Currently, ministers have to bridge a challenging gap in their self-understanding. Coming from Ephesian 4, 1-16 they have been given an extraordinary calling to be witnesses of the gospel. At the same time they have been given this gift to equip the members of the church to become witnesses themselves. Contemporary concepts of pastoral theology emphasize the traditional role of the pastor as a counterpart of the congregation, serving the local church in different ways, but underemphasize the fact that ministers are at the same time members of the local body of Christ who need the supplementation of others. The image of "lonesome pastors" toiling on their own to serve "their" congregations needs to be replaced with images that take the calling of other members of the congregation just as seriously. Such an understanding opens up to a plurality of pastoral services that are needed to face the diversity of cultural and sociological contexts.

Enthalten in:
Kerygma und Dogma; 2011/3 Zeitschrift für theologische Forschung und kirchliche Lehre (2011)

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Serie / Reihe: Kerygma und Dogma

Personen: Herbst, Michael

Schlagwörter: Pfarrer Berufsbild Berufsrolle Berufszufriedenheit Selbstverständnis Soziale Rolle