Pax Dei—Living in Peace 12

Hugs and Kicks

Scene from Jesus of Nazareth, 1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxCcvCZkaJc

"I see good practice in member care as being rooted in the example of the loving care offered by Christ, the “Good Practitioner”. Christ’s model of relationship with us serves as a foundation for our interaction with others and for the good practice principles that we develop for member care (see the Figure below—JC as GP). The middle two dimensions of being comforted/challenged are normative for us, and reflect many of His encounters with disciples in the New Testament. He is both tender and at times tough in His relentless love for us. The extremes on the continuum would represent “worst practice” and do not represent Christ’s relationship with His people. Likewise, they should not reflect our relationship with mission/aid personnel—for example, overly protecting them and not sufficiently challenging them (coddling), or blaming them for having needs and frailties (condemning). Member care, then, is as much about comfort as it is challenge. It involves lots of hugs with some kicks (culturally appropriate forms) and lots of affirmation and some admonition (I Thes. 5:11,14).

                            JC as GP

coddler     Comforter      Challenger     condemner

placater     Peace-giver   Provoker        punisher

 Good Practice

Adapted from Going Global: A Member Care Model for Best Practice, Kelly O'Donnell, Doing Member Care Well, 2002, p. 15 

Pax Dei

Sometimes people resist the gospel [the good news—which of course implies that there is some bad news] not because they think it false but because they perceive it [appropriately sometimes] as a threat to their culture, especially the fabric of their society, and their national or tribal solidarity [some just find it to be simply not relevant--practically, intellectually, or based on the behaviors of those individuals, groups, countries, etc. who "follow" the gospel]. To some extent this cannot be avoided. Jesus Christ is a disturber as well as a peacemaker. He is Lord, and demands our total allegiance [not just inflated/manipulative rhetoric but a conclusion and consensus based on the body of writings about Him and Christian life, gathered together in a compendium called the New Testament]. Thus, some first-century Jews saw the gospel as undermining Judaism and accused Paul of "teaching men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place," i.e., the temple (Acts 21:28). Similarly, some first-century Romans feared for the stability of the state, since in their view the Christian missionaries, by saying that "there is another King, Jesus," were being disloyal to Caesar and advocating customs which it was not lawful for Romans to practise (Acts 16:21; 17:7). Still today Jesus challenges many of the cherished beliefs and customs of every culture and society [including—and especially perhaps--the practices, lifestyles, and beliefs within the various Christian churches and traditions and certainly our own personal areas that need His disturbing and peacemaking light to shine on them].

Excerpted from the Willowbank Report: Consultation on Gospel and Culture, 1978, Lausanne Movement. The annotations in [blue font] are mine. http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/lops/73-lop-2.html

GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

Growing as Good Practitioners:
Staying in Touch with Stress and Yourself

"Good" practitioners develop their character (virtues and resiliency) and competence (skills and knowledge), as part of their ethical commitments to do good and to provide quality services. Growing as good practitiners also means that we stay in touch with our inner world, stress levels, and the need to give/reveive feedback and support from trusted friends and colleagues.

Here is a tool that we have found uselful to help monitor our stress levels as well as the stress levels of mission/aid workers. It helps us stay in touch with how we are doing in the face of the demands of work, expecialy in "field" contexts. This tool is used by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and many other organizations (from the booklet Managing Stress in the Field, 2001). The booklet is very helpful and available to download for free at:

http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_pubshealth.pl?stress.pdf

Short Questionnaire on Stress

Instructions: Rate each of the following items in terms of how much the symptom was true of you the last month.
0 = Never 1 = Occasionally 2 = Somewhat often 3 = Frequently 4 = Almost always
*
___1. Do you tire easily? Do you feel fatigued a lot of the time, even when you have gotten enough sleep?
___2. Are people annoying you by their demands and stories about their daily activities? Do minor inconveniences make you irritable or impatient?
___3. Do you feel increasingly critical, cynical or disenchanted?
___4. Are you affected by sadness you can’t explain? Are you crying more than usual?
___5. Are you forgetting appointments, deadlines, personal possessions? Have you become absent-minded?
___6. Are you seeing close friends and family members less frequently? Do you find yourself wanting to be alone and avoiding even your close friends?
___7. Does doing even routine things seem like an effort?
___8. Are you suffering from physical complaints such as stomach aches, headaches, lingering colds, general aches and pains?
___9. Do you feel confused or disoriented when the activity of the day stops?
___10. Have you lost interest in activities that you previously were interested in or even enjoyed?
___11. Do you have little enthusiasm for your work? Do you feel negative, futile, or depressed about your work?
___12. Are you less efficient than you think you should be?
___13. Are you eating more (or less), smoking more cigarettes, using more alcohol or drugs to cope with your work?

Total Score: (Add up scores for items 1-13)
*
Interpretation: No formal norms are available for this measure. Based on the content of the items, a score of 0-15 suggests the delegate is probably coping adequately with the stress of his or her work. A score of 16-25 suggests the worker is suffering from work stress and would be wise to take preventive action. A score of 26-35 suggests possible burnout. A score above 35 indicates probable burn out.

Based on “The Relief Worker Burnout Questionnaire” in Coping with Disaster (1999) by John H. Ehrenreich.

Reflection and Discussion

1. Based on the above tool, what are some of the main areas of stress for you?

2. What are a few things you could do to help deal with such stress?

3. Who do you know that would benfit from using this tool?

GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

GP2: Going and Growing

Morality must match with capacity.

David Bornstein, How to Change the World, 2004

Capacity must match with morality.

CORE/MCA, Growing as Good Practitioners, 2009 :-)

*****

So let's think about what is needed for GP2:

in light of the diversity of member care providers around the world

in light of the diversity of challenges and opportunities everywhere.

1. In GP2: We go broadly to humans in need.

Going is about "crossing" into different types of areas.

Practitioners in this field must increasingly cross into multiple cultures, sectors, and disciplines.

For some, they actively integrate some of these areas.

Others primairly just try to stay informed by some of these areas.

But the interconnections and growth from "crossing" are essential.

*

2. In GP2: We grow deeply as humans in need.

Growing is about our character and competence.

Practitioners in this field must continue to develop personal virtues and professional skills.

It is about being stretched, taking risks, getting more training, lifelong learning commitments, iron sharpening iron, and being refined by life's challenges and opportunities.

*

Reflection and Discussion

1. I think GP2,

in the Christian faith-based sectors,

is ultimately intertwined

with laying down our lives,

as pierced pratitioners,

in order to follow

the Pierced Practitioner.

What do you think?

*

2. "Crossing" leads us into new areas

(cultures, sectors, disciplines)

and it also leads us into dying daily

(sacrifice, struggles, service).

There are two types of "crossing".

What do you think?