A group ministry in the inner city

Conclusion The Group Ministry approach is an attempt at one way of facing the need for renewal of the Church in its understanding of the means of Christian commitment and witness in the world. There are many dangers in a Group Ministry. It runs the risk of becoming apower block or separation of men and women from their primary responsibility in the local church; of facingemotional strain on those who must work closely together in a group of sinners; of developing apsychic dependence on each other rather than looking to Christ as the primary source of support and unity; of becomingless efficient when more workers are placed in one small area; oflacking a sense of direction because one leader is not given responsibility and authority.Yet the Group Ministry approach takes these risks in the knowledge that the Church must work to fashion patterns by which it may again express itself with power in places where the word is scarce.For further information about the East Harlem Protestant Parish, readers may write directly to 2050 Second Avenue, New York 29, N. Y.     

Training for the campus ministry

Conclusion We will finish as we started. The minister preparing himself for work on the campus is like an army chaplain entering the battlefield for the first time. Anticipatory anxiety is to be expected. This anxiety can paralyze efficient work and endanger the integration of the personality, but by careful training this same anxiety can become constructive instead of destructive and a source of great pastoral creativity instead of distress. A minister who is prepared for his task can enter a university community even when it is in great turmoil, without fear. He is free. With a realistic confidence in his abilities, with a sense of inner harmony and, most of all, with trust in the value of his service, he can be a free witness for God, strengthening hope, fulfilling love, and making joy complete.This article will be a chapter inIntimacy: Pastoral Psychological Essays by the Rev. Henry J. M. Nouwen, to be published in the spring, 1969, by Fides Publishers, Inc., Notre Dame, Indiana. (The author wishes to give special thanks to Jim Burtchaell, C.S.C., David B. Burrell, C.S.C., Ralph F. Dunn, C.S.C., and John Gerber, C.S.C., of the University of Notre Dame for their constructive criticism on the first draft of this article.)     

Appraisal of applicants for ministry careers

A proposed evaluation protocol addresses the need for standards of practice in assessing candidates for ministry careers. The protocol is tailored to parish clergy psychological risk and resiliency factors articulated by personnel officers and identified in scholarly literature. It employs readily available psychological tests with demonstrated psychometric qualities. It utilises interview questions to confirm or disconfirm test-generated hypotheses and to probe for evidence of coping with challenging circumstances. The protocol generates data for appraising risk and promoting long-term resilience. Application of the protocol to 120 applicants for clergy careers in the Episcopal Diocese of the Southwest (EDSW) demonstrates that applicants respond to psychological tests in a manner different from general job applicants. Data analysis generates norms for indentifying unusual applicants who may be at risk for troubled careers. Discussion centres on identifying early markers of risk and resiliency in ministry careers.