Bioethicist with Insight into Pastoral Ministry?

Pastor Frohm pointed me to First Things a while back and, although I've only had the chance to subscribe (and try to keep pace with) its blog, I find it compelling reading. That said, the most recent blog posting on bioethics has something to say about pastoral ministry.

I feel compelled to reproduce the quote here. It comes from "FIRST THINGS: On the Square" and can be accessed at http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1059:

"Pellegrino maintains that medicine is not simply applied biology; rather, it “embraces activities beyond those inherent in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.” For example, whereas scientists study the epidemiology, histology, and pathophysiology of squamous cell carcinoma, such knowledge, though used by medicine, is not proper to it until that cancer is placed in the context of the effects, manifestations, and outcomes on a given patient—in short, until it is oriented toward the practical end which medicine serves: “the health and healing of human beings.” "

How does this relate to the pastoral ministry? In a CD distribution from Concordia Seminary - St. Louis entitled "The Pastor's Head and the Pastor's Heart", Dr. Andrew Bartelt emphasizes that a seminarians' study of theology is not to be contrasted against "ministry in the real world". He asserts that theology is practical. With apologies to Patrick C. Beeman, the blog entry's author: "whereas theologians study the revealed nature of God, His holy Law, the fallen human condition, and their interrelationships, such knowledge, through critical to the pastoral ministry, is not proper to it until these doctrines are placed in the context of their effects, manifestations and outcomes on a particular soul - in short, until it is oriented toward the practical end which theology serves: 'the proclamation of Christ crucified to the glory of God and out of love for our neighbor'"

However, this is yet another situation when sinful humanity takes the truth of Dr. Bartelt's assertion and twists it. Haven't we all known times when we ourselves or others have used the study of theology as: a club or rule to "normalize" other people to our own expectations, a vain pursuit to build up our own self-esteem, or as nothing more than an academic exercise or an intellectual curiosity. All of these "theological" pursuits have more to do with the one doing the study than the One being studied.

Ironically, I read the FIRST THINGS blog entry after a conversation I had with Pastor Flammann last night (Sunday) at the Good Shepherd Confirmation Banquet (more on this in a subsequent post). During dinner, we were discussing the difference "within Wittenburg" (i.e. Lutheran circles) between those with leanings "towards Augsburg" and those with leanings towards "the Formula of Concord" and especially the more dangerous rationalism that followed. Although this categorization can be easily carried too far, these represent points (and not the endpoints) on a spectrum proceeding towards a Pharisaical exclusivism.

During this conversation, I hypothesized a connection between the way an engineer thinks and the way that an engineer-turned-pastor (like yours truly, if God wills it) might be prone to thinking. The engineer takes a "fixed" body of theoretical knowledge (i.e. sciences, related disciplines) and then applies it flexibly and creatively to solve problems. An engineer-turned-pastor might be prone to thinking of the doctrines of the church as the fixed "principles of God" that are then turned towards "solving people's problems".

All believers are called, and pastors are specifically trained, to apply the Word of God (both law and Gospel) when interpreting and interacting with the world around them. I suppose in this sense the analogy holds (though loosely). My concern, and one of the points behind my conversation with Pastor, is that my tendency towards a rigid dogmatism may be a stumbling block for both me and my to-be-congregation. I hope you will join me in praying that the Holy Spirit would shape and mold me (and all of us, in fact) to hold to Jesus' teachings faithfully and apply them with love and compassion.