At The College for Officer Training one of our training goals is to assist in the development of the foundational skills needed for pastoral ministry. We live in a complex society and as pastors we are called upon to minister in the midst of complex and sometimes painful issues. Developing the skills necessary for ministering in this age is challenging. It takes one on a journey of understanding ourselves and others better. Self care and pastoral care are connected in as much as one needs to be healthy in order to support others towards health and wholeness. Beyond the need for skill and understanding, pastoral ministry also calls us to engage compassionately with people – not in order to fix them, but to share a common journey in the Lord. Henri Nouwen expresses this so well:
“When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.” (Henri Nouwen. The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey)
The following posts and essays are by cadets and officers on the subject of pastoral ministry. Please note that the content of this page will continue to be updated as new posts on this subject are written. So come back again to read more…
