Meghan Murray

Shepherding in the 21st Century

Dr. Smith
10 February 2015
The Development and Role of Pastoral Caregivers Today
Acts 20:28 tells us to, keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his
own blood (NIV). The image of the church leader as shepherd is very prevalent throughout the
Bible and is understood as one who provides guidance and care over Gods people. However,
what does this type of care look like? The greatest example for any modern shepherd is found in
the life of Jesus, the good shepherd (John 10:11). In everything that Jesus did, he showed his
love for humanity. How does that type of care translate in todays culture though? The answer
lies in how pastoral care has developed over the years, ever since the beginning of Christianity
itself. Charles Gerkin states that the four main modes of care that have been practiced over the
centuries have been guidance, sustaining, reconciling, and healing (pg. 25), but that the
practices of pastoral care were profoundly influenced by the spirit and assumptions of [the]
time (Gerkin, 45). The purpose of this paper is to look at how pastoral care has developed over
the centuries, how the role of the pastor as the primary caregiver has changed, and how the
church has been affected by pastoral care as a whole.
Pastoral care is not a new term. It has been around since Old Testament times and
continues to be relevant today. However, despite being around for over two thousand years,
pastoral care has changed greatly over time, catering to the needs and trends of the times. In

order to understand pastoral care today, it is important to look back, beginning with the New
Testament church, and see how it has evolved over the years and how each time period has
contributed to what we know of pastoral care today. The early church focused on a type of care
which involved concern for the purity of the congregation in a non-Christian, pagan culture
(Gerkin, 28). During this time, leaders of the church assisted in sustaining [the believers] faith
and right behavior in anticipation of that great event, which was expected to occur in their
lifetime (Gerkin, 28). We learn from the early church that pastoral care must have a focus on
sustaining the faith, especially while we live in a very faithless world. The New Testament
church strived to encourage believers to lead faithful lives while under the strain of everyday
life in a predominantly secular world (Gerkin, 29) and their example can still be applied today.
However, the development of pastoral care did not end with the New Testament church. A
little more than three centuries into the Christian Era, the urgency believers once had about the
return of Christ died down and sustaining the faith no longer meant preparing for the near future,
but rather, an indefinite one (Gerkin, 29). This was also the time in which the imperial Roman
cultural context became more hostile (Gerkin, 29). More and more Christians were being
persecuted for their faith, so pastoral care not only focused on sustaining, but also on
reconciliation. Reconciliation during this time period meant combining care for the community
and care of individuals with modes of disciplining members of the community who failed to
follow the churchs rules of worship and behavior (Gerkin, 29). Along with reconciliation came
the practice of repentance and confession, concepts brought to prominence by theologian,
Tertullian (Gerkin, 30). During this time, so much focus was on behavior that pastoral leaders of
the time were also responsible for the punishment of sins, the forgiveness of sins after due

repentance, and the variety of penitential means by which the offender could become
reconciled to the community (Gerkin, 30).
After the period of persecution, pastoral care changed once again when Constantine
became emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine put an end to the persecution of Christians
and even gave the church the status of a favored religion (Gerkin, 33). Now that the church
was in an authoritative role, it suddenly had to not only set the behavioral and moral standards
for the people of the society, but also dispensed state welfare fund and impressed upon the
populace Christian interpretations of common troubles (Gerkin, 33). All pastoral care practices
and church functions began to have order and become more formalized than what they once were
(Gerkin, 34). Reconciliation remained an important aspect of pastoral care at this time, but it
became routinized into the administration of penance and the enforcement of standard church
policies (Gerkin, 34). In addition, physical healing also became an important practice amongst
priests at the time. (Gerkin, 34). The church became a unifying force for the people, a role that
still remains important in todays time.
The church once again had to take on the role of a unifying force for the people after the
fall of the Roman Empire (Gerkin, 38). However, during this time, there was also a good amount
of fomentation and controversy within the church regarding the proper care and interpretation
of the Christian theological tradition (Gerkin, 38). Many theologians offered their own
interpretations of how pastoral care should be practiced, but the most influential person of this
time was most likely Gregory the Great. Gregorys work was famous for his emphasis on
individualized guidance of the souls of the faithful, and his stress on the regulation of ordinary
life through the practices of prayer, meditation, and spiritual discipline (Gerkin, 38). Therefore,
pastoral care of this time had its primary focus on guidance and healing, more specifically, the

guidance and healing of individuals. This period was influenced by the growing concerns over
both spiritual health and religious disciplines, and how those two were connected (Gerkin, 3940). Even near the end of the Middle Ages, healing continued to remain the focus of pastoral care
at the time as well. During this time, sacramental healing became the norm for pastoral
practice (Gerkin, 40). Pastors of the middle ages were as much physicians of the spirit as
medical doctors were physicians of the body (Gerkin, 40). It should also be noted that
Francis of Assisi also influenced pastoral care at the time by liv[ing] a life of humble service to
the poor and dispossessed, a ministry designed to humble the proud and invite others into his
lifestyle of selfless service (Gerkin, 40-41).
It was during the Protestant Reformation that pastoral care underwent a major
transformation, one unlike any that had occurred before that time. Reformers of this time such as
Martin Luther made a sharp turn away from the primacy of sacramentalism and priestly
exercise of penitential discipline, and toward the care of souls in their individual search for
salvation (Gerkin, 41). Pastoral care of this time became more individualized than ever before
due to the growing belief in the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers and salvation by faith
alone (Gerkin, 41). Reconciliation and guidance became of primary importance once again in
this time as more and more pastors provided care which encouraged the reconciliation of the
individual to God and guidance in the spiritual life of members of the community of faith
(Gerkin, 42). It was also important to leaders at this time that all believers participate in the
spreading of the Gospel, rather than leaving the task to the pastors and other church leaders
(Gerkin, 42).
Pastoral care once again began to shift as The Enlightenment began to spread across the
nations. The Enlightenment was marked by the rise of secularism and by basic trust in human

rationality, enthusiasm for the possibilities of human learning, and confidence in empirical
methods of discerning truth (Gerkin, 44-45). Due to this rise of reason, pastoral care also
changed and moved (toward a more scientific practical mode of operation (Gerkin, 45). Thus,
sustaining became a primary function of pastoral care at this time. It sought to sustain people in
the faith amidst hard circumstances and to encourage believers in upholding personal morality
(Gerkin, 45). This focus on discipline in care at the time was used to bring back the moral
judgment which was practiced since Old Testament time and to sustain the faith of the people
which they cared for (Gerkin, 46).
The final stage of change before pastoral care became what we know it to be today began
in the nineteenth century. This time brought about changes in religious practice and organization
in the church. People began to push for the separation between church and state, and churches
affairs soon became voluntary, rather than state-regulated (Gerkin, 47). Pastoral care at this time
was concerned for the psychological processes by which the self could simultaneously achieve
a healthy, balanced sense of self and an experience of salvation (Gerkin, 49). The pastoral care
practitioners thus focused on conversion and nurture over other forms of pastoral care (Gerkin,
48). Not only that, but churches went from primarily being a place of worship and teaching to
being one of the many social centers in society (Gerkin, 50). As a result, church leaders had to
look at pastoral care from a broader perspective which involve[d] the care of the entire
community of faith (Gerkin, 51). Many pastors and church leaders today continue to take on
this broader view of care.
While pastoral care has been around since the start of Christianity, pastoral counseling is
a fairly new concept. Pastoral counseling really gained ground at the beginning of the twentieth
century. Psychology was becoming more and more popular both in the church and in the secular

world, and many church leaders sought to incorporate it into their pastoral ministry. They
believed that psychology offered the possibility of enhancing pastoral ability to minister to
troubled persons in Christian congregations (Gerkin, 55). One organization in particular is
responsible for the popularization of pastoral counseling. Reverend Elwood Worcester of
Emmanuel Church in Boston started what became widely known as the Emanuel movement
when he arranged for two psychiatrists to join him in making themselves available to consult
with anyone needing assistance with nervous or spiritual disorders (Gerkin, 55). This movement
was so successful that it lasted for decades and also set the pace for pastoral counseling as a form
of pastoral care and healing (Gerkin, 55). A lot of what distinguished pastoral counseling at this
time from other forms of pastoral healing was that the ideas and practices put into place were
often borrowed from secular sources (Gerkin, 67). For example, while theologians had their
disagreements with Freud, they did look to his ideas in the formation of the pastoral counseling
movement (Gerkin, 56-57). Early pastoral counseling thus relied on psychological techniques to
help people through their problems or issues.
Pastoral counseling was very popular for several decades; however, as ideas about
psychological and spiritual health changed, so did pastoral counseling itself. Pastors soon began
to turn away from the heavy influence of individual psychology toward a renewed concern
for the interest in the care of the community of Christians (Gerkin, 73). Pastoral caregivers began
to take a step back from one-on-one care and focused more on the network of care to be
provided by the church as a living community (Gerkin, 73). This developed the idea as pastor as
the interpretive guide or rather, a leader that nurtures certain qualities of life in the members
of the community (Gerkin, 73). Instead of being primary caregivers, pastors needed to become
living illustrators of the Bible to the community of believers. They needed to guide their

congregations in living out their Christian identities as the Bible tells us to live them out (Gerkin,
76). What separates the pastor as an interpretive guide from the pastor as a pastoral counselor
is that the interpretive guide articulate[s] the call of the gospel to be concerned for and actively
involved in social ministries that care for the dispossessed, the homeless, and the victims of
political and economic injustice everywhere (Gerkin, 127-128). Therefore, the interpretive
guide isnt so much concerned about the psychological aspects of the individuals problems, but
on providing the right guidance and care to help the community of believers alleviate the
problems at hand.
While its important to see how pastoral care has developed over the years, its also
important to see how different forms of pastoral care affect churches today. E. Glenn Wagner
states that, as a result of improper care of both the church and themselves, more and more
churches are struggling mightily, Christians are wandering from the faith, and pastors are
burning out at alarming rates (Wagner & Halliday, 17). He argues that because the church has
become more focused on trying to sell the Gospel, the church has become more like a business
than a place of fellowship and worship. He states that as a result not only is church growth
failing to keep up with the nations birthrate, but the behavior of those who identify themselves
as Christians cannot be distinguished statistically from those who make no such claim (Wagner
& Halliday, 18). Pastors are relying more on outside resources than the greatest resource
provided to them (the Holy Spirit) to care for their congregations. In fact, he goes on to claim
that never before in the history of the church has there been so much available to so many yet
with so little effect (Wagner & Halliday, 19). A lot of the problem lies in how all of these
business strategies have affected the role of the pastor. Whether the pastor does the preaching
and leaves everything else in the church to be run by someone else, or if the pastor takes it upon

himself to control all business-related aspects of the church, he becomes a corporate officer, not
a shepherd (Wagner & Halliday, 21). Pastors cant be caregivers if their too concerned about
numbers, programs, and events. By allowing the church to become more like a business, pastors
begin to take the community aspect out of the congregation. As Wagner points out, people feel
used by corporations, not nurtured by them (Wagner & Halliday, 24). True pastoral caregivers
follow the example of the shepherd given in the Bible. God didnt use the example of some great,
magnificent leader, but that of a humble shepherd, to lead his flock (Wagner & Halliday, 29).
While not so surprising that God uses the often-overlooked shepherd to describe his
followers, it does seem strange that He uses the same image to describe himself. But then again,
Jesus, the God of the universe, Lord over all creation, chose to enter the world in the most
humble and vulnerable form of all: a human baby. Jesus life is the ultimate example for pastors
and church leaders to follow today in providing care for the flock. He taught with both love and
authority. He healed the sick and sat amongst sinners. In everything that he did, He displayed a
type of care that unfortunately, is more often than not absent from churches today. Pastoral care
is such a necessary and vital part of the pastoral role and, regardless of what the focus is in that
care (guidance, healing, reconciliation, or sustaining), it cant be effectively given without a
central focus on God and on who He is. A good passage to look at regarding the role of the
shepherd is Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green
pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right
paths for his names sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (vs. 1-4, NIV). While pastors may
not be all-powerful and all-knowing as God is, they can do their part to provide a type of care to
their church members that is both Biblical and Spirit-led.

Bibliography
Gerkin, Charles V. An Introduction to Pastoral Care. Nashville: Abingdon, 1997. Print.
Wagner, E. Glenn, and Steve Halliday. Escape from Church, Inc.: The Return of the PastorShepherd. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999. Print.