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Thank you Obey for your thoughtful discussion post. It resonates with me and is clearly a need in the community of Mokopane. Your ideas and insights are practical and offers the faith community a chance to build relational bridges with the rejected and ashamed woman affected. This aligns powerfully with the missional call of the church.
It is clear that you have a passion for this topic. I would enjoy hearing more of your thoughts around this. Reaching out to woman that fall into this category, in a way is also reaching families and giving the church a chance to shift the culture for the next generation.Opportunity to build bridges
Drug use
Like many communities in South Africa, Mokopane faces numerous challenges that could be addressed by the faith community (the local church). The challenge I would like to highlight for this discussion is drug use. Not only raising awareness of the dangers associated with drug abuse, but offering help to those who are in addiction. Drugs are substances that change a person’s mental or physical state. They can affect the way one’s brain works and how they feel and behave. This can make someone become unpredictable and dangerous. The problem with drug and substance abuse is that it affects not only the person actually taking them, but families, communities, churches, and the nation as a whole.
The church can help in the rehabilitation of drug addicts by enabling them to find meaning and direction and purpose in life. By promoting spirituality as a way of combating drug and substance abuse among young people, through various programs. This can reduce the likelihood of drug and substance abuse. The church can provide counselling and support services to young people struggling with addiction through awareness campaigns, workshops, to mention a few activities. This becomes a bridge builder when the church begins to involve partnering with the local government, non-profit organisations and other community groups to expand access to prevention and treatment services
Christ-like presence in the community.
Humility is defined as putting the needs of others before your own. Jesus was a great example of what it looked like to live in society with a humble presence. I often am drawn to the time Jesus washed his disciples feet. John 13:1-4, shows us that Jesus served, because he knew who he was. His awareness of his identity gave him confidence to serve. A church that adopts this characteristic of Jesus, would undoubtedly have an impact in the community, not because it is doing a lot of ”good“, but because the church serves without expecting anything in return, it serves even if the name of the church isn’t plastered on every light pole.
In practice it could mean:
Serving at an orphanage, homeless shelter in the community and not caring about being recognised. Serving people who can give you nothing in return.
Getting volunteers to help clean up big public spaces, like a park or community sports ground.
Trying to collaborate with other churches on community outreach efforts.
Meeting the felt needs of the community, not only the spiritual needs.These are ways in which the church can build bridges in the community. A humble church will care about community development, not only seeing the seats in the Sunday Service packed
Celebration Church launched an initiative called “No More Shadows”, this was a community wide initiative. This initiative focused on anti-bullying and suicide prevention. It ran for an entire month and aimed to reach all the schools in the community and neighbouring towns.
All the church members were invited to be involved and they created many teams of people from the community to go into the schools to share this message of hope. Hundreds of children and teachers heard the message of hope in the span of 20 days. In this way the church could show the goodness of God in the community of Mokopane and NaboomspruitMissions is an expression of God’s nature.
1 John 4:8, “The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God[does not and never did know Him], for God is love.[He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] (AMP)
John 3:16, Jesus tells us that God so loved the world that he “gave” His one and only begotten Son. God is love and in his love, he sent us his son. Missions is a result of us as God’s people, being obedient to his command in Matthew 28. Jesus said if we love him, then we will obey his commands. In this way we can see that missions is indeed an expression of God’s nature.
1. The role of the pastor is to create a safe place/environment for the child to feel safe enough to share. Children also need counselling, example: in times of bereavement and grief, parents try to protect their children from the realities of sadness, but children need to grieve and understand as best they can. Children have the same struggles and hopes as adults, if you counsel adults then you can counsel children. Naturally the language you would use should be appropriate for the age.
2. Using play as a tool to build rapport with children is an excellent way to begin conversation with children about what they are feeling, as it provides a non-threatening environment. Another tool is art, because art is another form of expression. When a kid is done you could ask them, “what is happening in this picture?”.
Thank you Obey for sharing your thoughts on the lecture by Mr Tan. I agree that the role of the Holy Spirit can often be overlooked in counselling. I would like to know when you personally experienced the power of the Holy Spirit guiding you in a counselling session/conversation.
“We are not just going through the motions, but rather partnering with the divine to bring hope”, this statement you made really brought a sense of joy to my heart. A reminder that we as imperfect beings, are called to be ministers in the work of restoration.
Thank you for your faithfulness in this ministry. God bless.What I learned:
The video by Siang Yang Tan, was incredibly insightful. What I learned was that the role of the Holy Spirit is supported in scripture. John 14, records a teaching of Jesus introducing the Holy Spirit as The Counsellor. The Christian Counsellor needs to therefore be dependent on the healing power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those we counsel. “Counselling and Psychotherapy from a Christian perspective can be seen as a spiritual discipline, because it helps us to grow in Christ”, I found this statement by Siang really profound.My views:
In light of what was mentioned above and in the video my Mr Tan, I became thankful that we can be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Even as we practice the spiritual disciplines, the Holy Spirit is helping us to produce Christ-like character, as mentioned in Galatians 5. The role of prayer in this discussion cannot be understated, we need to be in constant awareness of the Holy Spirit who guides and counsels us as we counsel others.Dear Yache
Thank you for writing such a thoughtful discussion post. It clear to me that you have a healthy understanding of the importance of spiritual formation in the life of a spiritual leader.In your discussion post you mentioned a few practical strategies for a spiritual leader to help his family grow and mature in Christ. Things like reading the bible together and talking about the implications of the texts we are reading. In my own family I have found that those moments truly bring us closer together and to God. This will naturally lead to us praying together as well.
In my family I have become increasingly aware of my role to be the spiritual leader and not only in my team. Your emphasis on the leader to be prioritizing their own growth and relationship with God and others has convicted me and further confirmed how important this is.a. What do you believe a spiritual leader should do for the spiritual formation of his/her own family? What are realistic strategies he/she can use to help his/her family grow? How can a spiritual leader develop a good family vision? Without vision, people perish. Proverbs 29:18
The term ‘spiritual formation’ is used to describe a lifelong process of growing in faith and developing a relationship with God. This is where we begin as spiritual leaders. John 15:5, records an important teaching by Jesus on this topic, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Spiritual leaders should be able to teach and guide others on their journey. Through teaching spiritual truths, provide moral guidance, giving support and comfort during challenging times. In addition to this, a spiritual leader should cultivate a sense of community within their faith. This is often achieved through the practice of spiritual disciplines like prayer, bible reading, fasting, worship, and gathering with other Christians.
These practices are found in the bible, as well as a strategy to help spiritually form our families. Deuteronomy 11:18-19, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
In order to develop a vision for one’s family, a spiritual leader needs to desire God and the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33, records the words of Jesus, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Spiritual disciplines help us gain a better understanding of the gospel and draws closer to God.b. What are the potential dangers for families that have a father and/or mother who is a spiritual leader or vocational minister?
We cannot ignore the potential pitfalls that spiritual leaders can unintentionally fall into. Spiritual leaders or vocational ministers have to jealously guard their own families’ relational and spiritual health. There are many stories of the children of these leaders, having estranged relationships with their parents due to neglecting their need for guidance and comfort in hard times. Often the pressure of the ministry role of the parents affects the children and results in them running away from anything to do with God.
Secondly, there is the pitfall of becoming so busy that they begin to neglect their own health. As a spiritual leader and vocational minister, I have found myself becoming so busy with the things of God, that I have neglected focusing on talking to and with Him for my own growth.
When these potential dangers become a reality, we face the possibility of seeing these families suffering trauma and hurt, causing resentment in relationships.c. How does the quality of the care of a spiritual leader for his/her family impact other families in the congregation?
When families come together in a congregational setting, the family with strong and healthy bonds become a shining example for the rest of the community. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus used the example of us being like a light to the world in these settings. Through their light shining, God the Father gets glorified. We need to become aware of our role in being salt and light in this world. How we lead our families as spiritual leaders, affects others around us as well.
