast himself; the parable of the lost sheep.

Watch over the flock

There is a discerning sensitivity needed in any pastoral care program and Peter is acutely aware of it when he says: Watch over the flock. We live in a day and age when there are many unwanted intrusions into our lives and our lifestyles: we don’t need another from our Christian community. Watching indicates an activity kept at arm’s length. Now not all will instinctively have such a skill and it will need to be developed, monitored and used wisely.

Serve willingly, not grudgingly

Nothing puts a damper on a community more than a Christian leader who carries out their responsibilities with dour resolve. Peter wants his elders to serve willingly, not grudgingly. Probably no modern religious movement suffered more opposition and suffering that the early Army, yet they are able to put pen to paper and write: There is pleasure in His service, more than all.  Christian leaders who find their ministry an unwelcome or irritating imposition should immediately step down, such an attitude cannot be disguised no matter how pleasant the image projected.

Not for what you will get out of it

Sadly, we seem to be living in an age where a lot of Christian ministry is paid ministry rather than that which the Christian community previously relied on, willing and dedicated volunteers with a heart and passion for their community. Peter wants his elders to serve; not for what you will get out of it.

I suspect The concept of full-time paid ministry may well come from the mega-church movement and has been transported and imposed on smaller Christian communities where it may well be culturally out of place and damaging, since it may well steal the opportunities of those in the royal priesthood to serve and minister.

The other side of this coin is that when pastoral care is given from a thoughtful, caring and loving heart there can’t help but be the reward of spiritual blessing and spiritual fulfilment.

Eager to serve God

There is a wide understanding here of which those ministering in pastoral care need to be mindful; they are eager to serve God. When Christians in the royal priesthood catch a glimpse of the fact that what they are really doing is working with the King, it places a whole new dimension on ministry. They are not just carrying out some mundane, inconsequential role; they are serving God in helping others relate to Him. The spiritual quality of another’s life in the kingdom lifestyle is enriched and validated because they are eager to serve God. There is no greater sense of worth and fulfilment in Christian ministry than to know you have helped another along the kingdom path.

Don’t lord it over the people

No matter how far we are personally in our own spiritual growth we are never far from our own humanness, and the temptation to adopt a superior attitude, especially when things are going well, is never far below the surface, and Peter knew this. Don’t lord it over the people, he writes. One of the dangers of working in pastoral care is that sometimes the ability to see another’s troubles much clearer than they can leads us to all too quickly point it out. This compounds a sense of superiority and, and at times, judgment. What really should happen is that they need to be assisted in working through their own issues. Such a resolution is always more impactful and permanent since they have been able to identify their issue, own it, and find their own solution.

Lead them by your own good example

Peter concludes his advice to pastoral carers with the most basic of Christian ideals, that of a good, Christian example. Lead them by your own good example, he writes and we need to tease this out a little for the reality is that we are all earthen vessels, given to failure and errant judgment. Consequently, how can we lead by example from a place of imperfection? The word authentic comes to mind and must be the starting point.

What others are looking for above everything else, is someone who will help them who is honest, authentic and genuine. The reality of human nature is that people soon see through those who are trying to project an image or using clever buzz words or word spin. The reality is that people will soon forgive the fallibilities of those seeking to minister to them when they understand there are genuine love and care.

Pastoral care is a program that is intrinsically tied and moulded to the local Christian community and we need to be diligent that we do not import concepts and ideas from other church cultures and try and force them to fit. The best solutions for the local Christian community are found, generally within that community. While we may be influenced by how others operate we need to be acutely aware of our own culture and community and their specific needs and tailor a program to suit.

Whatever is put in place it must be able to incorporate a monitoring process if it is to be effective and reliable. Leadership needs to be able to assess the health of the community at regular intervals through the pastoral care program.