Overview

Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral careChristian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways.In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focusing on skills that help carers nurture connections between everyday life and Christian faith, she explores the need for carers to understand common stressors, listen, pray with others, and nurture their personal resilience.Grounded in an understanding of God as the true caregiver and healer, the author offers tips for readers who are training other pastoral carers or developing their own understanding and skills. Each chapter ends with discussion and reflection questions, making the book helpful for groups.Lynne Baab brings readers hope for their caring role and for their own spiritual journey.

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9781506434278

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Reviews

Nurturing Hope is the most helpful book on pastoral care I have read for a long time. Few authors have Lynne M. Baab's understanding of the changing patterns and solutions needed to provide effective care. The interweaving of story and practical advice makes this an easy-to-read, yet essential, addition to the library of all who work to provide care in church congregations. --Christine Sine, contemplative activist, blogger and author of numerous books, most recently Rest in the Moment Discerning where God is at work and communicating the loving care of God are foundational both for mission and pastoral care. Lynne M. Baab points to the why and how of cooperating with God in being present with people. She demonstrates that a deep commitment to the mission of God and to authentic pastoral care belong together. Nurturing Hope is an outstanding textbook for practitioners and students of pastoral care and chaplaincy, as well as anyone desiring to be a caring presence in their networks and relationships. --Darren Cronshaw, Professor of Missional Leadership, Australian College of Ministries, and Pastor, AuburnLife Baptist Church, Melbourne Reading this book nurtures my hope! Lynne M. Baab is a masterful, seasoned carer and teacher of caregivers, and this book benefits from her deep reservoirs of experience as a pastor, researcher, professor, and open-hearted person of faith. Nurturing Hope builds on Baab's earlier work, offering spiritual insights and practical counsel for all people who engage in pastoral care. Anchored in Scripture and attentive to contemporary scientific and cultural analysis, this book encourages and guides us as we seek to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, while endeavoring to love our neighbor as ourself. --Susan S. Phillips (Ph.D.), executive director and professor of Christian spirituality at New College Berkeley, sociologist and spiritual director, and author of The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy Lynne M. Baab's Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First Century is an important and welcome publication. It expands our understanding of what constitutes pastoral care and who counts as pastoral carers in the postmodern world. Baab highlights several ways in which the field of pastoral care must take into account the diverse and complex contexts in which Christians are called to minister today, which require more intentional cultivation of lay pastoral care and greater sensitivity to cross-cultural and socioeconomic realities. She describes the way forward in pastoral care, firmly grounded in a Christian theology of care. Baab's inclusion of concrete examples of the issues being addressed, her training tips and questions for reflection in each chapter, and her focus in the second part of the book on both practical and spiritual skills needed for today's pastoral carers makes this an ideal resource for pastors, lay pastoral care teams, seminarians, and church groups of all kinds. --Lydia F. Johnson, auhtor of Drinking from the Same Well: Cross-Cultural Concerns in Pastoral Care and Counseling It's hardly surprising that pastoral care in the twenty-first century needs to shift and adapt to the pressure points of life today. Baab offers practical wisdom about how pastors and caregivers can open up a space for people to talk about God and the stresses of daily living. Her grasp of pastoral care is rich and deep. She describes models of care that honor the context and web of relationships that surround people. She knows how to empower teams, laity, and clergy with skills that help others become more resilient. She understands pastoral care as lament and has also seen Facebook as a place care can happen. Those seeking encouragement, insight, practices, and models for pastoral care will find this book a gift and a grace. --Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, co-pastor of spiritual formation, author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook and Invitations From God This book is not only about pastoral care but about the care needed for all who pastor others. As Baab reflects on the rhythms of ministry, she also reveals the rhythm of the Spirit at work in bringing wholeness, healing, and communion to the world. --Daniel Groody, Associate Professor of Theology and Global Affairs and Director for the Global Leadership Program, University of Notre Dame Lynne M. Baab's new book challenges us to rethink what pastoral care means today for the church and the world. She prompts us to respond theologically, practically, pastorally, and missionally so that the church can really be the church in today's society. --Dave Male, Director of Evangelism and Discipleship for the Church of England

Author Information

An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lynne M. Baab has a PhD in communication and has taught courses on pastoral care and chaplaincy. She frequently speaks about listening and other pastoral care skills and has written numerous books about congregational life and Christian spiritual practices, many of them on topics related to pastoral care.

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