Religion and Theology

Even those who are usually engaged in spiritual renewal retreats need to refuel and reignite the faith inside their hearts. And to seek for a spiritual renewal means to have the full grasp of ones motivation for ministry. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, this motivation for ministry is the regarded as the call which refers to the first time that a person has the awareness that he or she has the passion to work for the ministry.

With regards to ones call, there are actually significant differences among the individuals who realize that ministry is their life. Some people realize and have the full understanding of their calling in the ministry after a several period of time. The others, nevertheless, have an abrupt realization of their calling in the ministry. But then again, what matters most is not the period of time when the person knows his or her calling. The most important thing is that how people can reconnect their original call by means of spiritual renewal. 

According to the author, as related to his fathers stories, call to ministry is a self-realization of an individual. The authors father left teaching when he realized that he has a calling to serve the Lord. Likewise, rehearsal to the call can be considered as a form of spiritual renewal. The authors father found renewal for his ministry by returning to his memory of his own call. Lastly, the author also emphasizes that spiritual renewal does not only require reflection on the call but also rehearsal and recount of the story in a community or public setting. It is indeed true that spiritual renewal is essential to the life of those who have the call for the ministry since it will bring spiritual replenishment to them.   
Religion care giving can be dangerous to ones health.  It is important for religious caregivers to find out what the authors of The Psychology Clergy say about the hazards that come with the ministry. According to them, the ministry is a very hazardous occupation that may be likened to stunt car driving.

The focus of this chapter is to discuss personal myths. These myths help foster peoples convictions about the world. The personal myths are said to originate from childhood experiences. The myths that are presented in the book are drawn from the lives of different people that have experiences in care giving and counseling and these myths tell the story of the struggles of these people. Each myth has a connection with the myth of perfection and in order to win favor, there are some people who are deeply convinced about their personal flaws and as a result, they become intimidated by the expectations of others.

It is from the myth of perfection that most religious caregivers draw their developing energy and ministerial myths. Perfectionism is not only the attempt of the people who want to get favors and love despite their current state of unacceptableness. People are often motivated by their cultural expectation in order to achieve perfection. Lives of the religious caregivers are often grounded on the Puritan Heritage whose expectations are always perfectionist and nonnegotiable.

The author has encountered marital and family myths that are common in families. The marital myths scrutinize the nature of the ideal mate and marriage expectations. This third chapter discusses the etiology of all the ideal expectations that originated from family issues as well as the life cycle systems involved in the development of the marital and family expectations. Some of the common marital myths explored are the myths of jubilation, settling and the parental substitute.

This chapter discusses the most mundane myths that are present in the married and the family lives of all the religious caregivers. Like the personal myths that are found in Chapter Two, the family and the marital myths change depending on the individual and the themes that are found in their life experiences and that of the people involved. The importance of the marital and the family myths is that all of the marriages and families have them. The more old and established the family members are, the more they can change these myths in order to deal with their marital and family realities. There is a chance that the myths will nurture and sustain the growth and maturity of the family members when the husband and wife and the adult family members are able to change and overcome their myths as a way of negotiating the discrepancies between their ideal image and the true person and situations.

This chapter takes into consideration the same notions of the perfection and ideal as the people examine the caregivers images of marital life and of family.

There are some ministry myths which may hinder those who have the call in serving God and these include the myth of self-sufficiency, the myth of the underfunctioner, the myth of sacrificing joy, and the myth of pleasing at all cost. The contributing factors that make up the ministerial myths include the call, self-esteem, self-differentiation, social roles, authority and narrative plots. Self-esteem refers to how an individual feels about himself or herself. Self-differentiation is the ability of the individual to make a stand in any circumstances. Social roles refer to the socio-cultural expectations from an individual. Authority is the influence of an individual to the other people. Literary plots are the overall meaning and direction of the lives of the caregivers. In total, ministerial myths are themes that create the image of ministry. The plots are the ways how the caregivers live in their work.

These ministerial myths should be totally avoided by those who found themselves to have the call for the ministry since it will never bring good outcomes to themselves and to the community as a whole. For instance, in the myth of overfunctioning, the religious caregivers will most likely encounter problem since they have the conviction that they must take the major responsibility for maintaining and enhancing relationships with others.

Moreover, ministerial myths are fairly common and to which many religious caregivers are very prone. Those ministers who have had conflicting childhoods have the tendency to become vulnerable to the said myths.  Nevertheless, even though an individual has a conflicting childhood, it does not mean that his or her call is invalid. Religious caregivers have the right to become ministers even if they have wounded childhoods. After all, it is not the childhood problem or role that counts but it is the sense of calling that makes an individual qualified to become a servant of the Lord.

Reauthoring means changing the personal, marital, and ministry myths which bring negative outcomes to the lives of the religious caregivers or ministers.

In reauthoring or changing these myths, there are several assumptions which are indeed significant so that success will be ensured. First, it is important to take note that reality is socially constructed. Society plays an important role in the life of every individual in a community.

Another thing is that transformation is always possible but it takes ample time, effort and energy before it can be achieved. Changing the ministerial myths indeed requires patience since it is not an easy process.

It is also considered that change occurs normally throughout life cycle transition of an individual. An individual can facilitate innovation during his or her life cycle transition if he or she ahs the ability to imagine his or her own role in creating myths. If one has the understanding on the role of the individuals in creating those myths, definitely, one has the ability to change those myths and even eradicate them from his or her system.

Likewise, re-storying or discovering novel dimensions and bringing up new perspectives to past experience can help facilitate transformation.  If the individuals will become optimistic with their perception of change, it is indeed possible to change or eliminate those ministerial myths so that there would be no more problems with regards to the call for ministry of the future religious ministers.

Marital mythology is defined as the ideal expectations that an individual wants to see from his or her mate or couple. As a God fearing individual, one must resist this marital myth so that there would be no problem on the relationship of the couples.

Nevertheless, it is also worthy to take note that substantive change in marital mythology takes time and a lot of work. This has been proven by the story of Blanche and Henry which shows that couples have to fashion their own ideal marriage based on their relationship experiences and needs. Likewise, through the story of this couple, it is manifested that traditional model of marriage and relationship impedes their needs to be individual selves and prevents them from developing.

It is indeed very important to put God in the relationship of the couples so that they would learn how to balance self-growth with the needs of their marriage. If God will be the center of the relationship of the couples, it is sure that there would be no more problems but the relationship will instead grow and become meaningful.

In addition, self-development is very essential to revise the couples ideal images of each other. This has been proven by the story of Blanche and Henry. Their story shows that as they grow individually, they no longer need the ideal to compensate for their past. And this results them to be freely present to the real person or couple that they have. Their limitations are solved and the expectations from their partner are considered not a problem anymore. 

Moreover, the need for grace is a major theological theme that must be given importance in the
marriage. Recalling the Gods gracious presence in the lives of the couples is indeed a perfect reason why the couples should think that marriage is a gracious gift from God that must be cherished and loved. 

The aim of this book is to give another perspective about personal, marital and family myths. Those that make up this model originated from the Scripture and to the African American call traditions. It is certain that to remember the call as a way of spiritual renewal is a universal dimension of any tradition of faith where the oral method of communication is strong. The author offers wonderful insights about the significance of renewing the call received as religious caregivers by way of recalling the stories.

The author had the opportunity to talk to a group of ministers about the process of reauthorization. They gather to find ways of relating to each other as peers coming from one denomination. Most of these ministers are working in their churches, isolated from their fellow ministers and the outside world. Despite their devotion, they have been feeling the pain of isolation and silence and as such, they decided to do something about their isolation. These people therefore gathered in order to discuss their separation because the woman pastors sensed their dilemma and feelings of melancholies and separation. The men were able to sense their isolation quite well but they are more used to denying their need for a partner. As such, the ministers formed a group in order to talk about their lack of peer and working relationships.

The author of this book has suggested that returning the call is very important in order to lessen the distance and encourage bonding among the pastors and other religious caregivers.