For now, we see in a mirror dimly...
In Dialogue with Pastoral Theology and Narrative Practice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content
Page
For now, we see in a Mirror Dimly
3
1.
Introduction
3
1.1
3
Motivation
2.
Personal Psalm
3
3.
Pastoral Theology and Narrative Practice
6
3.1
Church Leadership
7
3.2
Pastoral Care and Nurture
8
3.3
Public and Community Ministry
8
4.
Conclusion
9
5.
References
10
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For Now, We See In A Mirror Dimly...
1.
Introduction
12
For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I
will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NASB).
This study aims to encourage Pastoral Narrative students to reflect on their spirituality in
counselling and to engage in the significance and re-authoring of their spirituality so that it
becomes a power that sustains them on their path. Contemporary Christianity often views
theology through a foggy lens when considering the present state of pastoral theology and
relational action in ministry. The link between Pastoral Narrative Therapy, a postmodern
approach to therapy and pastoral theology or our God-narrative needs to be clearly outlined.
Finding the balance between the two has been problematic for pastoral care workers.
1.1
Motivation for the study
We are all born into stories, opening the door for dominant discourses to emerge.
Discourses are systems, practices, and structures that share common values (Freedman and
Combs, 1996:42). When I was introduced to the concept of the alternative story in the Pastoral
Narrative Therapy course at the beginning of 2022, I was fascinated beyond words. However,
Pastoral Theology made an undeniable impression as it explored my faith journey and God
narrative. In sharing my journey and understanding of narrative therapy, postmodernism and
social construction ideas and what discourses are all about with several colleagues in pastoral
ministry, some have shown a desire to share more about their mysticism. Significantly, the
need to examine this topic was prompted by a fellow pastor who stated his suspicion while
discussing religious practices. "I anticipated a greater emphasis on spiritual soundness and
preparedness from Seminary, and I did not anticipate it to be simply another school institution."
This piqued my interest, as I needed to explore and discuss the matter with a more significant
number of the pastoral fraternal on what spiritual narrative practices include. Thus, in my
opinion, I am confident that by doing so, pastors, such as the one who expressed concern about
the issue, will seek spiritual counsel to solidify their connection to God. I aimed to create an
emotional, spiritual, and mentally secure space for the pastoral fraternal to meditate on their
spirituality through therapeutic talks as part of my research study.
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2.
Personal Psalm
Psalms often appear to be straightforward and obvious; however, it draws our entire life
under the rule of God, where everything may be submitted to the God of the gospel
(Brueggemann, 1984:15). My Psalm of orientation, disorientation and new orientation is
outlined in the story of my life.
I am a person of colour, a South African male with two decades of experience as a pastor,
counsellor, and chaplain obtained on two continents and among different cultural groups,
namely the United States of America and South Africa. I am an official participant of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church as a Christian. My faith journey started on a farm during
apartheid and racial segregation in South Africa. My life was intertwined by "the web of
immeasurable sadness" built from the experiences of millions of individuals surrounding me.
My Christian life, religious experience and spiritual foundation were earmarked by and built
on “Liberation Theology”. A ‘gospel’ where the church experience (music, sermons,
engagements) was choreographed around the freedom of the people of colour from an
illegitimate and oppressive regime. Farm workers and families were often encouraged to attend
church, sing in the choir, and participate in Bible and group sessions, as this would help to
create a sense of belonging, purpose and hope for a brighter future. Faith played a significant
role in undergirding and covering the moments of utter darkness, pain, humiliation,
vulnerability, and powerlessness (Fowler, 1981: xii)
I have learned to serve the church with distinction, assisting and arranging church
conferences, helping people with my time to provide talks, and performing volunteer work as
a counsellor in society. I diligently improved my skills in listening and leading people. My
Christian views made sense; I thanked God for being born “in a Christian country where God
was honoured and where my fellow South Africans lived our religion with zeal and devotion.”
Nonetheless, all my initial efforts vanished over time. I could not pinpoint the precise point at
which the disarray in my Christian ministry began to diminish.
I fought and laboured for many decades to make sense that I had lived blissfully
unconscious in a world where such wickedness and trauma were occurring. The grid on
testimony positions devised by American theologian Brueggemann has been beneficial to me
in understanding the meaning of my life in my nation and the South African environment. Since
I was raised in a religious family, I learned about God as the mighty Creator at a very early age
via my family's experiences. My grandfather’s bequest to me is a great love for the land,
especially the area where I was raised. I would observe my grandfather praying beside his bed
during the morning hours. Several other families of colour lived and laboured on the farm. My
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cousins and I wandered in the fields with the kids of the farmer, but we never visited their
house or attended the country school they attended. In their household, the domestic staff were
cherished caregivers who had pride and satisfaction in the accomplishments of the farmer's
kids. In contrast, they knew almost nothing about their own children’s lives. The farmer's
family would refer to us by our birthnames, while we refer to them as “kleinbaas” or
“kleinmies” (boss or madam).
I was conscious of the economic distinctions between the manual labourers and the
farmer and to the hierarchy, but I never challenged them. My cousins and I shared bedrooms
with as many as four or six individuals, whereas the farmer's kids would have their rooms. We
lacked indoor plumbing and bathrooms in our dwellings. We had no reliable electricity, cell
phones, or transportation except a Saturday truck ride into town provided by the farmer. These
trips were often cancelled at the last minute.
Nearly every weekend, I observed farm workers drinking excessively and the aggression
that often followed, causing severe and occasionally deadly injuries. On the field, it was an
everyday occurrence to witness ladies of colour with severely swelled cheekbones and other
damage sustained by domestic abuse.
During the harvesting period, workers may gather from the entire community. They slept
in dorms with beds and outside public kitchenettes and were separated from their households
for at least six months. Young white girls were told to mistrust men of colour because of their
hostility, history, and demeanour. However, despite all these occurrences, the farmer cared for
his people; he sometimes drove the farm labourers to church on Sundays and then dropped his
family off at theirs. The farmer would often be alone in the vehicle's front cab while the
labourers huddled together under a drafty canopy in the back. The farmer’s wife was often
concerned with the spiritual well-being of her household employees, and she voiced
considerable anxiety when these newly converted Christians became pregnant outside of
marriage.
During my formative years on the farm, I was sexually abused by family members. This
created confusion in my life as I became older. My connection with the Creator of love,
kindness, and prosperity deteriorated significantly. I had difficulty negotiating my identity as
a child of God. I felt resentment toward a Lord who had blessed me with life but did not appear
to do anything to preserve my innocence or even a Lord who would consider the prayers of
some of the colour. I tried to comprehend this.
However, all of this ceased when I realised he was the Lord of time. He carries out His
will for His people at His appointed time. When I recognised God's plans, I submitted to him
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and returned to my Christian life, where I was content with whatever He deemed acceptable.
After restoring my relationship with God for several years, I travelled to the United States of
America, Egypt, and Israel. I encountered wonderful miracles in my life and that of my family
members. This made me feel that God is always on our side, regardless of the circumstances.
He cannot abandon people because of their histories or skin colour. For this reason, I research,
study, and engage with pastoral narrative practices to fully understand why the Christian
religion is reflected faintly in this postmodern approach.
3.
Pastoral Theology and Narrative Practice
Pastoral Theology not only focuses on creating an environment where the recipient can
know God intimately, but it also endeavours to enrich the joy of having communion with God
and the church community through practical ways. The narrative theory emphasises the role of
narrative (stories), its impact and interpretation in each person’s life. It highlights how people
make sense of their environment and their stories. Their stories often reflect the negativity of
life, the complaints of various kinds, the cries for vengeance and the profound penitence that
are foundational to a life of faith in God. Much Christian piety and spirituality are seen as
romantic and unreal in their positiveness ((Brueggemann, 1984:11)
Pastoral Theology seeks not only a more profound knowledge of God but also the
enhancement of pastoral practice. It seeks these ends by reflecting on the experiences of
pastoral ministers, the Christian community, and humanity in light of revelation and the
insights of the other areas of theology and human inquiry. Theological education and the
practical instruction thereof go hand in hand. This field of religion has been known historically
as "Applied Theology"; however, it is now commonly called "Priestly” or Pastoral Theology
(Bosch & Kosch, 2019:201). It is vital that religious doctrine involves theory and the
application of Christian service since correct practice stems from correct belief. Many will not
see the need to study if one’s spiritual gifts will qualify you for the ministry. It is evident from
the Bible that gifts and training are needed during the apostles' times. One such Biblical
example is Paul, who, following his salvation, spend three years in seclusion before
commencing his ministry as a missionary to the gentiles (Galatians 1:18). Spiritual talents are
divinely bestowed. Still, their proper application requires deliberation and research. This paper
will focus on the three areas integral to Pastoral Theology: church leadership, pastoral care and
nurture, and public and community ministry. It will reflect on how these areas contribute to
Pastoral Narrative Therapy and the impact and influence of religious discourses.
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3.1
Church Leadership
The process of ethical leadership is vital in the Pastoral Narrative space. Leadership
literature lists the following fundamental principles for developing sound ethical leadership:
Fairness, concern for justice and honesty, genuine love and respect for people, selfless service,
self-discipline, and concern for the common good. From a Christian point of view, the proper
foundation of ethical leadership is a deep reverence for God (Sanou, 2021).
It has been correctly stated that the sign of genuine leading has followers! In other words,
there is indeed a leadership trait that is difficult to explain but apparent when present.
Nevertheless, there are talents we can acquire that can help us become more capable leaders.
Religion also requires teaching methods - commonly called "forming" – the procedure of
becoming a godly and intelligent leader, eventually under the Lord but in our training session
under the direction of qualified practitioners. Christian leading begins with the development of
a scriptural interpretation of the issue (Barker, 2020:89). This necessitates an examination of
the numerous leadership types described in the Bible, and the diverse explanations advanced
to interpret their existence. Presumably, somebody has promoted every biblical leadership
style, be it messenger, priest, monarch, struggling servant, missionary, pastor, senior, or merely
Jesus. A religion of administration integrates scriptural references to create a coherent
framework of contemporary Christian leadership concepts.
The concept of leadership has been extensively covered in both academic and popular
literature. This research is valid for Christians because it focuses on human nature's "noble and
true" aspects. It is also essential since church leaders require natural and spiritual gifts, just as
a church music leader would. This pertains to innate abilities such as clarity of thought,
decisiveness, and perseverance; yet, even these may be cultivated by learning appropriate
methods such as effective decision-making, negotiation skills, and project planning. Some
Christian leaders dismiss even the most cursory examination of such topics as unholy, but to
do so ultimately deny the importance of common grace (Aman, 2016:93). It is then possible to
commit the grave error of attributing to saving grace what properly belongs to common grace.
Then we can get into serious difficulty. One error would be to follow someone who is naturally
a great leader on the idea that his leadership capacity is God-given rather than natural, even
though he may not be spiritually intelligent or scripturally prudent. A mistake in the opposite
direction would be to think that a person who has read the Bible and is deeply spiritual will
automatically make a good leader, even though he lacks the necessary natural and spiritual
abilities. These errors can be highly detrimental to a church or organization and hamper
effective pastoral care and nurture.
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3.2
Pastoral Care and Nurture
Pastoral care and nurture focus has moved from crisis management and reactive-based
services to a holistic and preventative approach when helping people come to a richer
description of their situations. It recognises that each person has a unique experience when
facing challenges and illnesses. Pastoral care and nurture promote principles of prevention and
healing, provide opportunities for growth and faith building, focus on community involvement,
and are recognised as care with people. Healing and growth mean change. When God is aligned
with the processes of human lives, pastoral care becomes meaningful to individuals.
Pastoral ministry should base on the critical care and follow-up of worshipers. Pastors
are the church's core leaders; they are mandated to keep close contact with the worshipers,
know their challenges, help them create richer descriptions of the situations, and identify
alternative stories. However, it is also vital mentioning the care provided to the servant should
be spiritual. Transformation supports action that leads to change. Thus, creating opportunities
for faith to be lived. Faith captures the essence of people's desires, and change should therefore
be strongly encouraged through the power of the Holy Spirit (Truter and Kotze, 2005).
Furthermore, it is also essential for pastors to develop friendships between themselves
and their followers. This can be achieved by ensuring effective strategies such as knowing how
to relate to people of different ages. For example, it can be illogical in pastor care if one ignores
an age group simply because they do not belong or rhyme with individuals. Therefore, a pastor
must engage and inquire more from those they serve (Aman, 2016:93). Another critical area of
pastoral care is problem-solving skills. For example, church leaders are called to help find a
solution for issues affecting a member of the church and their households. Therefore, as a
caring pastor and a father to all, one should know how to handle church and community
members' issues without hurting or being unfair to any party. This care is vital in giving sense
and meaning to people’s lives. The community or public forms part of the church’s care.
3.3
Public and Community Ministry
"If people constitute their preferred selves by performing their preferred stories, then it
is important that there be the audience for those stories" (Freedman and Combs, 1996:237).
Pastoral theology depends on the connection and proper understanding of the church’s
theological content and must ensure a deep understanding of what the church should practice.
The church has almost lost the ability to think theologically about public affairs and public
issues. In addition, we have lost the ability to pray concerning public events. The church is
often unprepared and ill-equipped to be the audience for the preferred stories of the community.
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As members of the church, we often witness atrocities and oppression in the name of the church
as people trample on the public life and future of some groups in our communities. Both church
and community members will be able to rely more fully on a pastoral ministry informed by
narrative approaches rather than viewing their human weaknesses as pathological. To that end,
Pastoral Narrative therapists must understand the church's role and the influence of every
department in the church. It is essential to ensure the existence of church teachers, deacons,
and pastors or priests, among other stakeholders, required for its effectiveness (McSkimming,
2019:217).
4.
Conclusion
Pastoral care is both institutional and communal and is fostered by trust. True success in
pastoral care does not depend on position, power, or fame. Real and lasting success glorifies
God, contributes to the general well-being of an individual, and benefits the family and society.
It is the result of being where God wants a man to do what He wants him to do, how He wants
him to do it. From this perspective, no ministerial role is too small or insignificant. The practice
of pastoral theology is very complicated and requires much concern before electing or allowing
an individual to participate. There is a high need for Christians to be careful about their views.
For example, it can be a foolish movement if the entire church believes that every individual
can take responsibility and lead members on theological matters. In other words, it will be
crucial to ensure that every leader mandated to conduct church functions is carefully tested and
investigated following the formal requirements.
My knowledge, beliefs and general outlook on life were strongly influenced and shaped
by the dominant voices of my childhood's theological, educational, and social community. I
have observed theology and pastoral care through a foggy lens of what was seen as the norm
and accepted by all at the time. I believed that a good, loving, all-powerful God was powerless
against the injustice of the time. Shortly after my abuse, I questioned the foundations of my
faith as an alternative story with a thicker description was taking shape in my life. This
happened over a period.
This study opened my eyes to and understanding of narrative therapy as I reflected on
the works of Brueggemann and Fowler.
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5.
References
1.
Aman, J., 2016. Therapist as host: Making my guests feel welcome. International
Journal of and Religious Culture in the Therapeutic Context. International Journal
of Narrative Therapy & Community Work, 2009(1), pp.39-47.
2.
Barker, K., 2009. Opening up a crack: An account of narrative practice in the
context of pastoral therapy. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and
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[Accessed 3 November 2022].
3.
Bosch, S.E., & Kosch, I.M. 2019. African Linguistics in Southern Africa. A History
of African Linguistics.
4.
Brueggemann, W. 1984. The Message of the Psalms. A Theological Commentary.
Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House.
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of therapists' framework for faith development. Journal of Beliefs & Values, pp.114.
6.
Fowler, J.W. 1981. Stages of Faith. The Psychology of Human Development and
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Freedman J., Combs, G. 1996. Narrative Therapy. The Social Construction of
Preferred Realities. New York: W.W. Norton & Company
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Gülcan-Çakmak, B. 2022. Spirituality in narrative therapy: A review study.
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Jones, B., 2022. Reimagining Fowler’s Stages of Faith: shifting from a seven stage
to a four-step linguistics. Cambridge: CUP, pp.115-132.
10.
McSkimming, J., 2019. Is It Good to Be'Grey'in the Therapy Room? The Politics
of Religion Narrative Therapy & Community Work, 2006(3), pp.3-10.
Psalms (Doctoral dissertation, Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University).
11.
Sanou, B. 2021. "Biblical Social Justice and Ethical Leadership: A Pastoral
Perspective" (2021). Faculty Publications. 4168. [online] Available at:
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/4168. [Accessed on 17 October 2022].
12.
Slabbert SJ. Maranatha as a hermeneutical key to reinterpreting the imprecatory.
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Teleioteti. therapy. International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community
Work, 2009(1), pp.48-59.
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14.
Truter, C.J. and Kotze, D.J. 2005. Spirituality and health: A narrative-pastoral
approach.
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[online]
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005%29.pdf?sequence=3. [Accessed on 17 October 2022].
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