The Most Human of All People

This is a meditation upon a puzzling incident of unconscious communication involving a remark of Harry Stack Sullivan's. The essay explores some of Sullivan's views on unconscious communication and the nature of client pathology and then relates them to the theoretical issue of whether (as Hanna and others have recently contended) therapists ought aim at helping clients construct a complex intersubjective reality, rather than hierarchically offering to replace client's views with the therapist's truth. Relying upon the work of Searles, Casement, and Schafer, I side cautiously with the intersubjectivist position, while acknowledging its potential romanticism and concomitant dangers of sentimentality and irrationalism.     

The Ministry of the Church to People with Disability

Jesus’ ministry on earth is meant to be a model of the ministry of the church. It affected all types of people regardless of their socio‐economic and religious status. Jesus regarded all to be made in the image of God and did everything possible to minister to everyone. He particularly went out of his way to reach those whom society marginalized, neglected, rejected, and deemed worthless. This study aims at generally critically evaluating the ministry of the church today. It specifically attempts to examine the ministry of the church to people with disabilities. While the study largely depends on existing literature, it also refers to observation of the status of people with disabilities in the church today, which on its own may not provide adequate information for solid, conclusive findings. In the church’s ministry to people with disabilities, dealing with barriers to their inclusion is core. The article not only examines the challenges faced by the church in addressing issues of inclusion, but identifies specific areas of improvement in the status of people with disabilities.     

The Calling of the Whole People of God into Ministry: The Spirit,Church and Laity

This article discusses implications of Bonhoeffer's notion of maturity (being of age), particularly for the notion of redemption and the ethical self. This is done through a reading of the relation between maturity and redemption in Kant, Nietzsche, and Levinas, which again is compared with Bonhoeffer's late thought as we find it in his Prison letters and his Ethics. All three philosophers share with Bonhoeffer the important premise that otherworldly redemption is downplayed to the benefit of a strong demand put on the self. At the same time, their notions of maturity show important differences, with subsequent consequences for their notions of redemption; Kant's notion is based on ethical autonomy, Nietzsche's on aesthetical autonomy, whereas Levinas presupposes ethical heteronomy. The reading of Bonhoeffer shows that he shares premises with all three thinkers, but particularly with Levinas. This is shown in the analyses of religionless Christianity as a turn to the practical dimension of faith, in the messianic structure of the ethical self, and in the turn to the Old-Testamently and the arcane discipline. Bonhoeffer's high estimation of the worldly and the aesthetic, however, also illustrates his affinities to Nietzsche.     

Intercession as Political Ministry: Re‐Interpreting the Priesthood of All Believers

This paper seeks to develop a distinctly civic understanding of ‘the priesthood of all believers’ by highlighting its intercessory character. First, in conversation with Christof Gestrich and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I will draw out the vicarious and representative dimensions of a priestly ministry that is rooted in Christ's atoning intercession. I will then show how this understanding of the general priesthood opens up interesting opportunities for dialogue with Danielle Allen's account of ‘sacrifice’ as a core democratic practice. Not only will her proposal help me refine my account of Christian priestly existence, but the latter will also amplify some Christological resonances in Allen's proposal.     

全员参与学生发展性心理辅导研究

本研究借鉴美国、英国和我国香港地区的一些实践经验,力图发展和形成一种具有综合性的集体心理辅导模式,即学校教师全员参与学生的发展性心理辅导。研究提出了辅导模式的基本理念、操作步骤及主要内容,并采用教育实验的方法在金华南苑小学进行了实证研究,结果证明该模式有助于提高学生的心理健康水平,能促进学生更好地发展。     

"All Power to the People!" But How?

No abstract available for this article.     

The Ministry of Care in Twenty-First-Century Protestant Congregations

This article explores the importance of the congregational setting for determining the meaning of pastoral care and counseling in that setting. The congregational setting is brought into dialogue with clinical and teaching settings and with contemporary pastoral care and counseling paradigms. It is proposed that the congregational setting should contribute to the dialogue by providing an understanding of congregations seen in relation to societal change and crisis. Implications for understanding the ministry of care in the congregational setting are drawn.     

The Impact of the Internet on Parish Ministry

ABSTRACT

After examining recent literature on the information-seeking behavior of clergy and the use of the Internet in parish ministry, this article reports on a survey of approximately 200 parish ministers. Clergy were asked whether they used the Internet to gather information for sermon preparation and/or denominational awareness. The survey is analyzed regarding specific types of information sought, and the results are compared to a recent national survey on Internet use. An annotated list of those web resources that proved most useful to survey respondents is provided.     

“House of Prayer for All People”: A Biblical Foundation for Multicultural Ministry

Abstract Debates over immigration and diversity around the world have highlighted the divide between those cautious of and fearful about diversity, and those who welcome it. Profiling these attitudes, the author offers a developmental analogy and warrant for welcoming diversity as a key to congregational survival, innovation and growth. He then explores the biblical story as one that at key points turns on incorporating diversity, migration, and welcoming the stranger as instrumental in furthering God's dawning reign on the earth.     

To Be With Them: A Hospital Chaplain's Reflection of the Bedside Ministry to Terminally III and Dying People

The author, an ordained Lutheran pastor, reflects upon his experiencesas chaplain at a small hospital in southwestern Germany (Tropenklinik– Paul Lecher Krankenhaus, Tübingen). Besides itsexpertise in the treatment of tropical diseases this 100 + bedhospital serves as the referral hospital for terminally illand dying patients from the local University hospitals and thesurrounding area. The experiences at the bedside of such patientswith various denominational and religious backgrounds challengedthe chaplain to go beyond the confines of any fixed theologicalsystem or counseling technique. They made him to discover threeessentials as the very basis of such ministry, which he sharesin this article. He identifies these as (1) the necessity torealize the situation sober mindedly, (2) the desire to becomea companion, and (3) the venture of confident faith, where holdingon to any genuine perspective of life is deemed ridiculous.     

中国教会圣经事工展将在美展出

本刊讯:一场旨在与美国基督徒们分享中国教会在圣经事工方面所蒙的祝福和恩典的“中国教会圣经事工展”,将于2006年4月27日至5月4日在美国洛杉矶水晶教会;5月19日至5月24日在亚特兰大第二庞塞里昂浸信会教会;6月6日至6月15日在纽约圣约翰主教座堂作巡回展览。这是自1979 年中国教会重新开放以来第一次在海外举办的圣经事工展,这次展览将分成六个展区。