Table Of Content

FINDING THE GAPS: PREPAREDNESS FOR PASTORAL CARE MINISTRY A THESIS-PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY LYNN A. GRANDSIRE MAY 2021 Copyright © 2021 by Lynn A. Grandsire. All Rights Reserved CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING .................................................................. 1 2. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................... 15 3. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 38 4. RESEARCH DESIGN ......................................................................................... 66 5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PLANS ............................................................. 86 Appendix A. MASTER OF DIVINITY COURSE REQUIREMENTS ..................................... 95 B. SEMINARY PASTORAL CARE SURVEY ....................................................... 96 C. SEMI-STRUCTURED PASTORAL INTERVIEW............................................. 97 D. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................... 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 105 VITA ................................................................................................................................ 113 iii TABLES 1. Pastoral Care Courses Required vs. Taken ....................................................................... 72 iv ABSTRACT “Finding the Gaps: Preparedness for Pastoral Care Ministry” was written to determine the gap in providing good biblical pastoral care from the time of graduating seminary to long tenured pastors. The research considered: course requirements for seminary students in pastoral care, surveys for seminarians, and interviews with pastors to determine how they learned to provide good pastoral care. The images of pastors and people, theological framework for pastoral care, issues that people face, and Jesus’ ministry were considered. Pastoral care was defined. Conclusions determined need for more pastoral care during seminary, the possibility of a post-seminary residency, and continuing education. v CHAPTER ONE THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING In my ministry context, since I am the Associate Pastor for Congregational Care in a large suburban church, I sought out continuing education courses to inform my ministry that were both theologically and practically oriented. Behold, I could not find any continuing education courses for pastoral care of the congregation. There were several courses on self-care of the pastor, which is an aspect of pastoral care, but not caring for the flock that God has entrusted to me. In addition to just taking courses, I longed for dialogue and discussion with other pastors about their theology of care. I found several obstacles to connecting with other pastors. Ministry is very busy in a large church, and being a conservative woman in a more liberal denomination seems to be part of the issue. I reached out to many female pastors and found it difficult to have any consistency in meeting together. Additionally, many people in ministry struggle with women and men meeting together for many reasons. One of those reasons is that meeting with people of the opposite gender might appear to be inappropriate and raise questions about the integrity of your ministry. It seems that the busyness of ministry, as well as hyper-vigilant in avoiding any possible misconstruing of intentions, precludes taking time for theological discussion or just connecting with one another in a collegial manner. With these thoughts in mind, I went searching for a way to begin to answer my questions which I believe are other pastors’ questions as well. I decided to look at different Doctor of Ministry programs to see if they would meet the need for both theological reflection and practical knowledge regarding congregational care. Hence, I am working on this thesis-project. Initially, I thought my thesis-project would be providing a theological framework for pastoral 1 care, but in reading I found several foundational books on the biblical and theological basis of pastoral care. Yet, in the occasional conversations with other pastors, I discovered that they were not aware of advanced continuing education courses specializing in care of the flock. Even among my Doctor of Ministry cohort, there were several long tenured pastors who felt inadequate and in need of further training in pastoral care. Another aspect I have observed is that newly graduating seminarians and pastors just beginning their ministry struggle with providing good pastoral care. In exploring the reasons for their struggle, several questions have come to the forefront. Are seminarians adequately educated and trained during their education process? With seminaries requiring courses in languages, exegesis, preaching, and theology, it appears that pastoral care is regarded as not that essential. I don’t think this is intentional, but it has consequences in regard to the level of preparedness for parish ministry. Also, since many seminarians enter seminary right after graduating college and are in their early twenties, I wondered to what extent life experience plays a role in their ability to provide good pastoral care? Another question is: Is mentoring in seminary and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) providing adequate pastoral care experience? CPE provides a baseline for some care and begins to help one see who they are and what their issues in ministry might be. CPE in a hospital setting also might help people without a medical background become more comfortable in hospitals and ICU’s that have lots of equipment and patients who are very sick. Desensitizing this fear can help the pastors be more comfortable in the presence of sick people and the situations that arise in hospitals. CPE is not required either in all seminaries or denominations, so as a consequence there is not consistent training for seminarians in clinical pastoral care. 2 Mentored ministry might or might not address the issue of pastoral care and is also not universally required in seminary. The mentoring process will only be as helpful for training in pastoral care as the variety and amount of care that is offered in the mentored ministry units. Some mentored ministry units might not involve any pastoral care and therefore not help the seminarian feel adequately prepared or even know that they are not prepared to provide pastoral care. Life experience may also play a role in the ability to provide pastoral care. Certain things in life are only learned through experiencing hardship, or illness, or loss, and that usually, though not necessarily, comes with age. Sometimes overcoming difficulties at a young age may make one wiser and more prepared than their years. And conversely, an older person whose life has been devoid of hardships and crises, may not have a clue about appropriate pastoral care for those in these situations. Our culture also plays a part in the lack of emphasis upon pastoral care in theological education and in continuing education opportunities. Most of our congregations, and recent seminary graduates, seek to develop and design engaging programs, offer more dynamic preaching, and provide popular topics to attract the greatest number of members. Unfortunately, pastoral care isn’t often regarded as essential for faith development within a congregation. Our culture has also become technology-obsessed, in that texting and emailing and Facebook are the ways in which the younger generations communicate. This media-driven style of communication has also been embraced by older generations as a necessary means of communicating in today’s world. There is an increasing uncomfortableness with communicating via phone calls and face-to-face conversations, and this reality is especially problematic for pastoral care where presence is so important. Texting and emailing do not provide tone of voice, 3 except in the use of grammar or punctuation which provides emphasis. The telephone provides at least tone of voice, but is lacking body language. Yet, tone of voice, body language and the use of appropriate touch are all important aspects of pastoral care. Life has also become more complex as time goes by. We are experiencing more violence in everyday life now than in previous generations. Technology has brought everyday experiences of war and crime into our homes. The internet and television have given people opportunities to see and experience sexual assaults, robberies at gunpoint, murder victims, sex trafficking, and other forms of violence at the touch of a button. Video games are now rated for violence and offer people of all ages the ability to kill people and fight wars virtually without the reality of what it does to one’s psyche. Culture dictates that we have to be a certain shape and size, wear certain clothing, drive certain cars, and live in certain communities in order to be valued. So, many people struggle with eating disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicide. Or, desiring to avoid, many suppress it or cover it with things that will hopefully make them feel better momentarily. People have the ability to take pills and the difficult issues of life could melt away. Additionally, the addictions to drugs, alcohol, food, pornography, gambling, and shopping are rampant in our society. Even good things in life have taken on a do-more-and-be- better attitude. Examples of this include going to football games every weekend, traveling out of the country for short weekend jaunts, buying more things to show that you are more than you might be able to afford. Most households have two working adults just to make ends meet, and to keep up the facade. Much of this endless striving and keeping up appearances are fueled by the prevalent view of death. Death has become the enemy rather than an inevitable part of life. Some or all of these factors have increased the stress level in people’s lives which leads to physical illness, exhaustion and weariness. 4 In my congregation of 2,000 members there are significant issues in many people’s lives, often occurring simultaneously. My parishioners are experiencing a large cross-section of diseases and struggles that impact many members at the same time. These diseases range from minor illnesses that one recovers from to chronic debilitating diseases that alter lifestyle to terminal cancer. Cancer is a terrifying diagnosis for people to hear. Yet, statistics show that a significant number of people are impacted by this disease. “In 2018, 1,735,350 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States, and 609,640 people will die from cancer annually. There is a higher mortality rate for men than women. In 2016 there were 15.5 million cancer survivors, and it is estimated that this number will increase to 20.3 million in the year 2026.”1 The prevalence of cancer in today’s society means that there is a corresponding need for pastoral care in congregations for those who suffer from it. Another medical issue that many today are facing relates to organ, bone marrow, and stem cell transplant. Issues that transplant candidates will deal with include eligibility, post- transplant regimen, financial cost, emotional strain, and even questions of faith. For example, as eligibility is determined, there is the reality that one may be denied a life-giving organ. One’s faith might then question the authority by which other humans make that eligibility decision and then, if denied, there are concerns and fears about dying and death. The increase of people with special needs is also an increasingly significant issue in congregations. Those with special needs face challenges that are different than families without special needs. Statistics show that those people impacted by special needs has increased significantly. “In 2018-2019, the number of students ages 3 – 21 who received special education 1. American Cancer Society, “Cancer Facts and Figures, 2018”, updated 2018, accessed June 4, 2019, Cancer.org. 5