| Spiritual help...using spiritual support...like therapeutic | | | | the troubled person to like his or her supportive |
| support....has its place in ministry interventions. But...the | | | | minister...but it reinforces the person's incompetent |
| generally supportive minister will support the | | | | behavior. |
| incompetency of the troubled person...and at the | | | | Supportiveness is not a necessary quality of the |
| same time support their competent thinking and | | | | minister's personality. It's an intervention specifically |
| behavior. This creates subconscious contradictory | | | | chosen to reinforce competent thinking and behavior |
| messages for both minister and the one ministered | | | | in troubled people. |
| to. | | | | All ministry interventions are boundary crossings. And |
| When a minister gives spiritual help by using | | | | to cross boundaries and intervene in a person's life by |
| supportiveness selectively to help a troubled person | | | | shoring up incompetent thought |
| obtain some outcome or goal...then the spiritual | | | | patterns...attitudes...and behavior is really an unwitting |
| support will most likely bring desired results. | | | | and unintended boundary violation. |
| However, many helpful ministers want to appear to | | | | Such boundary violations...even though unintended by |
| others to be supportive and encouraging. But this has | | | | the minister...can create subtle...complex...and difficult |
| to do with developing the minister's persona...and not | | | | to change thinking and behavior for troubled people. |
| with helping others. | | | | By clicking on the link below...you can read a clear |
| The minister should consciously choose what to | | | | example of how a supportive minister giving spiritual |
| support or reinforce because a counseling 'policy' of | | | | help to an abused woman...reinforced the woman's |
| general supportiveness never helps anyone improve | | | | contradictory idea that she was loving her husband |
| their troubling situation. A generally supportive | | | | by letting him abuse her. |
| approach to dealing with troubled people may cause | | | | |