Len Sperry

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  Transforming Self And Community

  $26.95

  Both spiritual direction and pastoral counseling tend to be partially responsive to client needs and expectations. Many of the theories underlying the practice of spiritual direction and pastoral counseling are based more on psychology than spirituality. They minimize or exclude character and moral concerns and may even unintentionally foster individualism and spiritual narcissism. Transforming Self and Community offers an approach to spiritual direction and pastoral counseling that is holistic, that integrates spiritual and moral constructs with the psychological and emphasizes all aspects of transformation, including social transformation.

  The integrative approach in Transforming Self and Community provides psychological, spiritual, and moral perspectives for understanding and assisting individuals with their spiritual journey of development. It describes and illustrates clinically useful guidelines for the practice of spiritual direction and pastoral counseling. It includes case studies as well as figures, tables, and charts that highlight and summarize main text points.

  Transforming Self and Community is primarily for professionals who practice, teach, or are learning how to do spiritual direction or pastoral counseling. Nevertheless, spiritual seekers, clients, or prospective clients of spiritual direction or pastoral counseling will also find this book enlightening.

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• 

  Ministry And Community

  $21.95

  Ministry impairment seems to be increasingly problematic for the Church today. While the minister’s personality or character are typically the focus of media attention, impairment is also influenced by organizational dynamics such as the recruitment and promotion policies of the religious organization as well as its culture and structure. Ministry and Community highlights the interplay of personality dynamics and organizational dynamics for eight of the most common forms of ministry impairment and shows how they can be recognized, treated, and prevented.

  In Ministry and Community Len Sperry looks at the dynamics underlying and supporting narcissistic behavior, sexual abusing behavior, psychopathic behavior, borderline behavior, depressive behavior, obsessive-compulsive behavior, manic-depressive behavior, and passive-aggressive behavior in ministry personnel. He then describes a number of effective strategies that can modify these individual and organizational dynamics.

  Rather than affix blame on ministers or the Church, this book offers a series of observations on concerns faced by the Church and provides suggestions for addressing these concerns.

  Ministry and Community also offers a measure of hopefulness about the prospects for professional ministry in the Church. These suggestions include specific criterion for determining fitness for ministry, guidelines for realistically appraising ministry performance, and specific indications and contraindications for psychotherapy and other psychiatric interventions.

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