Abstract
The focus of this research is the experience of being strengthened in adversity,that is, the process of resilience. The context is Christian pastoral care with the
research addressing questions of how Christian pastors can help others develop
resilience and can be strengthened in pastoral ministry themselves.
The multidisciplinary psychosocial science research into resilience is the first
dialogue partner. Themes of struggle, the self, and relationships emerge as key
components of the process of resilience, which is also characterized by a
progression from adversity to altruism.
These themes from resilience literature are brought into conversation with the
biblical tradition of the desert where the landscape and metaphor of the desert
point to three movements of a resilience process: embracing the desert, the
encounter with the self and God and altruism expressed in pastoral
responsibility.
Christian texts emerge from the desert Christians of the fourth and fifth
centuries: the Alphabetical Sayings attend to the need to embrace the adversity of
the desert while the Institutes and Conferences of John Cassian provide a
programme whereby the ascetical struggle involves encountering the self and
God and is lived out by altruism and the responsibility of being an elder.
The Christian theologian and pastor, Rowan Williams, addresses the themes of
struggle, self, and relationships in such a way as to meet the challenges made to
Christian theology because of the traditional focus on obedience, humility and
self‐denial. By a process of creating space in relationships the mature Christian
acts altruistically.
The widely used myth and model of the wounded healer reveals how the
pastoral relationship itself goes beyond altruism by enabling healing and
growth not only for those in adversity, but also for the pastor. By drawing on
the research as a whole I propose a more sustainable model for pastoral
ministry: the resilient pastor.
| Date of Award | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Clemens Sedmak (Supervisor) & Peter Ward (Supervisor) |