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Life-Long Formation in AAPC

By Han van den Blink

A Study Document - Part of the work in progress. [http://www.aapc.org/formation.htm]

 AAPC has made a commitment to life-long formation. What might it look like to have a shared understanding of the role of spirituality and spiritual formation in an ecumenical and interfaith organization like ours? How could such a shared understanding serve as an important demarcation of necessary boundaries in an interdenominational and interfaith organization such as ours?

What is meant by "formation?"

First of all, it is important to understand what formation is as well as what it is not. This is especially necessary at a time when the word formation is bandied about loosely and when its meaning is not always clear. It is true, of course, that in the process of living and interacting with others we are being formed all the time. Formation in the sense in which we propose to use it, signifies an intentional, planned process with a specific goal in mind, namely that of being adequately and competently educated, trained and formed in a certain tradition, profession, trade or guild, such as pastoral counseling. Since there is not a point at which anyone, no matter how accomplished or gifted, ever completely achieves this goal, formation is understood to be a life-long process.

Second, any authentic process of formation always embodies two seemingly contradictory aspects, namely a volitional one (I choose to do this) and one that involves a degree of submission to authority and tradition (in order to do this, I need to yield to the requirements of the process and at times to the greater wisdom and experience of others). The process of clinical supervision provides a helpful example of this tension. We choose to be supervised in order to learn our trade, and at the same time we need to hand over a degree of authority to those who supervise us in order to learn from them. Such a voluntary commitment, then, entails the willingness to submit oneself to a process, which may be arduous, challenging, and at times aversive, as anyone who has had competent supervision has experienced. When we choose to belong to a professional guild like AAPC, we also voluntarily both commit and submit to its professional requirements, its code of ethics, and so forth. We are willing to do this in order to become more firmly grounded, trained, and skilled in the tradition of our chosen profession.

Third, because submission to a professional discipline always carries the risk of abuse, imposition and indoctrination,(such a voluntary commitment can only be made if one can trust that the process of formation is staffed, managed and overseen by colleagues who are committed to respectful, collegial behavior and who practice the highest professional standards. It follows from this that formation, if it is to be formation and not indoctrination, can be required but never imposed.) There always needs to be the option to exit a particular formative process to which one has committed oneself. This is as true of formation in AAPC as in any other ministry or profession.

Fourth, formation requires commitment to the entire formative process and not only to selected parts. One cannot dip in and out of formation without diminishing the quality of the process and undermining its integrity. This is clear in a formative activity like clinical supervision, but maybe less obvious in other important aspects of being formed as a pastoral counselor, like spiritual formation. We have all internalized to some degree our society's myth of objective knowing. By this I refer to the widespread functional view of education, research and training, a view, which prioritizes acquisition of technique and objective data over the formation of personhood.

Contrary to this prevailing view, Parker Palmer has discovered through his research into the elements of good teaching, not once but over and over again, that the selfhood of the teacher-- in terms of integrity, ability to relate to and appreciate, and passion for the subject-- is far more important than technique ¹. I would suggest that the same truth applies to pastoral care and counseling. For the efficacy of what we do depends to an extraordinary degree on the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Training, experience and skills play a part, but the most important variable, aside from God's grace, is the personhood of the pastoral counselor, in terms of integrity, ability to relate, commitment to the one(s) being helped and, I would add, spiritual grounding.

Fifth, formation requires the company of others, of colleagues, who are committed to the same goals. One cannot be formed by oneself. Regular interaction with colleagues who may be older or younger, experienced or beginners, teachers, supervisors or fellow learners, is essential. True formation is more than the downloading into one's brain of factual information but includes the acquisition and internalization, over time, of insights, ways of being, wisdom, and an intuitive grasp or feeling for whatever one is trying to become proficient. The actual company of colleagues, both as companions and teachers, is indispensable to formation.

The reason for this, as Michael Polanyi has helped us understand ², is that all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, has an underlying component, which is tacit. We cannot prove this tacit knowledge to be true. We might even have trouble recognizing or articulating it but it is the matrix for all other knowing. Such tacit knowing can only be transmitted through example, monitoring and faith. Tacit knowing, whether scientific, philosophical, theological or psychotherapeutic or having to do with a skill such as violin making, is a deeply personal, intuitive knowing. To acquire such knowledge demands wholehearted participation and a willingness to immerse oneself passionately. Polanyi intentionally used the theological term "indwelling" (cf. John 15) to describe the depth of immersion in the subject, tradition, trade, profession or guild which one has chosen as the vehicle to fulfilling one's vocation.

Sixth, any process of formation is complex and multi-faceted, involving intellectual, ethical, cultural, emotional, theoretical, clinical, supervisory, collegial and spiritual aspects or components, to name a few of the important ones that pertain to formation in pastoral counseling. Ideally, all these aspects or components of a process of formation are honored and valued. In the history of AAPC two of these, clinical training and personal psychotherapy, have been deemed essential, whereas others, like spiritual formation, have been neglected or not even seen as important. The recent history of AAPC has witnessed an increasing appreciation of hitherto unacknowledged but important contextual factors, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, class and ethnicity. Ironically, in an organization dedicated to pastoral counseling, the issue of spirituality in pastoral counseling formation has by and large been avoided or neglected. ³

What would life-long formation in AAPC look like?

Devising a way to make spiritual formation an integral part of AAPC formation is a great challenge. For AAPC is an ecumenical and interfaith organization whose members come from a rich variety of religious and faith backgrounds. While our debt to the generally inclusive mindset on matters of faith (not initially on gender and race) of those who founded AAPC is great, it will no longer do to have one perspective, such as liberal Protestantism, be dominant. At the same time, AAPC has had all along an unarticulated but powerful spirituality that has functioned as a container, so to speak, for a diversity of other spiritualities. ⁴

Several features of this implicit spirituality stand out:

• One is the shared assumption among all faith traditions that there is a transcendent and sacred dimension to life, which is central to its wholeness and healing.

• Another is the belief that the achievement and maintenance of healing and wholeness need human agents and communities who are themselves open to this sacred dimension.

• And a third one is the belief, based on experience in AAPC, that the rich diversity of human beings and religious traditions is itself a testimony to the way the Spirit uses the particularity of personhood, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language and culture to express itself and make itself known.

"AAPC now needs a clear and attractive articulation of core spiritual values to which current and future members can commit themselves wholeheartedly …without feeling either diminished or excluded."

To compliment its new Vision and Mission Statements, AAPC now needs a clear and attractive articulation of core spiritual values to which current and future members can commit themselves wholeheartedly and, hopefully, with enthusiasm, without feeling either diminished or excluded. Such a statement of shared spiritual values can hold the multiple and diverse spiritualities of our members in creative and respectful tension. Two things to avoid in drawing up such a declaration would be to impose a generic, theoretical statement or search for the lowest common denominator. For that reason I suggest as a starting point that we use the implicit spiritual values that AAPC has had all along.

How might this formation process maintain appropriate boundaries?

Such a statement of our core spiritual values could also serve as a way of maintaining appropriate boundaries. For example, one would not have to be a firm believer in the transcendent and sacred dimension of life to belong to AAPC, but one would have to feel comfortable being in the presence of those who hold a strong theistic faith and not in any way disparage their religious beliefs. As a matter of fact, one of the goals of our organization needs to be to help our members do what Mahatma Ghandi suggested long ago, namely that it is incumbent on every believer (of a particular faith) to engage in what he called "the friendly study of other religions". ⁵ Such a study, he held, not only makes for a greater appreciation of others and understanding of what motivates them but invariably contributes to a greater understanding of one's own beliefs.

Another example of boundary implications would be that an AAPC member would not have to agree that the achievement and maintenance of healing and wholeness requires pastoral counselors who are themselves spiritually grounded, but that member would have to be willing to participate in a process of formation which holds this a central issue in our formation. Or, one would not have to feel comfortable with certain kinds of diversity, especially with regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth, but one could not agitate for their exclusion without being asked to leave or, if not willing to do so, being expelled from membership in AAPC.

"…the only "others" AAPC should not be open to are those who would not themselves tolerate diversity."

The answer to the perennial question regarding the limits of acceptable diversity is that the only "others" AAPC should not be open to those who would not themselves tolerate diversity. I do not think that this is something we have much to worry about. Those who want to join AAPC are already self-selected and presumably inclined to the values we hold. A more likely problem may be any person or group within AAPC itself who hold their truth to be absolute. Experience has shown that we need to be watchful for absolutists on the left as well as the right.

What would AAPC formation look like?

Implementing a sustained program of formation, especially one involving spiritual formation, is going to require a long time and an intensive effort, not only in terms of education and consciousness raising, but also in terms of providing the kinds of experiences that will, more than anything else, convince our members of the importance of this project. Let us start with small formation programs in every Region and go from there.

Second, it is going to be imperative that leaders in such a formation program be centered and spiritually grounded colleagues themselves. They need to be carefully chosen. It would not hurt to develop a protocol to guide the selection of such colleagues for nothing will do more harm to our cause than (well-meaning) colleagues whose walk does not match their talk.

Third, let us invite people with proven track records in integrating psychotherapy and spirituality. We all know such gifted people in AAPC. Let us recruit them. Let us also find those with extensive experience with the integration of pastoral counseling and spirituality, with spiritual direction and with the leading of retreats and invite them to join this effort.

Finally, I suggest that we look for others who may not even know of our existence but who could contribute a great deal to our individual and communal formation. I am thinking especially of American Buddhist psychotherapists whom I do not know personally but with whose works I am familiar, people like Mark Epstein ⁶, Jon Kabat-Zinn ⁷ and John Welwood ⁸. Buddhism has the advantage of being both a sophisticated psychology as well as a religious practice. One can benefit a great deal from the psychology without having to commit to the religious practice. Recent developments in Christian contemplative practice, for instance, owe a great deal to Buddhist mindfulness practice.

"…newly found sense of community that has emerged in this country after the terrorist attacks of September 11th …(or) a trajectory of increasing fragmentation and polarization…. Whichever way this new trend develops, AAPC will have a small but important role to play."

It will be interesting to see whether the newly found sense of community that has emerged in this country after the terrorist attacks of September 11th will have any staying power. Until the horrific events of that day, our society was on a trajectory of increasing fragmentation and polarization with few venues for genuine collaboration among those who differ on matters of politics, economics, and faith and justice issues. Whichever way this new trend develops, AAPC will have a small but important role to play. This difficult but exciting time provides AAPC with a unique opportunity to contribute its part. And needless to say, a high quality program of formation will be an indispensable part of equipping our members for their work.

Footnotes

¹ Parker J. Palmer, The Courage To Teach (Jossey-Bass, 1998).  Back to Text

² Michael Polanyi, Personal Knowledge (University of Chicago Press, 1958) and The Tacit Dimension (Doubleday, 1983). Polanyi, a Jewish Hungarian (1891-1975) was a world class biochemist who turned to the study of epistemology out of his distress at experiencing first hand, during the First and Second World Wars in Europe, the effects of the split between knowledge and responsibility which led so many brilliant people to participate in awful things.  Back to Text

³ This has a great deal to do, in my opinion, with the fact that a majority of AAPC's founders and early members were refugees from their own denominations, carrying with them strong unresolved transferences to their religion of origin which, although understandable, has adversely affected, and still affects, AAPC. Many of these colleagues found a measure of "church" in the ecumenical fellowship of AAPC.  Back to Text

⁴ cf. my article What it could mean for AAPC to take its spirituality seriously in the premier issue of Journeys.  Back to Text

⁵ Mohandas K. Ghandi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Beacon Press, 1993).  Back to Text

⁶ Mark Epstein, Thoughts without a Thinker (Basic Books, 1995) and Going on Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change (Broadway Books, 2001).  Back to Text

⁷ Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994).  Back to Text

⁸ John Welwood, Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation (Shambala, 2000).