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 10th 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.
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.
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