Exilic Living – 1 Peter 5:1-5
1 Peter 5:1-5(NRSV)
1Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
What from the sermon this week resonated with you or encouraged you to think or live differently?
The late Peggy Way, professor at Eden Seminary, specialized in helping orient churches around congregational care. Like Peter in this passage, she encouraged congregants to participate fully in the call to “tend the flock.” She worked against the traditional notion of pastoral care and wanted to reinforce the biblical principle of congregational care. Here is what she wrote in a small article,Rethinking Pastoral Care:
“First, the responsibility for care goes with baptism and not ordination; each Christian is called to care.
Second, care is a human and not a professional function; one does not need certification to be aware of the human needs for care and how best to act to meet them.
Third, caring is a spiritual and theological orientation, and not primarily a clinical one. The Church as a context in which care is offered and received is not the same as a mental health professional or therapist's office.
Fourth, for the Christian, the “care giver” and “care receiver” are one. Neither lives out of a permanent role, and the person who receives care at one moment in time may offer the “giver” care at another time. Concerns of mutuality and equal regard define the brothers and sisters in the Church, and this affects the ways in which we care with and for one another.
Fifth, while insights from psychology and the other human sciences are indispensable, the primary resources for the care giver are the treasures of the Church: the congregation itself as a hospitable community of care; liturgies and rituals of a people seeking to ground themselves in their primary relationship with God; prayerful intentions to receive strangers and offer sanctuary, celebrate shared stories and grieve with one another in the many losses and sufferings of living and dying.”
Questions
In your mind, what is the difference between pastoral care and congregational care?
How have you experienced congregational care? How have you extended it?
Can you think of a need that the church can’tmeet?
How are congregational care and professional therapy or clinical psychology different? How are they similar?
Action/Reflection
Are you aware of any persons in the church that have a need you can meet? Is your first assumption that the staff or pastor will meet it? Who could you band together with to help meet that need?
Emmanuel Presbyterian Church – -