The Power of Pastoral Presence

“Pastor” and “teacher” form two sides of a ministry fulcrum that need constant adjustments. Our own personality, the local church expectations and the myriad of immediate needs all weigh on either side of the fulcrum. We live in the tension between pastor and teacher

Pastoral work affirms the vitality of sacred presence. A long-time friend of mine resigned from a local church after 20 years of pastoral work and regular preaching. When I asked him how his farewell went, he answered, “No one said a thing about my preaching. Most people spoke about the hospital visits I made, the meals in their home and the lunch appointments. They remembered me for my pastoral presence more than my preaching."

My friend learned that pastors can impress people from the preaching platform, however, they only influence people up close over a coffee table or beside a hospital bed.

Here are some essentials for effective pastoral care:

Pastoral Care addresses the whole person: physical, emotional, social, intellectual and moral. Some writers assume that pastoral care and pastoral counseling are synonymous and that pastoral care primarily addresses emotional issues. However, true biblical pastoral care addresses the economic needs of the widow, the social needs of the teenager and the emotional needs of the distraught.

Pastoral Care is the work of the whole church, not just the clergy. A small group leader, church elder or close friend can provide meaningful pastoral care that augments what the pastor(s) can provide. The apostles asked for seven men to help the widows while they focused upon prayer and ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4). We should not view their request as a “cop-out” but rather a sharing of caring.

Pastoral care is primarily about the power of presence. "…You were there” or “…you came to see me” are often more important than the actual words of the pastor. Just walking beside the person and the family is powerful.

For example, in the seniors’ community where I work, we recently had our monthly planned fire drill. Although shrill and upsetting, these drills are essential to the safety of our seniors. Knowing this event was about to occur, I went to one community where I just walked with and sat beside residents until the fire alarms went silent. I could not stop the alarms, but I could be present. Pastoral care means being present when the “fire alarms of life” shriek in the ears of parishioners and the crisis cannot be silenced.

Pastoral care calls for good listening skills. Clergy who are trained to excel at preaching and teaching may need to learn how to listen just as well. A good pastoral listener attends to the F.F.E.E. of what a person says. Facts…Feelings…Explanations…Expectations. Facts and Feelings provide the listener with the “what happened” and the “how I feel”. The Explanation and Expectation provide insight into how the person tries to make sense of the event and how they anticipate (expect) to deal with the outcomes. Learn to listen for all four aspects.

Pastoral Care requires spontaneity and flexibility. The pastor seldom knows what will happen in the situation; therefore, come prepared with a little Scripture, a short prayer and a lot of Spirit led intuition about how to respond. Be comfortable with the unpredictable. Jesus walked among and asked questions of people. He lived with the spontaneity of those around him. Eugene Peterson described pastoral work as " Intentionally haphazard" in his interactions with people.

Pastoral Care can be both exhilarating and exhausting. The care provider will experience a host of emotions: fear of failure, satisfaction, self doubt ( “did I make a difference?”) and weariness. The well known pastor, Eugene Peterson was on his way to yet another home where there had been a tragic death and he admitted to himself,

“ I want to quit. I can’t do this pastoral work anymore”

Pastoral Care work is never done, so pace yourself!