Pastoral Theology presents-in many ways-the most important continuing challenge to the church! For it is the integration of theory and practice. Too much theory, and the church can become a sterile place marked by 'head knowledge'. Alternatively, too much practice and the church can become a pragmatic institution ruled by societal trends-if it works, it must be good. Pastoral Theology seeks to wed the two aspects of Christian ministry. We do not automatically assume that if a church is big and growing that God must be blessing it, and neither, alternatively, can we assume that if a church is not big and growing, that God has perfected His will among the local " elect?.
There is a common thread running through the writings of pastoral theologians, and that is the sad fact that until a little over a century ago, the pastoral theologians were the practitioners. It is too simplistic to suggest that the 'academics' stole the 'high ground' from the practitioners and distanced theory from practice. The truth was that there was a phenomenal growth in Biblical scholarship that opened up insights previously unimagined. It was inevitable that the average pastor was not going to be able to keep 'up to date' with this ever increasing volume of knowledge.
Traditionally, Pastoral Theology has been seen to encompass four main areas: healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling. Each is well-summarised by W.A. Clebsch and C.A. Jaekle in Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective, and it is fascinating to notice how one or other of these emphasises have dominated the church at various times in its history. During the last century, it was not only the church that became inundated with new knowledge. In the area of 'pastoral' matters, there was the foundational work of such figures as Sigmund Freud, who highlighted the wealth of influences that impinge upon our lives from early childhood. It is not the intention of this volume to debate the validity or otherwise of the 'secular' theorists, but let it suffice to note that there has been a significant ongoing debate as to the validity or otherwise of such insights in relation to the Christian faith.
Nowhere have these changes been more highlighted than in a 'living picture' of life 100 years ago. With my family, I spent a year in a major city of south-eastern England. There were two very notable stone buildings (among others!) in that city-the gaol and the 'lunatic asylum'. Both those buildings were designed by the same architect-and it showed! My work colleague spoke of the fact that one of his grandmothers spent more than half her life in that institution as a virtual prisoner. There is at least one such building in Sydney. So why mention that? Because, at the time, the church reinforced the underlying concepts by its attitude that those inside were virtually beyond hope-if only by its silence. There was little or no 'pastoral' visiting from the church-even given the possibility that some of the inhabitants were demonized and needing of a ministry specific to the church. It was their commitment to such visitation which made the Wesleys and their evangelical kin so remarkable-light in a darkness which enveloped the church as much as society.
It could well be (and in fact has been, by American historian Jackson Lears in his book No Place for Grace) argued that the growth of psychiatric and psychological schools has had a significant influence on contemporary church attitudes towards those suffering from emotional illnesses. The growth of the Clinical Pastoral Education models can be seen as a clear example of the church's efforts to integrate both pastoral and theological practice.
Beginning with my own paper in this collection, I have quoted that well known writer/academic, Eugene Peterson, who speaks of Pastoral Theology as 'taking Dame religion by the hand and dragging her into the market place'. We must continually look towards an integration of both theory and practice, otherwise the student of theology will fall again into the pragmatist's trap of forgetting all the insights of theology, bible scholarship and history.
The papers presented in this volume are a means of raising these issues and also giving examples of the integration of theory and practice-including insights from both secular and spiritual resources. This is most ably demonstrated in the paper presented by Bruce Stevens, who has the benefit of working professionally in both theology and psychology.
I have mentioned the Clinical Pastoral Education model as being a means to integrate both theological and secular insights. In what can be seen as an ongoing tension between some secular scholars and some theologians, there has been a tendency among some to 'critique' the various schools of 'counselling' and then to produce a new and (it is often suggested) defining form of Christian counselling. Sadly, these 'theories' can often be but thinly disguised rewrites of so called 'secular' theories-and sadly somewhat inferior reflections. Both Stevens' and Graham Barker's papers should help to alleviate the fears of many, demonstrating that we need not dismiss the helpful insights of the secular world.
Of course, Pastoral Theology is more than just 'pastoral care'-it is the study that challenges us to assess theologically, to assess biblically. It is that which challenges both pastor and academic to stop and reflect about what is happening within the church at both the macro and micro levels. In the pressures of pastoral ministry with its many demands, there can be a constant pressure to 'take up with the latest and greatest'-in fact there can be pressure to feel 'out of tune' if we are not fully embracing that which is new and is seen as the latest 'move of the Spirit'. We can so easily forget St Paul's challenge that we not be tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.[Ephesians 4:14 NRSV] Now, I am not suggesting that the church is caught up in trickery, but I am suggesting that within the context of the pressures to complete all the demands made in pastoral ministry and in the desire to succeed (for good and bad reasons-the latter may simply be to survive!) it can be so easy to 'uncritically' accept the latest 'fad'. Pastoral theology says 'stop, consider what you are saying and doing'. Nowhere is this more evident than when we read the often appalling exegesis used to justify some of these 'fads'. I recently heard of the scorn poured out on a Biblical scholar when he questioned the exegetical methods used to justify the 'Bible code'-remember that? Similarly, I remember the scorn poured out on a well known Pentecostal scholar when he questioned some aspects of the (then) current 'new wave'.
So, am I fulfilling every pastor's inevitable criticism of 'air-headed' academics? I would hope not. But Pastoral Theology says that it is 'okay' to question and sometimes we need to listen to those who may (appear to) have the luxury of time to read and think about contemporary issues.
The Pentecostal Churches have a rich heritage of 'faith in action,' and it is a sign of maturity when a movement is willing and able to stop and question. May this volume and this journal allow us the opportunity to do just that!