pastoral-counselors « WordPress.com Tag Feed

CBF Endorsed Shunned at General Assembly

cdorear — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:16:51 +0000

Like many of you, I was blessed to be a part of the General Assembly in Memphis last week. I love to attend the General Assemblies whenever I can. I see old friends, make new friends, and experience what Church really can be like. (Unfortunately making my return to my own upper-class, white, male-dominated church always difficult.) This year I was blessed by Chuck Poole's interpretations of the theme "Building Bridges" and I was inspired by the stories of missions going on around the world that are taking the Gospel of Jesus to bold new places. However, there was one disappointment to me in the General Assembly this year.

This year, not unlike many others, the General Assembly barely mentioned the almost 600 "missionaries" it has that are serving as Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors in specialized ministry settings around the world. There are Chaplains who are offering care to military personnel and their families. There are hospital Chaplains and Hospice Chaplains who are offering care to those who are sick, injured, or dying and their families. There are industrial Chaplains who are serving as Pastoral Care givers in places of business throughout the nation. There are Pastoral Counselors who are helping those with mental, emotional, and relationship issues to find healing through the use of spiritual and psychological resources. There are others who serve as chaplains in other settings. Each and every one of these people are men and women called by God to ministry. However, these ministers of Christ who wear the endorsement of the CBF were not represented by anyone who spoke from the platform in Memphis. These endorsees were not asked to stand when other ministries were recognized in the Friday evening gathering. You really had to be aware to realize that CBF does endorse ministers to these specialized ministry settings.

If you looked, you would have seen dozens of men and women wearing the yellow ribbons of Chaplains or the maroon ribbons of Pastoral Counselors. You might not have noticed the wonderful lunch buffet for the endorsed and their families attended by at least 150 people. Those at that lunch, heard a welcome by George Pickle who has contact with every single person endorsed by the CBF. Those at the lunch would have met retired Navy Chaplain, Jim Pop, who was introduced as CBF's new Associate for Miliatary Chaplain endorsement. You would have also been disturbed by the presentation by Diana Garland on clergy sex abuse. There were also three other workshops available for chaplains and Pastoral Counselors arranged by George Pickle. It was amazing to see the number of people present, but you didn't hear about it anywhere but in that luncheon.

CBF continues to be a place that nurtures my soul. That is why I chose to be endorsed as a Pastoral Counselor by them. I was one of the first 5 to be endorsed. We are now a group of about 600 ministers representing our Lord and CBF in a variety of places around the world. I am not sure why we still seem to be the step-children of the Fellowship. I welcome your comments on this subject.

Prayer Calendars

cdorear — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:13:20 +0000

First Baptist Church in Nashville, like many other churches, has a time of corporate prayer as part of their worship each Sunday. During this time of prayer, the church remembers those who grieving, those who are ill, and they pray for individuals who represent various groups (i.e. active military, seminary students, and missionaries). Recently they added to this list members of the congregation that are in various ministry positions. A couple of Sundays ago, I was the first of these ministers to be remembered in the morning prayer. I had not been prepared for that and was surprised by the calling of my name and the description of my ministry in Pastoral Counseling. It was quite humbling to have the church body pray for me in my work. It made me realize that I do not do that often enough in my own prayer time.

I know many who serve in various ministry and non-ministry positions have difficulties unique to their position, but I think the work of Pastoral Care that Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors do is particularly isolating and lonely. Day in and day out, Pastoral Care givers are meeting with families, patients, clients, staff, and others in private and intimate conversations. They do this for the benefit of the person with wich they meet. These kinds of conversations can be emotionally draining. Many who do this kind of work often work in small departments if they have peers at all. The support of others through professional orgainizations and personal connections is vital for renewal.

One way to assist those in these types of ministry is to remember them in prayer. Perhaps send them a note of encouragement and let them know they are being prayed for. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship publishes a calendar of all Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors endorsed by them. The endorsed persons are listed by their birthdays so any day of the year, you can identify someone to pray for that day. This publication is also available online at http://www.thefellowship.info/Pray/Chaplains. There are also other prayer calendars for other ministries and missions available on the CBF website. It is a great resource for remembering others in prayer. I hope you will take a look at these and remember those who are involved in ministry in your prayers.

Chaplaincy & Pastoral Counseling: An Introduction

cdorear — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:48:09 +0000

About 10 years ago, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship began endorsing Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors. This year, the number of endorsed professional Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors topped 600. Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling are specialized ministries in which specially trained men and women offer the love and care of God to those in hospitals, prisons, corporations, the military, in counseling centers and private practices. Endorsement is an affirmation of an ongoing relationship of mutual accountability between the faith group and the endorsee. George Pickle, the current CBF staff person overseeing the endorsement process, understands endorsement as a relationship with those that CBF endorses. George is not capable of keeping up with all 600 endorsees, but he makes every effort to maintain regular contact with as many endorsees as he can. He seems to constantly seek to make sure that our endorsees have the support and encouragement of their faith group and from others in the field as they go about their various ministries.

I feel blessed to have been among that very first group of ministers endorsed by CBF and have been blessed by my ongoing relationship with George Pickle. I am currently serving as the Chair of the CBF's Council on Endorsement. As I serve in this capacity, I have agreed to post to this blog as often as I can on issue related to endorsement, Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counseling, and general topics of interest in Pastoral Care. I invite your questions and comments so that I can bring you information that is beneficial and meaningful.