Community mobilization
3. Christian presentation in society. This relates to the relationship between church and state and the role of Christianity outside of the
3.6.3 Narrative practical theology and pastoral care
Demasure and Muller (2006) mention a paradigm shift in pastoral care in the 1980‟s from the therapeutic model to the hermeneutic model. In the therapeutic model the counsellor is the expert, who knows about different types of problems, the cause of problems and solutions to the problems. (S)he makes use of an explanatory model. The hermeneutic model is dialogical and metaphorical in that it seeks understanding and interpretation of meaning in the meeting between God, the counsellor and client. A hermeneutical model validates metaphorical or symbolic (non-literal, figurative) interpretations of the narrative. Being described as „heuristics‟, it becomes a way of discovering in order to comprehend and interpret. The counsellor would take the role of facilitator and interpreter of meanings (Louw 2004). Louw (2004) mentioned that this approach can only be successful when there is a shared perspective of faith.
Bons-Storm (1989) described the role of the counsellor as in dialogue with the person‟s field of experience and the field of the Word of God. The counsellor positions or finds him/herself in the X, the cross roads between the 2 circles
Figure 3.2. Hermeneutical Adventure. Search for points of contact between the human narrative and the narrative of God. Bons-Storm (1989).
The counsellor represents a specific representation of God, related to the presented story. According to Bons-Storm (1998), the image of God that the counsellor would introduce, is culturally constructed through the counsellor‟s theology and anthropology.
The choice of metaphor is also related to the person‟s understanding of what the metaphor represents. Stroup (1991) refers to the collision between a person‟s narrative of identity and the narratives of the Christian community. Terrien (1985) mentioned the example of „the Father‟ metaphor, which can have negative connotations, for example with sexually or physically abused people who seek counselling. Patriarchal domination also misrepresents the Biblical perspective on God as father. The Hebrew word that Jesus choose for Father, can be translated as tender care, and responsibility for the
X = the pastor in dialogue with the other
First hermeneutical
process
Second hermeneutical
process
Man‟s field of experience The Christian tradition, the Word of God
wellbeing of the family (Terrien 1985). Texts can also be read through the lenses of gender constructions, and gender empowerment. Dube refers to the Bible story of Mark 5:21-43 and points out certain gender disparities as described in the story, a nameless, non-professional women in need of healing, exploited by health professionals. Jesus relinquished His power to her, told her that her faith healed her, called her „daughter‟
and released her from isolation (Dube 2003).
The hermeneutic model as based on Ricoeur, relates to people‟s actions as being pre- narrative, and providing the material for the construction of stories (configuration). He requires the reader (counsellor) to read with suspicion and become critically aware when projecting their own wishes and constructs into texts (person‟s stories). When that happens, it is important for the counsellor to „cleanse‟ the story from these ... Therefore to listen in openness to symbol and narrative and allow creative events and find its true message (Thiselton 1992). The hermeneutic model is relevant to this study, where it seeks to understand and interpret the life world of HIV positive people, through dialogue and metaphorical interpretation of meaning. This is a shared process, where the counsellor‟s need to become aware of their own process of „truth finding‟ and the training model needs to provide opportunity for the pastoral family counsellors to prayerfully work through their own life stories and therefore not to project their own
„truth‟ into the counselling process. Frei (1974) emphasised the importance of a „literal‟
reading of the text (person‟s story), in terms that the meaning of the narrative resides in the narrative itself. He refers to the pre-modern area when truth and meaning were identical and literal and figurative reading supplemented each other. The meaning is identical with the description of the story. The characters, social context, circumstances, incidents and themes in the story, are all interdependent. The reader (counsellor) would ask a „formal question‟, which Frei refers to as a content-less question, so that the story fills in the content and reveals its own meaning. This meaning is then unique and mysterious, as its affirmation lies within the story (Frei 1974).
Willows and Swinton (2000) described contextually and situationally sensitive pastoral practice as being precise, particular and distinct. Careful communication through careful observation and understanding is encouraged. Modesty in claims and assertions at the
same time provide release to particular individuals and communities (Willows & Swinton 2000).
Ganzevoort (2004) mentioned that in a social constructionist framework, practical theology is described as a multi conversational discipline between theology, other disciplines, the church and society. Discourses then determine how observations are understood, what needs to be achieved and how each conversation has its own empirical and normative dimensions, e.g. truth claims and ethical standards. He uses the notion of first and second order discourse, relating to knowledge of self, world and God, being socially constructed and distinguishes between ordinary religious language and action and the academic discussion of this language. Van der Ven adds that the explanation and understanding of praxis, as further developed in models and strategies, and its inherent normative statements are in no way the authoritative domain of theologians (Ganzevoort 2004).
The researcher believes that the multiple conversations between practical theology and social science provides a rich description of action, history and development of praxis for the pastoral family counsellors. This becomes a resource within the counselling relationship between God, the pastoral family counsellor and the counsellee.