ROUGHLY EDITED COPY LUTHERAN PASTORAL THEOLOGY & PRACTICE LPTP-34 Captioning Provided By: Caption First, Inc. P.O. Box 1924 Lombard, IL 60148 800-825-5234 www.captionfirst.com *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. *** >> NICK: Dr.�Senkbeil, how do I gain some skills in soul care? What skills should I develop? Where do I start when a troubled person wants to talk with me? And what goals would I have for the long term? Should I have a plan? >> PROF. SENKBEIL: Should you have a plan? Well, certainly, the old saying pertains "whoever fails to plan plans to fail." And really, Nick, for the long term I think it's important that, especially in troubled cases of individuals in the congregation, it is important to have a long-term plan. And let's address that by beginning really with the foundational things. You asked about skills in pastoral care. And you're absolutely right. Like most fields of any importance, pastoral theology has both a science and an art to it. Just as in medical schools we train physicians of the body with a whole body of information of knowledge regarding the body and its care, so it is that in training pastors we give to them a rich abundance of resources regarding knowledge of the scriptures, of Christian doctrine, of a history of the church, of the application of that in terms of pastoral theology. But, finally, it gets down to the application of this knowledge, doesn't it? And just as medical schools produce doctors, they then go out to practice medicine, so it is that pastors who learn a body of knowledge regarding theology go on to practice pastoral theology. They learn the art, if you will, of soul care on the job. And, you know, a lot of what you will use in the ministry is what you've been given already in terms of your experience as a Christian. You know, for example, what it's like to wrestle with your own old Adam. You know how sin works in yourself. You've seen it in operation in your neighbors and in your family and on the job. And you've been given now or will be given shortly a special responsibility in the church as one who stands in Christ's place to minister to His people with the sacred means of His word and sacraments. So how do you obtain skills in pastoral care? I think it's, first of all, by knowing the Bible, by knowing Christian doctrine, by knowing the chief articles of the Christian faith and on every occasion teaching them as the occasion arises. But also keeping an ear wide open to the needs of people. And, you know, Nick, I think really, at this juncture in history in the early 21st century, people are so frenzied and so busy that when someone gives them their full attention and listens to them, that in itself is very, very helpful to people. And I think you'll find that, if you take time for individuals and you really listen to them, then you'll be helping them. But you're listening to them for a specific reason. Just as when you visit your medical doctor, he takes a medical history of your various ailments and what your life is like, where you've been, what kinds of medical care you've received in the past, so as a pastor you're going to be interested in a person's spiritual history. You're going to be interested in their previous relationship with God in His church. You're going to be all ears when it comes to their secular environment and their family and their work and all those kinds of attachments. But all the while you're going to be listening for cues, if you will, or clues as to what's happening with them spiritual speaking. These are just symptoms, mind you. If a person is prone, for example, to fear or doubt, that's going to show up in their conversation in a certain element of uncertainty. It will not do simply to dismiss that and say well, a Christian shouldn't doubt or shouldn't be uncertain. But rather you're going to treat that as a symptom of something. You're going to try to get underneath to understand what is the underlying ailment. And just as a medical doctor proceeds from a case history to a diagnosis to a prescription to an ongoing prognosis and then to observation, so it is that a pastor proceeds in much the same way. He has his ears tuned both to the person and his or her history, to the symptoms which they give voice to or which he observes. And also he has his ears tuned to the word of God. He wants to bring God through his word to this individual. The pastor himself has no cure to bring to individuals. Only the Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, is the one who cares for his sheep. But he does it in his church through the office of the ministry. What is that? The Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he sends the Holy Spirit who works faith when and where he pleases in those who hear the Gospel. We heard that before, Augsburg 5. It's a very practical aspect of the care of souls of acquiring and strengthening the art of pastoral care. Now, Nick, about that pastoral care plan we discussed, surely, when someone comes to you with a problem, you can talk about it right then and there. But, as I said, sometimes the most beneficial thing you can do is simply to listen and to listen very carefully. And then, if you're not thoroughly aware of how this should be handled, it's important then not to jump in on -- giving an answer that you're really uncertain of. Rather I think it would be useful simply to close the conversation with the word of God and with prayer and ask the person if you can get back to them. In the meantime you can consult other resources, consult other pastors so that you might be better able to address the situation. But in complex situations you want to have more of a comprehensive plan. The components of a pastoral care plan are really quite simple following that model of pastoral care that I discussed. That is, first of all, we understand the symptoms. Then we arrive at a diagnosis. What's the underlying problem, the question behind the question, if you will? Then, once we've arrived at the core of the issue, we apply the resources and the gifts of God that He's provided, namely, His word and His sacraments to address that issue. So the components of a pastoral care plan would be the following: First, arriving at a diagnosis, then suggesting a prescription. What specific texts from the word of God would be useful for this person? How will I as a pastor use these not merely in my conversations with that person in terms of teaching but also in terms of the prayer which I'm offering for that person and with that person? What dimensions of blessing would be particularly helpful to this person in helping him or her to address the circumstances they're in? How will I help this person to find the resources that he or she needs in the divine service, that is, the public worship of the church where the Gospel is regularly preached and the sacraments administered? Sometimes people really don't know how to grasp hold of these gifts that are offered there. And one of the best things you can do is to train them to receive them. Perhaps another component in pastoral care plan would be to teach the person how to pray, how to pray more directly regarding this issue or this problem, how to pray on the basis of God's sure promises in His word. After all, even the disciples had to ask the Lord Jesus to teach them to pray. And so one of the chief things we're doing as pastors is to train people in the art of prayer, particularly, that model we discussed earlier, the model of prayer which is based upon answering speech, listening first to the word of God and then echoing that word back to Him in one's own prayer. Finally, in a pastoral care plan, in most complex situations, there are other problems besides spiritual issues that are really compounding the issue. And so, as a pastor, I'd want to identify what are those issues? Maybe it's an economic issue. Maybe it's a social issue. Maybe it's an emotional or a mental issue. Maybe it's a physical issue. And so I'm going to want to refer that person to the appropriate resources or people that they can find some assistance. Then also don't neglect the fellowship of the communion the saints, the priesthood of all believers, the members of your congregation. How could some of those people be brought into the picture to be resources and helps, perhaps mentors, perhaps simply lending a compassionate ear or an encouraging word. All of these components could play into a pastoral care plan. And, if I were you, I would actually keep record of those things. When did I use these texts? What referrals were made? What kinds of results did you observe? Now, those records, I must hasten to add, are part of your confidential pastoral care of that individual. They belong to privileged information, confidential information. You ought not to share that with other people. And, when you leave that parish, those records should be destroyed, since they're part of the individual pastoral care that you're offering to that person. I hope that helps. *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. ***