Read and Learn: Generation to Generation

One of the classes I am taking this semester is called "The Self in the System." It is a pastoral care class that focuses in on various schools of though regarding pastoral counseling. It has been a very interesting, challenging, and thought provoking class. Part of our grade involves five counseling sessions with a fellow student to practice some of the concepts and ideas we are learning. That's five sessions as a counselor and five sessions as a counselee. One of the books we have read for this class is called Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin Friedman. Though I am still in seminary and don't have "real world" experience to back this statement up, I will go on a limb to say that this book is a must read for anyone in pastoral ministry. If you are an ordained minister, some of the ideas in this book could definitely be put to use in pastoral counseling scenarios and congregational dynamics of your church. From the dust flap, "Friedman compares the emotional processes at work within individual families to those in church and synagogue, suggesting that clergy can often do more to help families by the way they lead their congregations than they can through specific counseling interventions." If you are a lay leader, I can definitely see how it would be beneficial to see some of Friedman's ideas pan out in the lives of those on your committees, ministry teams, and small groups. And whether or not you fit into either of those two categories or not doesn't really matter. The personal perspective that can be gained from this book is phenomenal. In a culture where we mostly focus on the individual person, taking a step back and realizing the effects the systems/families we are a part of have on us is tremendously helpful. Friedman is a fairly blunt and straightforward individual, which won't jive with everyone's personal style to be sure, but there is undoubtedly fresh insight that can be garnered from this book.

Read and Learn: Now on Wednesdays!

Happy Wednesday! The weekly posts for "Read and Learn" which used to be on Thursdays will now be on Wednesdays. In addition, along with Quotidian Grace and JusticeSeeker, there will be a third writer: and that's where I come in. My name is Sara Green and I blog over at The Pinkhammer Blog. I am a seminary student at Princeton Theological Seminary and have just started the Spring semester of my first year here. While I am not yet sure what God is calling me to do after seminary, I am (mostly) enjoying the process of trying to figure that out both here at seminary and as an Inquirer in the ordination process. And I say "mostly" because, well...God has a funny way of keeping things interesting along the way that can be rather frustrating. But I am sure I am not telling you anything you haven't already been through yourself. Though I am exploring campus/college ministry and teaching, I am also very excited about pastoral ministry.

My classes this semester are a New Testament Survey class, a history class that focuses on church and state dynamics from the medieval to reformation time periods, and a practical theology class that focuses on Carl Rogers understanding of pastoral care. Oh! And a worship class on the Psalms which I am taking for my own spiritual development though I can tell it will help immensely with planning and leading worship in the future. I am sure some of my posts will reflect things that come up along the way, but if anyone has a particular interest related to these items, please feel free to leave a comment here and I can blog about it either in the "Read and Learn" posts or over at my blog. I also enjoy peppermint mochas and love photography. : )