Soul Care
A key component of spiritual
leadership is helping others tap
into what nourishes their soul…
Learning to be present to the
One who is always present.
“Behold God is my helper;
the Lord is the sustainer
of my soul.” Psalm 54: 4
NASB
“The great malady of
century implicated in all of
our trouble and affecting us
individually and socially is
‘loss of soul.”
Thomas Moore, Care of the
Soul,xi
th
20
1. What is soul and what is soul
care?
2. What do the ancient practices of
Israel and ritual have to do with
the forming of my soul?
3. What is the current state of your
soul? What nourishes your soul?
4. How will you respond to the
Lord’s invitation?
1. What is soul and what is soul care?
Soul, most common translation of
Hebrew nephesh and Greek word
psyche, connoting self or person. Soul
is “..the whole person, including the
body, but with particular focus on the
inner world of thinking, feeling and
willing.”
David G. Benner, Care of Souls,22
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul and with all your
strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Then he answered and said, “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul and with all your strength and with all
your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a
man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew
16:26
“What is running your life at any given
moment is your soul. Not external
circumstances, or your thoughts, or
your intentions, or even your feelings,
but your soul. The soul is that aspect of
your whole being that correlates,
integrates, and enlivens everything
going on in the various dimensions of
the self….”
It is the life-center of the human being. It
regulates whatever is occurring in each of
those dimensions and how they interact
with each other and respond to surrounding
events in the overall governance of your
life. The soul is ‘deep’ in the sense of being
basic or foundational and also in the sense
that it lies almost totally beyond conscious
awareness.”
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, 199.
Conscious
Soul
Often
unconscious
but all the time
gathering soul
forming data
The English phrase “care of souls” that
from the Latin cura animarum carries
the idea of both care and cure.
“Soul care is the care of persons in their
totality, with particular attention to their
inner lives.” David G. Benner, Care of
Souls, 22
Soul Care- the essence of soul care is
about strengthening our personal
presence in the presence of Christ –
immersion in the Trinitarian Presence.
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart,
250
“ …that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world
may believe that you have sent me… I
in them and you in me to let the world
know that you sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me.”
John 17: 21, 23
“Care of the soul begins with
observance of how the soul operates.
We can’t care for the soul unless we
are familiar with how it operates.”
Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul 5
Often the soul is hiding because it is
not safe to come out because of all the
distractions and defenses to keep the
soul from speaking. The soul will speak
when given an opportunity and enough
time in silence and solitude.
Symptoms are often the voice of the
soul. The disruptions we experience
from the thirst we try to satisfy with
illegitimate things- anything we do or
use to make our lives work apart from
God.
Where do you go, or to what do you
turn, to soothe or silence your soul
pain?
2. What do the ancient practices of Israel
and ritual have to do with the forming
of my soul?
God formed the soul of Israel through
daily, weekly, monthly, yearly rituals,
sacrifices, offerings and feasts. Jesus
modeled obedience to these practices
as a way of caring for his own soul. He
withdrew in solitude to commune with
the Father. He prayed. He fasted. He
engaged the scriptures.
These historic spiritual disciplines
make space in our lives for God to form
our souls- solitude and silence,
scriptures, prayer, spiritual friendship,
fasting, corporate worship…
What has been your experience with
spiritual practices in the past? What
form did they take?
“Jesus did not give us a plan for spiritual
formation that will fail and He has
resources to see to it that it does not.”
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart,
250
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his
word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more that watchmen wait for the morning.”
Psalm 130:5-6 NIV
“…continue to work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. For it is God who
works in you both to will and to act according
to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13
“…be transformed by the renewing of your
mind…” Romans 12:2
Curt Thompson M.D., Christian
Psychiatrist, in Anatomy of the Soul,
2010 discusses the structuring of the
neuropathways, the plasticity of the
brain and the connection to ritual,
repetitive activities that influence the
formation of our souls. Soul includes
emotion, cognition, spirit, behavior,
will.
“New findings in the fields of
neuroscience and attachment offer a
fresh means…these new discoveries
about how the brain and interpersonal
relationships shape each other are a
reflection of what has been passed
down in the oral tradition; written in the
stories, poetry, and instruction of the
Scriptures; and experienced by the
people of God for nearly four thousand
years.”
Thompson, Anatomy of the Soul, (4-5).
“For the word of God is living and active
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of
soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts
and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
Thompson references Dr. Daniel Siegel, The
Developing Mind 1999. “In his articulation of
interpersonal neurobiology [Seigel’s model
proposed for understanding the mind],
Seigel sheds further light on the
significance of the intersection of
neuroscience and mindful spirituality.
Integrating our understanding of the mind
and behavioral development, along with our
spirituality, is now becoming a wellaccepted, necessary paradigm for engaging
our interpersonal and cultural problems.”
Thompson, Anatomy of the Soul,(7).
3.What is the current state of your soul?
What nourishes your soul?
The question of the early Wesleyan
Methodists’ small cell bands of
accountability when they greeted each
other: “How is it with your soul?”
American adults receive 16,000 sensory
images per day.
In the year 2000 – estimated
*new web site every 2 sec;
*new products every 30 min;
*world’s knowledge doubles every 18
mos.
According to the New York Times
(August 1, 2010)
“Members of the clergy now suffer from
obesity, hypertension and depression
at rates higher than most Americans. In
the last decade their use of
antidepressants has risen, while their
life expectancy has fallen. Many would
change jobs is they could.”
H.B. London, Pastors at Great Risk
33% felt burned out in their first 5 years of
ministry
40% of pastors and 47% of pastor’s wives
– greatest danger to them is physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual
burnout.
70% - no close friends
1,500 pastors leave their ministries each
month due to burnout, conflict or
moral failure
What is the impact on our souls of living
in the fast lane?
the speed of technology?
the volume of sound?
multiple sensory images?
Symptoms of soul neglect: selfabsorption, shame, apathy, toxic anger,
physical fatigue, isolation, stronger
temptation to sin, drivenness, feelings of
desperation, panic, insecurity,
callousness, a judgmental attitude,
cynicism and lack of desire for God.
Signs of soul health: love, joy,
compassion, giving and receiving grace,
generosity of spirit, peace, ability to trust,
discernment, humility, creativity, visions,
balance and focus.
Mindy Caliquire, Discovering Soul Health,
14
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And
why have you become disquieted within
me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise
Him for the help of His presence.”
Psalm 42:8
“Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test
my mind and my heart.” Psalm 26:2
4. How will you respond to the Lord’s
invitation?
A key component of spiritual leadership
is helping others tap into what nourishes
their soul. Learning to be present to the
One who is always present.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest from your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He
makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me
besides quiet waters, he restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:1-3
“But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a
weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is
my soul within me.” Psalm 130:2
What will you take away today?
The End