Introducing Practical Theology: Mission, Ministry, and the Life of the Church by Pete Ward

Author:Pete Ward [Ward, Pete]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL108000, REL074000, Practical Theology, REL067000
ISBN: 9781493410835
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-10-17T07:00:00+00:00

The Limitations of the Pastoral Cycle

The pastoral cycle has been one of the foundational elements in teaching practical theology. Many find it helpful, but there are some problems with the method. The pastoral cycle tends to focus on occasions when there are problems in a pastoral context. This orientation toward tensions and conflict gives rise to significant drawbacks in the method. Most significantly, the cycle has a tendency to dislocate theological reflection from the ordinary ways in which the Christian church is continually engaged in connecting theology and practice. So theological reflection is placed outside the normal ways in which, by being part of the church, we are involved in the continual processes of theological reflection.

Educationalist Donald Schön describes the rich variety of ways in which professional practitioners engage in reflection. There are times when problem situations arise. Where this is the case the starting point of the pastoral cycle makes some sense. But there are a great many occasions where reflection is less intentional and structured. Practitioners, Schön says, reflect on their knowing-in-practice.9 In other words, reflection is not so much a method to follow as part of the way that practitioners operate professionally. Sometimes, in the relative tranquility of a postmortem, they will think back on a project they have undertaken or a situation they have lived through and will explore the understandings they have brought to their handling of the case. They may do this in a mood of idle speculation or in a deliberate effort to prepare themselves for future cases.

Most frequently, reflection takes place in the midst of action. This reflection-in-action is conditioned by the constraints of the situation. It can be very rapid, or it might happen in minutes or even hours. For Schön, reflection is a complex process that is itself located within and in close relation to practice.10 Schön’s thinking seems to suggest that the pastoral cycle is a little programmatic, and his work indicates the extent to which reflection could perhaps be a much more dynamic and situated form of thinking.

There are criticisms of the pastoral cycle based on its origins. The cycle, as we have seen, has its roots in the social theory of Karl Marx. Cardijn and Freire were both influenced by Marxist thinking. Consequently, they see the process of education as one that enables those who are trapped in the social and economic relations of industrial society to become “aware” of their situation. And therefore through gaining knowledge they can become liberated. This approach to education rests on the Marxist notion that workers are largely ignorant or kept in the dark about the way the economic system controls workers. This assumption leads to an approach to education that is designed around the belief that there is always something under the surface and hidden to discover. The problem is that if you do not share this basic assumption and if you are not a Marxist, then the approach can seem rather alien at times.

There are also strong theological criticisms of the pastoral cycle.

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