The PASSION Blog

Recently there have been a couple of high profile Christian ministers who have fallen and come out and confessed to their wrongdoing. One was even on the national current affairs show Today Tonight last night.

Does this news surprise me? No not really. Does this news disappoint me? Yes. Does this news destroy my faith? No way, because my faith is not in people.

When we discuss the issue of ministers falling I think there are a couple things to consider.

1. All Christians are human - Regardless if you are a minister or not, as Christians we are all frail human beings with our faults and failures. None of us are perfect and none of us can live up to the high standards we set in place. After all that is why Jesus came to die on the cross for our sin. He died because we all sin. We just can’t escape that fact and the Bible makes this clear in Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8-10.

2. We put people on a pedestal - I really belief that as Christians we place too much emphasis on peoples ministries and their public success. We often look at the impact people are making and place them on a pedestal. In reality if they are doing what God has called them to do, then they are no different to the person who faithfully does the flowers every Sunday morning for church or the person who visits someone who is sick. When we place people on a pedestal we set them up for failure. The only one who has ever walked on this earth who deserves to be put on a pedestal is Jesus!

Over the years I have had a number of people come to me when they are going through a difficult time. While I am not a trained counselor, there are certain things that I have found I can do just by being there and listening. It is interesting that how most people who have come to me have just needed one or more of the following three things.

1. Suggestion - Sometimes they just need an outside opinion on an issue or needed to run something by me. Generally all they need is a suggestion of a few options they could take in a situation. Sometimes the things I suggest might not necessarily be overly spiritual, but it helps them in the decision making process and helps them to move forward.

2. Cathartic - Sometimes people who come my way just need to get things off their chest. I have found that most of us when we are going through a rough time just need to download our thoughts to someone. Most of the time their head is full and they just need to empty and in a sense “restart” their computer. Speaking to someone outside the situation can help to do this.

3. Reassurance - Sometimes the people who come to me need to just be reassured that things will be ok. In the midst of a painful time it is often hard to see when it will end and things might return to “normal”. Reassuring people that God is in control and that God is with them helps a great deal. It is also great if you have personally been through the situation and you can share how things have worked out for you.

Regardless of whether you are a trained Pastor or a counselor sometimes people just need someone to be there and listen. One or more of the above things can really make a difference to people in short term crisis and can help them to move forward in faith and in the hope that things will get better.

In my Pastoral Care unit we looked at some examples of good and bad shepherds this week. In Ezekiel 34 it gives us a guide to what good and bad pastoral care is.

Ezekiel was told to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel that are taking care of themselves and not the people. Ezekiel 34:1-5 are the negative examples.

• v3 - You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.
• v4 - You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick or bound up the injured.
• v5 - You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost.
• v5 - You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

All in all this is a pretty bad picture of how they were taking care of the flock. They are selfish and not doing what they were meant to be doing. You can see why God has asked Ezekiel to speak out against them.

In the latter part of the chapter God says that He Himself is going to care for the people. In this He says what He is going to do. Ezekiel 34:15-31 gives us some good examples.

• v16 - I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.
• v16 - I will bind up the injured.
• v16 - I will strengthen the weak.
• v16 - I will shepherd the flock with justice.
• v22 - I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered.

In this simple picture of good and bad shepherds we see what God wants and expects from Pastors and shepherds. He wants them to care for, watch out for and strengthen the flock. And they are to do this with justice and a selfless motivation.

In one of my lectures the other day we looked at the history of Pastoral Care. The lecturer used Clebsch’s and Jaeckle’s book “Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective”. I thought it was interesting that they noted eight “epochs” of time in pastoral care since the early church began.

In these eight epochs they noted that there were themes that seemed to be the focus of pastoral care during these time periods. In these periods four words kept on coming to the surface. They were sustaining, reconciling, guiding and healing.

When we look at these words and their general meanings it gives us a good place to start when looking at how we should approach pastoral care today.

1. Sustaining - support, uphold, nourish, maintain, comfort, ecourage.

2. Reconciling - restore, re-unite, patch up, make friends again, conciliate.

3. Guiding - counsel, advise, help, direct the course, point the way, inform.

4. Healing - cure, make well, make whole, sooth, restore good relationships, mend, alleviate.

I found this a useful lecture as I believe is important to learn from history and apply any lessons to the current situation we may face.

I also think it is useful to have four words to reflect upon when approaching the important task of pastoral care and caring for those around us.

About 20 odd years ago I started doing weights. Like most teenagers I started because I wanted big rock hard muscles to show off. This is a very different reason to why I do them now in my early 40s I must say!

When I started I would do them every day religiously. I would try to increase the weights so I would get stronger and bigger. Every week I would weigh myself and measure my muscles proudly in front of the mirror. After about six months I was a lot more toned, but had no more weight and muscle size. Hmmm something was wrong I reasoned and I trained harder.

Then one day I read a book by a guy who said that your muscles grow when you rest and recover from the weight sessions. He suggested that I only do weights 2 or 3 times per week and get plenty of rest in between. Reluctantly I tried his suggestion. Guess what, hey presto, bigger muscles started to appear out of nowhere. It is funny that I had to learn to do less and rest more to grow and move forward. Rest in between helped me to be more effective in my weight training.

It is funny how over the years I have forgotten this lesson and how it applies to many of the things we are involved in. I have found that in church and ministry sometimes less is more too. If I am out doing church things everyday. I get tired, burnt out and I enjoy it less. I also become less effective in the ministry tasks I perform. I find if I do too much I feel jaded very easily. However, if I take on less and do only the things I feel strongly about doing and called to do, I am much more energised and I am much more effective.

How about you? Are you someone who paces yourself or are you someone who is busy doing lots of things? Are you energised by your involvements or are you tired and drained most of the time? Can you keep up all of your involvements or have you got some things you could cut back on?

Sometimes less is more in weights, in life and in ministry.

It is interesting when you look at the life of Christ just how many times He ministered one-on-one to people. As you can imagine most of His time would have been taking up teaching the disciples and traveling around to preach, teach and heal the multitudes.

However there are a number of occasions recorded in the Gospels that show Jesus taking the time for one person and their needs. Here are just a few…

• Jesus with Nicodemus where Jesus explains the need to be born again (John 3:1-10)
• Jesus with the Samaritan woman by the well where they talk about living water (John 4:41-42)
• Jesus and the rich young ruler who asked about eternal life (Matthew 19:16-22)
• Jesus and the man who was born blind and then was healed by Jesus (John 9:1-12)
• Jesus and the widow whose son had died and Jesus raised to life (Luke 7:11)

Every time Jesus stopped and took the time to be with each of these people (and many more) their lives were impacted and changed dramatically.

I found it interesting that in the midst of His busy mission of “seeking and saving the lost” (Luke 19:10), Jesus always took the time for the one person in need. I think it is a great pattern for us to follow.

I did my first lecture in Pastoral Care the other day. It was an interesting exercise to find a definition that really covered it. Instead of coming up with a succinct statement that encompassed it, the lecturer gave a number of definitions that painted a picture to try and give us an understanding of Pastoral Care is.

In the lecture I also found a couple of interesting things that really jumped out at me.

1. Pastoral Care is the cure and care of souls - I like that as a definition as it touches on helping people get “well” again from the storms and pains of life. It also touches on a maintenance and equipping side that helps people be better prepared for the future and helps them to be all they are in Christ. I think I will keep this definition in mind as I go about the things I do.

2. Pastoral Care changes depending on the context - The care and cure of souls varies depending on the setting. Working with patients in a cancer hospice or as a hospital chaplain is dramatically different to working as a high school chaplain or a Pastor in church. While there are some common things in both places, you would have to adjust the way they are delivered and the depth of care you can give.

It is also interesting to note that in the last week, God has brought three people across my path that have needed Pastoral Care and encouragement. It seems God is building into me with the academic side and the practical side at the same time.

I have been reflecting on the lost sheep parable the last few days (Luke 15:3-7). This is the one that talks about a shepherd with 100 sheep and one goes missing. The shepherd leaves the 99 and goes to look for the one to bring it back into the fold. When he finds it he rejoices at the find.

There are two reasons I think I have been looking at this passage. One is because I am going to be doing a Pastoral Care unit this semester and the other is that I feel I have been prompted by God to reflect on it.

Traditionally I have been good at noticing when someone is struggling and slipping out of the fold. I generally am able to pick up on the signals and then I pray. It is then it is usually confirmed and I keep praying. I try to speak to the person at church and encourage them, but normally that is where I have left it. I have never been good at following them up during the week by giving them a call or a visit.

I have friends who are brilliant at this and I see the difference it makes to people. Many times I have seen people who are slipping away being returned to church or home groups as a result. A few simple calls or visits can make a huge difference to them long term.

I have a feeling this is one of the major areas God is going to speak to me about over the next few months. If I really get this message and take it on board I feel my ministry effectiveness will dramatically increase.

How about you? Have you got people in your life that might benefit from a call or a visit? A few calls or visits over a couple of weeks might make a huge difference long term.

Recently I have caught up with some people that I haven’t really seen for a while. One of the things that has really excited me is the growth I have seen in them.

Some of them are more confident speaking in front of a group, some are reflecting on and overcoming areas where they have been struggling, some have a deeper Bible knowledge, some have made a commitment to Christ and others are really seeking to hear from God on a future direction. I don’t know about you, but when people are growing and pressing in to God I get really excited because I know great things are just around the corner for them.

When I see growth I really love to tell people about the growth and changes I have seen. I think that is important because often when we are churning through things we don’t see our own growth. We often just see the struggle and feel like we are spinning our wheels. When someone notices change or growth it can encourage us to keep pressing on with it.

Here’s a thought. Is there anyone in your life you can encourage about the growth and changes you have seen in their life over the last six months? No matter how small it is, it might just really encourage them and give them the motivation to press on.

One of the things my wife Larissa and I have tried to do is involve our kids in our faith and ministry as much as we can. We have never pushed them to be involved as they are only young (10 & 8), but we have allowed them to be present in our prayer times and home groups if they were awake or if they come into the room.

We have done this so they can see what happens in a prayer meeting or home group. Sometimes they see tears, sometimes people are jumping for joy and sometimes the presence of God is so strong that all we can do is sit. Because we have allowed them to be present they see this sort of thing as normal.

One recent example of this is two of my friends were are our house praying. One of my girls was sitting on a chair listening and watching. She had a huge smile on her face and was soaking it up.

My other girl picked up what was happening and went to the computer and made a book mark with a picture of an Eagle on it. On one side it had Isaiah 40:31 where it talks about wings on eagles. One the other side it had a message from God which really impacted my friend. At the age of ten she ministered to a 40 year old man in a way that really spoke to him.

This happened because we have really tried to live out our faith in front of our kids. We have included them in our home groups and prayer meetings from when they were toddlers. Because of this they see these things as normal, not something weird, and it is natural for them to pull up a chair and get involved as they feel led.