In my studies in seminary I was required to take Pastoral Counseling. It was quite a unique mix of topics and approaches. One idea which intrigued me throughout the course was a technique for counseling and for self help. The idea is not that new in the psychological community, but it was new to me.
It is the technique called 'cognitive therapy.' While it could be simplistically labeled 'the power of positive thinking', I believe it to be a great tool for individuals, and even groups, who may be experiencing difficult times. I would tend to call it 'thinking correctly.'
People who become depressed, not merely sad, tend to get trapped into thinking in irrational ways in response to bad stimuli. Consider a child who is told early and often that they are not any good. Even when positive things happen in their lives, they are incapable of correctly thinking about the positive experience. Their patterns of thought are not able to process the positive data. They are trapped into unrealistic assessment of their own capabilities by the thinking they have been conditioned to. They feel they do not deserve the good things, or simply got lucky once in awhile, and things will go back to their normal desperate state in the near future.
Cognitive Therapy attempts to redirect and recondition the thought process back to something approaching realism. Most of us have the ability to rationally think a problem through. Doing so with the example of the child noted in the example above would include pointing out that reality is not determined by what others tell us about ourselves. No doubt, this is oversimplifying the approach, but, the child would gradually be trained to ask certain questions when either thinking negative things about themselves, or when being told negative things. The first question would then be: Is this statement about me true? Am I always bad? Am I really worth so little?
Our church might ask similar questions of itself when confronted with negative statements or thinking about our future in the face of difficult times. The problem, of course, is getting everyone on the same page when it comes to answering these questions. We are all good at asking questions of the organizations to which we belong; and good at answering the questions in ways which validate our long-held opinions about the organizations and our own roles in them.
Our church is facing some potentially difficult times ahead as Pastor Mike takes time off (temporary disability) to get some strength back, and to determine his course of action in combating his heart disease. So far, the response of the congregation has been very positive, and has been content to wait for more information from Pastor about his situation. Attendance has been very consistent and quite good.
We need to maintain a positive outlook on the situation. We need to wait until all pertinent information is in before making decisions on how to proceed, and we need to put the best construction (a very Lutheran term, though one hard to actually find in operation!) on the future. Our leadership is strong, and no major decisions can ever be made without the vote of the assembly of voters. It is a pretty stable platform to operate from, even in times of difficulty.
We also need to take a lesson from Cognitive Therapy. Before jumping on the rumor bandwagon we should each take time to ask ourselves if what we have heard is true or mere speculation. We can also be mindful of the Eighth Commandment and not become trapped into the ugly cycle of rumor and innuendo which often accompanies stress and change. Later steps in cognitive therapy include acting on the more realistic statements which can be said of any given situation and acting in a positive manner to improve potential outcomes. That was a mouthful, but for us it simply means to do something positive for your church!
We know that we have a God who has done the miraculous for us. He has saved us. He has promised also to always be with us. He did not say that lightly, or infer that He would leave when things got a little difficult. The cross is all the evidence we need of that.
God Bless our Church!
John
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