Teaching Human Development and Faith in Pastoral Care

Abstract

ABSTRACT Human development and faith, as life-cycle sequences of becoming, inform pastoral care training in seminaries, chaplaincy, and congregations. A life-cycle perspective considers the requirements for a good life, evaluated not only by cultural norms, but also by the subjective experience of individuals. In a theological understanding of human development, attention to interpersonal and social contexts expands to include the dimensions of soul and faith as intrapsychic experiences, with wisdom as the interpersonal fruit of development. Faith is to wisdom as roots are to fruits. Erikson's eight developmental stages and Schwartz's qualities of Self-leadership, or inner wisdom, are correlated with the developmental stages where they are most likely to emerge. The positive Self-leadership qualities Schwartz identifies are linked with their potential negative counterparts to determine what we are likely to find when Self-Leadership is missing. Wisdom, as the faithful dimension of our humanity, has the potential to grow throughout life.