Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 2-1-2017 The tS ory Pastor: A Faithful and Fruitful Identity for Pastors Jordan Rimmer George Fox University, [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Rimmer, Jordan, "The tS ory Pastor: A Faithful and Fruitful Identity for Pastors" (2017). Doctor of Ministry. 218. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/218 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY THE STORY PASTOR: A FAITHFUL AND FRUITFUL IDENTITY FOR PASTORS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY JORDAN RIMMER PORTLAND, OREGON FEBRUARY 2017 George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Jordan S. Rimmer has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on February 16, 2017 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Josh Sweeden, PhD Secondary Advisor: Deborah Loyd, DMin Lead Mentor: Leonard I. Sweet, PhD Expert Advisor: Len Hjalmarson, DMin Copyright © 2017 by Jordan Rimmer All rights reserved ii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vi SECTION 1 - THE PROBLEM ...................................................................................... 1 Pastoral Identity in Crisis ........................................................................................ 1 How Metaphor Shapes Reality ............................................................................... 5 Historical Perspective ........................................................................................... 10 Identity, Stress, and Pastoral Health ..................................................................... 15 Theological Reflection and Analysis .................................................................... 24 SECTION 2 - OTHER PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ..................................................... 28 Modern Attempts at Pastoral Identity ................................................................... 28 Pastor as Counselor and Responses ...................................................................... 31 Pastor as Leader and Responses ........................................................................... 38 Other Proposed Solutions ..................................................................................... 43 Analysis................................................................................................................. 45 SECTION 3 - THESIS .................................................................................................... 48 The Thesis ............................................................................................................. 48 How Story Works ................................................................................................. 50 Why Story Works ................................................................................................. 56 The Story of Story ................................................................................................. 61 The Story Pastor .................................................................................................... 69 Analysis................................................................................................................. 73 SECTION 4 - ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ................................................................ 77 iii SECTION 5 - BOOK PROPOSAL ............................................................................... 79 Query Letter .......................................................................................................... 79 Cover Letter .......................................................................................................... 80 Book Proposal ....................................................................................................... 82 SECTION 6 - POSTSCRIPT ......................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX – BOOK SAMPLE .................................................................................... 96 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 175 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not exist without the help and inspiration of a number of people. I would like to thank my wife Mandy and our children for letting me spend so much time at Starbucks and Panera Bread to write this. Thank you to my parents who shaped the way I think about ministry. Thanks also to Westminster Church for your support through this process, as well as my friends in ministry. I consider this research to be a continuation of the work of two of my Master of Divinity professors. Dr. Craig Barnes challenged me to think deeply about what pastors do, and Dr. Andrew Purves challenged me to think about ministry through the lenses of theology and history. I see their influence throughout this research. Finally, this dissertation was written for a Doctor of Ministry program at George Fox Seminary. This program formed me and developed my thinking in ways I will spend a lifetime unpacking. Thanks, first of all, to Len Sweet. I may not quote you on every page, but your fingerprints are all over them. I want to thank my advisor Josh Sweeden. This is a much better project, and I am a much better pastor and thinker, because you pushed me. Thank you Loren, Cliff, and Lori: each of you gave me ideas and encouragement along the way. To my classmates—Kevin, Chris, Chris, Dave, Dave, Lisa, Pam, Jean, Mike, Mike, James, and Nate—thanks for being on the adventure with me. Thanks to Len Hjalmarson for all your counsel with the artifact. Finally, thanks to Colleen Butcher, for her editorial work. v ABSTRACT Pastors are experiencing an identity crisis. Many are not sure how to process who they are and what they do. While old metaphors for ministry—like shepherd or prophet— do not connect as well with today’s culture, new metaphors—like leader or counselor— are not biblically complete. This identity crisis negatively affecting clergy health and ministry. How can pastors pursue sustainable ministries, based on an identity, that is faithful to the tradition and fruitful in the world today? Story is a paradigm for ministry that shapes pastoral identity. Pastors benefit from thinking of their ministry in terms of story because it is faithful to tradition and fruitful in the world. Story-thinking is a paradigm for ministry that can create pastoral identity and minimize stress and burnout. Section One defines pastoral identity and examines the elements that shape identity. It explores the way that metaphor relates to identity, and the impact of the identity crisis on clergy health. Section Two identifies and analyzes the dominant pastoral metaphors of pastor-as-counselor and pastor-as-leader, as well as several others, offering critiques of these images. It concludes by suggesting where these images fall short and what is needed to develop a meaningful pastoral metaphor. Section Three presents the theoretical and theological underpinnings of story as a possible solution. Looking first at how story works, and why stories are so effective, the model of the story pastor is presented and evaluated as a paradigm for ministry. Sections Four and Five contain a book proposal for The Story Pastor. This book will be written to help pastors think about their ministries and identities through the lens of story. Section Six provides a postscript and suggestions for further research. vi SECTION 1 - THE PROBLEM Pastoral Identity in Crisis Pastoral ministry has never been easy. It requires engagement with challenging situations and people, involves a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, and is carried out in a very broken world. Yet ministry today is difficult for additional reasons. As Craig Barnes puts it, “only within the last two generations have the clergy been forced to bear an additional burden that is far from light—confusion about what it means to be the pastor.”1 Many protestant pastors are experiencing a crisis of identity. They do not have clarity about who they are or what their role requires. This lack of clarity harms both the pastors and their congregations. To begin understanding this problem, one must first understand what identity is and how identity works. At its most basic level, an identity is the way people see themselves in various contexts. It is out of this self-view that people act, react, and behave. Identity Theory psychologists, Peter Burke and Jan Stets, define it as a “set of