Spurgeon's College Moodle

The unit is introduced from a basis of pastoral theology and a biblical framework for pastoral work in the local church. The underlying relationship between pastoral care and mission features. Examples of historical patterns of pastoral practice are considered and appraised. The contemporary cultural settings of pastoral care are examined, with particular focus on the mandate for the church to be a pastoral and caring community. The concept of small groups and the importance of leadership quality and training also feature in this unit. Questions about the nature and purpose of the pastoral task are raised, together with the relationship of pastoral care to public teaching, the sacraments, worship and the pastoral visit. Methods of organising and administering pastoral work are explored and consideration given to methods of training pastoral workers. There is opportunity for application of the teaching to the students’ church ministry through reflection on their own current practice and the observation of others.

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The development of the Church’s understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit is considered with particular reference to the relationship between creation and redemption, to the relationship between justification and sanctification, and to the evaluation of what is called religious experience. The unit then explores theological claims that human agency and responsibility should be understood as dependent on the theology of the Holy Spirit, illustrating these by reference to issues of scientific development, medical and business ethics. Particular emphasis is given to the Spirit’s role in creation and redemption, to claims that Christian ethics can be described as eucharistic, and to the notion of human agency within creation.

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