The Art of Listening: Dialogue, Shame and Pastoral Care

UPC Code: 9780567089403

Overview

The Art of Listening: Dialogue, Shame and Pastoral Care is an essential text for anyone engaged in pastoral ministry or counseling. Author Neil Pembroke explores the vital role of listening in establishing genuine relationships and creating an environment conducive to authentic dialogue. Drawing on the philosophical works of Gabriel Marcel and Martin Buber, Pembroke constructs a practical theology aimed at supporting and promoting growth in caregiving relationships.

Product Features

• Format: Trade Paperback
• Condition: Used, like new
• Author: Neil Pembroke
• ISBN-10: 0567089401
• ISBN-13: 9780567089403
• Publication Year: 2003
• Language: English
• Item Height: 0.6 in.
• Publisher: Continuum T&T Clark
• Edition: New Edition

Interesting Facts

• Philosophical Foundations: Pembroke’s approach is heavily influenced by the philosophies of Martin Buber and Gabriel Marcel, who emphasize the importance of dialogue and interpersonal relationships in understanding human existence.
• Comprehensive Study: This book is one of the first to delineate and present the essential components of effective pastoral care in practical terms.
• Focus on Professionalism: Pembroke argues for a professional counseling approach in Christian pastoral care, challenging the reliance on specialized techniques for church contexts.
• Key Themes: The text delves into significant themes such as shame, conscience, covenant, and availability, offering a liberating perspective on these concepts in pastoral contexts.

Publishers

• Publisher: Continuum T&T Clark

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Hashtags

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The art of listening lies at the heart of pastoral ministry. Listening establishes a genuine relationship between persons and creates an environment for authentic dialogue. In this book Neil Pembroke provides a comprehensive study of the art of listening within the congregational context and constructs a practical theology of what it means to be a supportive, healing, growth-promoting caregiver.
Drawing on the insights of the dialogical philosophers Gabriel Marcel and Martin Buber, Pembroke provides a new way of thinking about pastoral care and counselling. He takes two key concepts of theirs, availability and confirmation, and applies them to the kind of ministry that pastors actually do. Availability has to do with personal receptivity to the other, whereas confirmation involves struggling with the other in reaching for his or her God-given psychological, moral, and spiritual potential. While these two concepts have clear links with traditional pastoral categories such as empathy, acceptance, and genuineness, they also bring important new dimensions to light, and Pembroke sets these new avenues for pastoral praxis in a biblical- theological framework.

But pastors also sometimes fall short of the ideals of being available to and confirming of people seeking their help. The second half of the book explores the shame associated with pastoral nonavailability and lack of confirmation. While the debilitating effect of shame is usually highlighted, here its positive contribution is developed. Building on James Fowler's work on the link between shame and conscience, Pembroke suggests that shame can provide the stimulus for a conversion to a more faithful pastoral presence.
The first book to isolate and present in practical terms the essential components of effective pastoral care, The Art of Listening is must reading for everyone currently practicing or studying for a vocation in pastoral care and counseling.