Rethinking supervision of ministry

This article addresses the need for ongoing supervision in ministry and explores reasons for the avoidance of supervision. More specifically, twentieth century ideas regarding epistemology and Freud's "discovery" of the unconscious reveal important limitations in the commonly held model of supervision and at the same time provide reasons for the benefits of supervision. Further, this article proposes that individual unconscious motivations and religious institutional structures contribute to the avoidance of ongoing supervision in ministry.