Listening & Caring Skills

Author: John Savage
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1426723172
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 154

Book Description
The secret to leadership and transformation of a group--or of another person--is the quality of the relationship one person has with another. The effective group leader or counselor will be the person who learns how to listen to other people. By studying and employing listening skills, church leaders will engage others more compassionately, allowing them to feel that their needs are being met. These skills can be used with persons who are terminally ill, inactive at church, going through a divorce, in a family with a severely ill person, unemployed, seeking a new church, grieving, traumatized by catastrophe, going through teenage adolescence, in marriage counseling, or leading a ministry team. John Savage offers eleven specific and teachable listening skills for improving relationships among those who do ministry in small-group settings or when offering counsel to others. The skills are taught through oral exercises and unfailingly helpful examples from actual congregational situations. The skills include paraphrasing, productive questions, perception check, expression of feelings and emotions, fogging, negative inquiry, behavior description, and story listening.

Caring Ministry

Author: Sarah A. Butler
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0826421512
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Book Description
The Caring Ministry program was developed by the Pastoral Care Team at St. John as Episcopal Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, to train lay people in basic pastoral skills. Its premise is that there is no better way to cultivate a receptive posture toward others than by practicing listening to God. The Caring Ministry Approach thus combines basic pastoral skills and guidelines along with an emphasis on being grounded in prayer. It invites both clergy and lay ministers to deepen the well of relationship with God as a means to developing a caring, listening heart. The text weds expertise with reflection and draws up the rich stories and lessons from scripture that add the spark of wisdom and grace to psychological programs. It is particularly suited for use in church-based pastoral care programs.

Hearing Beyond the Words

Author: Emma J. Justes
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1426719647
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Only when pastors hear beyond the words, can they care-fully minister. Pastors listen all the time. Or do they? Listening is more than a developed skill; it is an awesome gift of hospitality offered to others. According to Dr. Emma Justes, hearing beyond the words signifies an intimate relationship characterized by humility, thoughtful availability, vulnerability, and mutuality. Listening requires focused attention and openness. To help the reader learn this essential skill, the author includes exercises at the end of each chapter to build needed competency for this healing ministry.

Caring Pastors, Caring People

Author: Marvin Andrew McMickle
Publisher: Living Church
ISBN: 9780817017002
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
With so many broken and hurting people in our congregations and in our communities, how is a church pastor supposed to address so many needs? This second volume in Judson Press¿s new ¿Living Church¿ series explores the nature of pastoral care and invites laity and clergy alike to become partners in this essentially human ministry. Beginning with the traditional core of pastoral care as a critical function of the church pastor, author, professor, and veteran pastor Marvin McMickle expands that core into a second circle of care¿as the pastor equips and empowers church members to partner in caring for one another. Finally, McMickle throws open the doors of the church and challenges pastor, lay leaders, and church members alike to extend their ministries of pastoral care to the local community, through ministries of advocacy, justice, healthcare, education, and service. A richly reflective and utterly practical resource, this volume deepens the church¿s understanding of pastoral care¿and expands that compassionate and priestly ministry in the church and in the world.

The Power of Listening

Author: Lynne M. Baab
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566997127
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 197

Book Description
Listening skills, and the perspective gained through careful listening, are more important in congregations than ever. Many factors make attentive listening a significant contributor to healthy congregations. As we enter into a post-Christendom culture, the people coming into congregations, as well as the people in the wider community, are less likely to be operating from a shared set of assumptions. With world-wide migration reshaping our communities and congregations, diverse perspectives coming from varied cultural backgrounds are also more common. The breakdown of many support structures in society has created profound pastoral care needs, making listening increasingly significant for both ministers and lay leaders. Polarization over so many issues and the increasing emphasis on story-telling in the journey of faith are two additional reasons why listening matters today. Careful and loving listening nurtures care, connection and depth, which contribute to congregational life and health. Listening to God is another aspect of listening which is gaining increased attention today. Many congregational leaders have become weary of church as a business and are looking for authentic experiences of God’s guidance. Congregations are increasingly engaging in communal discernment. Many listening skills used in human interactions are also building blocks for listening to God.

Listening for the Soul

Author: Jean Stairs
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 9781451410778
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
This book explores the relationship between the practices of pastoral care and the practices of spiritual direction with the aim of enabling pastoral caregivers to draw upon the guiding principles, resources, and techniques of spiritual direction within the Christian tradition. With an emphasis on both "practice" and "presence", the book reclaims the tradition of "soul care" for the pastoral ministry, thereby complementing the medical, or crisis intervention, model of pastoral care with a wellness/growth model of pastoral care.Listening for the Soul: -- Challenges clergy to take seriously the relationship between pastoral care and spiritual direction.-- Integrates theological and psychological insights with issues of spiritual life and formation.-- Includes a chapter on the spiritual formation of children.-- Provides practical guidance for integrating spiritual direction with pastoral care.-- Tends to the pastoral caregivers own needs for spiritual deepening.-- Includesreflection,questions and case studies to enable the text to function on both the individual reader and classroom levels.

Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church

Author: James L. Killen
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 0687343267
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 115

Book Description
An introduction to pastoral care for pastors of small membership churches. "If you spend your whole life serving small membership churches and doing it well, yours will have been a life well spent." Small membership churches have a real advantage when it comes to incorporating people into a fellowship where they are known and where their needs are met. These churches and their pastors have an opportunity for excellence in this area, and should make the most of it. Good pastoral care can be the key to effectiveness in all of the other ministries of the church.From getting acquainted with your congregation, weddings and funerals, picking up on subtle cues in a conversation to not-so-subtle conflicts, Killen shares insights from years of ministry in a small membership church setting. James L. Killen, Jr. is a retired elder of the Texas Conference, contributor to Circuit Rider, and author of Who Do You Say That I Am? A Personal Reader.

Recalling Our Own Stories

Author: Edward P. Wimberly
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 150645478X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
How religious caregivers can find spiritual renewal in their own story Recalling Our Own Stories, which author Edward P. Wimberly describes as "a spiritual retreat in book form," is designed to help clergy and religious caregivers face the challenges of ministry. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners who assist these clergy and caregivers in meeting the challenges of their work. Wimberly enables caregivers to map out and come to grips with cultural expectations of their profession. He also helps readers explore and edit the mythologies that make up their self-image, attitudes toward others, expectations about their performance and role, and convictions about ministry. Finally, he provides a model for spiritual and emotional review grounded in narrative psychology and spiritual approaches. As Wimberly explains, this book offers a way to renew our motivation for ministry by reconnecting to our original call, visualizing again how God has acted and remains intricately involved in our lives. Wimberly demonstrates how religious caregivers, often facing burnout, can tap the sources of renewal that reside in the faith community.

Nurturing Hope

Author: Lynne M. Baab
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506434282
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral care Christian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways. In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focusing on skills that help carers nurture connections between everyday life and Christian faith, she explores the need for carers to understand common stressors, listen, pray with others, and nurture their personal resilience. Grounded in an understanding of God as the true caregiver and healer, the author offers tips for readers who are training other pastoral carers or developing their own understanding and skills. Each chapter ends with discussion and reflection questions, making the book helpful for groups. Lynne Baab brings readers hope for their caring role and for their own spiritual journey.

Learning While Leading

Author: Anita Farber-Robertson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566995736
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Book Description
As the world changes, so do people's expectations of their faith community and clergy. This book uses three case studies to speak to religious professionals about the challenges they face, to provide readers with specific, user-friendly techniques to become more aware of how they function, and to learn new ways to lead. Clergy will find real-life examples of how more effective leadership enhances the life of the community and promotes the deepening of members' faith.