The ministry is a problem and the doctrine of the ministry has been, for Lutheran theology, an insoluble problem. Perhaps the root of the problem is more ecclesiastical than ecclesiological. Robert Paul has suggested that "for every kind of ecclesiology there is a related form of ordained ministry."1 The Lutheran doctrine of the church is clear (although we have some problems defining and numbering sacraments and thus the marks of the church); but our church polity is confused --to say the least. Current discussions of Lutheran unity and possible merger under three different types of organization reflect that lack …

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A Design For A Psycho-Social Support System Potentially Applicable To The Local Pastor Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In North America Based Upon An Evaluation Of The Needs, Benjamin D. Schoun Jan 1981

A Design For A Psycho-Social Support System Potentially Applicable To The Local Pastor Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In North America Based Upon An Evaluation Of The Needs, Benjamin D. Schoun

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This project attempts to evaluate the needs of local pastors of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in North America in the area of career adjustment and personal satisfaction and to design a psycho-social support system potentially applicable to their situation. The literature reviewed indicates that ministers, like other people, are subject to transitions of adult development, stress and crises, and personal characteristics tending to make one vulnerable. The career of ministry subjects a person to role conflicts, pastoral pedestals, family strains, church conflicts, personal issues, denominational pressures, and burn-out. The concept of a psychosocial support system, however, seems to promise …

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Theology Of Ministry And Church Growth Principles, Wayne Edward Neeley Jan 1981