Pastoral Care And Context

An expert in the field of pastoral care, John Patton demonstrates that pastoral care is a ministry of the church. He focuses on the community of faith as an authorizer and source of care and upon the relationship between the pastor and a caring community. Patton identifies and compares three paradigms of pastoral care: the classical, the clinical pastoral, and the communal contextual. This third paradigm emphasizes the caring community and the various contexts for care rather than focusing on pastoral care as the work of the ordained pastor.

An expert in the field of pastoral care, John Patton demonstrates that pastoral care is a ministry of the church. He focuses on the community of faith as an authorizer and source of care and upon the relationship between the pastor and a caring community. Patton identifies and compares three paradigms of pastoral care: the classical, the clinical pastoral, and the communal contextual. This third paradigm emphasizes the caring community and the various contexts for care rather than focusing on pastoral care as the work of the ordained pastor.

Pastoral theologians from Congo, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe address, in this book, the issues of leadership, Ubuntu (community), gender-based violence, political violence, healing, and deliverance faced by pastors and ministers in African contexts today. Drawing on biblical, theological, social scientific, and cultural contextual perspectives, these African Christians offer much needed insights to assist in the care and counseling of persons towards healing, health, and well-being.

The essentials of pastoral care involve the pastor's distinctive task of caring for those who are estranged--the lost sheep. Taken from the biblical image of the shepherd, the pastor by virtue of his or her professional calling cultivates wise judgment in order to hear the hurting and offer guidance, reconciliation, healing, sustaining presence, and empowerment to those in need. This book will outline the quintessential elements pastors need to wisely minister in today's context by discussing four major kinds of lostness: grief, illness, abuse, and family challenges. The purpose of the Abingdon Essential Guides is to fulfill the need for brief, substantive, yet highly accessible introductions to the core disciples in biblical, theological, and religious studies. Drawing on the best in current scholarship, written with the need of students foremost in mind, addressed to learners in a number of contexts, Essential Guides will be the first choice of those who wish to acquaint themselves or their students with the broad scope of issues, perspectives, and subject matters within biblical and religious studies.

Because their work focuses primarily on the fields of theology and psychology, pastoral caregivers have often neglected to take into account the social forces that affect both the careseeker and the caregiver. In this groundbreaking book, sociologist and chaplain George Furniss introduces them to a third discipline, sociology, to draw upon in their work. Furniss offers an introduction to sociological approaches that are particularly relevant to those in the field. Brief biographical notes about key figures in sociology and a glossary of terms are supplied to assist those who lack extensive background in sociology.

This clear and accessible book offers a fresh perspective on the application of psychology in a wide range of pastoral activity. It presents a model of pastoral care that is Eucharistic and incarnational – a form of participation in the community. The book goes on to discuss the nature of the unconscious and three core areas in mental well-being: attachment, sexuality and loss. It then addresses specific issues in mental health such as depression, addiction, psychotic breakdown and eating disorder, all within the context of pastoral relationships. A final section explores the nature of betrayal and the meaning of forgiveness. This is an informative and practical book, bringing together the insights of contemporary psychology with a theological understanding of pastoral contexts. The many illustrations from personal experiences ground the theory in real-life situations.

In Living Stories Donald Capps makes a forceful case for the importance of pastoral counseling in the life of a congregation. Arguing convincingly for a "paradigmatic revolution," Capps offers a radically new model that gives systematic and constructive attention to the way people actually "story" their lives - inspirationally, paradoxically, or miraculously. Through such engagement, pastors can help people discover their own stories, discern the shape and direction of those stories, and move constructively to find new understandings or more hopeful possibilities in their life situations.