The traumatized African clergies dealing therapeutically with traumatized African families

Abstract

Theology was referred to the study of faith in God and the history of God’s journey with His people and their narratives about God and His journey with them. Theology was applied within the context of religious experience. Practical theology is the hermeneutics of God’s encounter with human beings and their world. It was often referred to as a theology of crisis and practical oriented science and the task of maintaining the connections between the varied stories of life and grounding the stories of Christian Community Practical theology could also be summarised as follows (1) as having its roots in the practice of research methodology. Methodology had developed practical theology into various phases, namely: (1) A personality –oriented moral model. (2) The official model, (3) the so-called application model. (4) An empirical model; (5) A phenomenological model, and (6) a last development called the ecclesiological model. Epistemology, in this project, is referred to the branch of philosophy that studied issues, related to knowledge. It is an empirical (deriving knowledge from experience alone) theory that enabled the practical theology to be referred to as the empirical theology. In this case, it was a scientific knowledge to address the question how do traumatised African clergies therapeutically deal with traumatised African families while being affected, themselves? The post-modern world was using the epistemology framework which was based on narrative hermeneutical emancipatory relationships that was critical of power relationships of modern books. The writer here had adopted narrative hermeneutical emancipatory relationshipsstructural approach to use for both in obtaining information from the organisational structures of the church and the dual church of democracy and theocracy for the emancipation of traumatised African clergies therapeutically dealing with traumatised African families. . The narrative hermeneutical emancipatory relationships discourses were used to solve the problem of traumatised African clergies and traumatised African families through conference approach. Practical theology also strived to understand this experience as a place where gospel of love towards others, were grounded and lived out. Grief was generally viewed as having psychological and social repercussions (driven back) to the status of traumatised African clergies. It was also a significant spiritual condition of sleeplessness, and anxiety, in that, it impacted on relationships with God, self, and others. Pastors, therefore, had a key role to play in the well being of people within the Christian iv communities; including other pastors who suffered from different traumatic experiences. God created them with spirit, soul and body to function, not in exclusion, but included them as one in human body. It was in the light of this understanding that the body of a human being needed to be balanced well with the three (spirit, soul and body), in order to function fruitfully within the community of God. The human being was not a fragmentation but a complete entity, needing healing for his or her whole being: spiritually, socially, psychologically and in relationship with his or her environment. The African clergies did stand in need of healing in order to redirect their lives; following their traumatic experiences. They needed to be healed so that they could carry on with their tasks as pastoral care giving. In traditional African society, health was conceived as more than physical well-being. It was a state that entailed mental, physical, spiritual social and environmental (cosmic) harmony. It was associated with all that were positively valued in life. It was also a sign of a correct relationship between people and their environment, with one another and with the supernatural world. Health was understood both in a social and in a biological sense. When the physical was ill the body was reluctant to help in social life and when the loved some was dead the social life was affected in grief and the body became weak. Pastoral care had the potential to bring healing and hope; through good shepherding. Pastoral care and counselling was historically concerned with healing of the broken-hearted and liberating the people of God in order for them to develop self-esteem. In most of the African churches, the hierarchy of the church tended to treat problems of pastors as personal problems and as having no bearing to the church as an institution at all. Personal problems of pastors were hostility from Christians, lack of money and mismanagement of church funds; inferiority complex; rejection by community, some pastors were favoured, and some were rejected because of their background, misunderstood by church members. In many instances, pastors left their church due to the lack of support and encouragement. At times, it was the church that disowned them on the basis of churches discriminatory practices and personal challenges that distracted such as planning other clergies outside the region from their pastoral duties. Even though the church was not perceived as a building, but as people who worshipped God in the church building, it was beyond that. It was the people, including its pastors that were ministering to people of God in it that constituted a church. The perception was that the church v had no problem to solve, had to be dismissed without any condition. Many pastors experienced and suffered rejection from churches discriminatory practices. God’s general call to all Christians was to serve: the truth that everybody served a master either the devil or God ((Matt.6:24; John 8: 34-36; John 15:19; Romans 6:6-22; James 4:4; 1John 2:15-17; 4:4-6); there was no middle ground. We were either under the dominion of sin and the devil, or we had been ransomed by Jesus Christ of Nazareth and we were then His servants (Galatians 1:10). Pastors before they were called to leadership of God, they were also among those Christians who were called to serve either the devil or God. A shepherd was referred to one employed in tending, feeding and guarding the people of God who were metaphorically known as the flock of God that were under his care and service as an overseer. Shepherding was applied to the pastor, in the fivefold ministry gifts of Jesus of Nazareth, and as means of shepherding the flock of God in the Church. The traumatised African pastors were included in this shepherding. The remedy to the traumatised African clergies and traumatised African families was chosen to be the dual church government of theocracy and democracy; as we intended to reach the eternity of the true God, the creator of the Zoe and Bios Universe, the dual church government of democracy and theocracy of God was regarded as the solution to the churches discriminatory practices through the conference approach. Churches who tried to unite and fight against apartheid’s discriminatory practices were: The Methodist Church of Southern Africa; the Congregational Assembly; the Anglican Church of South Africa; Presbyterians of S A and the Assemblies of God in South Africa. Churches adopted a neutral stance: Evangelical movements were: three types of Evangelical churches, namely: (1) Fundamentals (2) Conservative Evangelical (3) New Evangelicals. The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) stood as an example of the evangelical or Pentecostal Movement. These churches used conference approach to destroy apartheid discriminatory practices of the then Apartheid Government of South Africa. But the assumption was that the local churches were affected by these discriminatory practices, hence after apartheid they adopted the same discriminatory practices used against their traumatised local African clergies. As they were affected they also needed individual counseling. Pastoral counselling should be always there to address the needs and feelings of priests through seminars, workshops, and fellowship. Members of the church –the elders should be involved in these workshops to present the feelings vi of the congregation towards the priest’s conduct. The Blacks saw apartheid discriminatory practices as “unchristian” apartheid. Therefore when leaders of churches saw the apartheid discriminatory practices as unchristian, the dual church government of democracy and theocracy of God had seen discriminatory practices as unchristian and might be thrown out of the Church by conference approach of the BTGM: The leadership of the Assemblies of God Back to God Movement was the BTGEXCO, BTGTT and the Evangelistic arm the BTGTT, BTGCNC, each committee of the Church normally fell under the supervision and guidance of these above named highest levels in the church hierarchy. The following middle levels were RDCCs, RMFs, BTGCRC and the lower-levels were Elders and deacons or Church Boards and Trans-local Ministries in the low-level in the hierarchy. The leadership of the BTGTT was vision, empowering and releasing people (employing called people: RMFs in middle level, Elders & Deacons and Trans-local Ministries in lower- level. The BTGTT leadership was in leadership similar to Aaron and Levities, Jesus of Nazareth and the 12 Apostles and 70 disciples of Jesus of Nazareth: The BTGCNC in highest hierarchy and BTGCRC in the middle level. The BTGEXCO was the highest level in the hierarchy of elected committees, RDCCs middle-level and Local Church Boards and delegates in lower-level. The hermeneutical emancipatory relationships which were very critical of power relationship that had been used in conference approach to destroy churches discriminatory practices would no longer be used in dealing with individual traumatised African clergies and traumatised African families. Pastoral counselling would use a narrative approach to address the needs and feelings of pastors through seminars, workshops and fellowships to agree that we still live in relationships with the post-modern society well known only in engaging one another in solving problems of the post-modern world.