Cultivating Wholeness: A Guide to Care and Counseling in Faith Communities

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Summary: Congregational Care
Review: Cultivating Wholeness by Margaret Kornfeld
New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 2001
A Review by Eric F. Newell
April 13, 2002

Seeking wholeness through community care facilitates change. In contrast to "brief" counseling, or that done with a professional counselor, Cultivating Wholeness proposes the healing that comes and as the community works together. Each part of the body contributing from his/her own frame of reference enables one to gain insight from a variety of sources. The analogy of the gardener is used for the way that one is to care for the community. Keeping in mind the aspects of balance and change, one is able to work with those around them. Balance helps one to be looking both within and without. Change then is the desire to be flexible with the desire of staying in harmony with one's surrounding.

Kornfeld balances the concern for the community or the one facing or needing change, with the facilitator or change agent. It is necessary to know situations and circumstances surrounding those in the midst of change. Just as important is the facilitator's understanding of his/her own circumstances. At times it would seem good to be able to use personal experiences for the sake of identifying with others. This should only be done as the facilitator has come to terms with the issues in his/her own life. A concern arises when the therapist personally identifies with the situation of a counselee if the counselee projects a problem on someone or some situation other than him/herself, thereby masking the real problem.

The solution-focused approach discussed is helpful for assisting the person in working toward their answer. The solution-focused therapist recognizes the possibility for change as one comes complaining about the situation as it is projected onto another person. By listening to this complainant telling of some else's problem, the therapist listens and works with the complainant as he/she discusses the "other" person. By listening and working through the solution in this projected situation, the therapist builds a relationship with the counselee. Having built this relation, the therapist is able to help the complainant develop goals for this troubling situation.

Being in community, specifically as related to a pastor and the congregation, Kornfeld speaks of the different opportunities that the minister has of seeing persons as they experience the changes in life. More than a counseling concern, the author's concern seems to be that of support to be offered as one finds the answers to their own questions. While this lends itself to helping persons to work to find solutions, there is something within me that seeks for a more purposeful direction for the questions of life.

In Appendix B, the "Wholeness Membership Network" inventory is a good concept. The networking of the different abilities and strengths within the community is a good resource. The form by itself leaves several questions. It does not seem to give space for

those who have other abilities, to share how they can be a resource. Also it would have been helpful to have a place where the one answering the inventory, though they might not have the skills requested, would be able to list other known resources.

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Summary: Excellent resource not just for clergy. . .
Review: Kornfeld has written an excellent resource not just for clergy, but also for anyone in the helping professions, including mental health professionals. This is a work that can be used repeatedly, as it includes the specific topics and areas of concern, that healers (i.e., clergy, pastors, counselors, caregivers, etc.) need to be addressing within their communities.
Kornfeld's uses the metaphor of a Cultivator and a Gardener brilliantly to describe the caregiver and counselor who toil in "the soil community" (12). This metaphor is descriptive of a gardener testing the soil and nurturing it to produce a healthy crop. Similarly the clergy or pastor longs to have the healthiest flock and shepherds the flock in order to produce this health.
To Kornfeld one of the necessary points is "that you wait for people to ask for help" (77). This is called 'earning the right to suggest' by many professionals in the mental health field. This is so important for those who come just to be heard. In our fast paced society, so many people do not feel "heard" and long to "be heard." Therefore, this is an excellent point, not just for clergy, but also for counselors or those in professional mental health career positions (i.e., social workers, school counselors, marriage and family therapists) or any one want to assist the hurting individual.
Kornfeld refers to the act of listening as "holy listening," (61) the most important act that can be done for the walking wounded.
In chapter five, the author articulates what I believe is the function of a counseling ministry. She writes, "Referral counseling is a ministry of holism. When you refer to those who are specialists in healing the body or the mind, you are acknowledging the mind-body-soul-team of which you are a member"(111). Doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists are finally starting to recognize the role of religion and spirituality in healing. Pastors in the communities have not acknowledged the help available from the medical and psychology communities. Meanwhile members of congregations have suffered needlessly, because of this opposition. In addition, Kornfeld insists that counselors should be staying abreast of new information so that they will have "a working knowledge of the current world of mental health" (112).
Furthermore, I found it interesting and scripturally sound that "the solution-focused method is discernment" (142). Usually, within the context of denominations, especially charismatic and/or Pentecostal traditions, only the counselor is empowered with that supernatural gift. Yet, Kornfeld states that it is both, the counselor and the counselee, "who are being given new perception" (142) as they are becoming more aware of the Presence of God.
In chapter ten Kornfeld discusses the one issue that is seen so much in our pulpits, congregations and society today-burnout. Kornfeld give clear, concise and practical steps to tending to oneself. She states that those who "do not believe they have the right to be filled," continue on empty until they realize that "position and status do not feed the soul" (282). She describes burnout as "spiritual malaise" which she believes can be treated only by not doing more of the same, and by recognizing that burnout is a form of self-abuse, related to acting out of one's past.
The healing comes as people will "let themselves be found by sitting still," instead of going "off in all directions" to alleviate the panicky feelings that are driving them. The key is to be still and listen to God as God finds and embraces you in the process of self-disclosure. Healing happens in the discovery of your own dreams, as you revise and live them out (284).
Kornfeld recommends a system that clergy, lay ministers, and counselors can put in place for support, protection, and nurture. This system consists of feeding your soul, finding others to observe you and your work, shifting your focus to home and your personal life, finding a balance of work, play, rest, and relationship, being connected to your body, as you learn to care for it; and asking yourself a Miracle question.
Lastly, Kornfeld makes a critical point for clergywomen when she writes, "Ministry should not be a 'battlefield' where women are wounded in the course of action and must continue to work in a state of acute stress disorder" (299). For men as well as women "those who thrive in ministry stay out of power struggles with themselves and others" (303).

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Summary: Truth, Power, and Reality
Review: Truth, power, and reality characterize Cultivating Wholeness, by Margaret Kornfield. She said that she constructed the book like a gardener's manual for those who counsel and care for souls (12). Theory and suggestions, bibliographical information, and other additional resources are included. Changing forces that surround people affect them physically, emotionally and spiritually. The reality is that people must deal with change throughout their lives. It is better to prepare oneself to meet those challenges, than not to do so. Kornfield's attention is focused on the role faith communities' can play in assisting people with significant life changes. Entrances and exits, beginnings and endings need to be embraced, not fearfully, but prayerfully and practically.
Truth lies in applying new insights into old ideas. Kornfield wrote: "Jesus taught that there can be no significant change in the human spirit without changing the world around us: a radical paradigm shift" (7). Where there is no justice in the community, there can be no peace for the individual. The paradox in the paradigm shift is expressed by the lyric: "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." The implication is that we, the people, are responsible for seeking justice, loving mercy, and seeking God's will with humble and contrite hearts. Grief and loss, death, divorce, and other adverse changes in social, economic, and personal circumstances are identifiable times for critical change. People gravitate together for prayer, for help, and for healing when such conditions arise.
Power lies in empowerment. Clergy and specifically gifted laypersons within the faith community are recognized as spiritual resources for healing. Kornfield recognized that Socrates dictum, "Know thyself," is critical to the care and counseling process. She said: "painful experiences when seen in a new light, can be gifts that help you (the caregiver) to be more understanding and less judgmental" (48). We are all on journeys to wholeness; therefore, our ability to do "holy listening"(61) is important. "Holy listening" is not just reserved for an encounter with God, but is integral to our encounter with others. The faith community is healthy and safe insofar as individuals are known and feel free to reveal themselves to others (85). Ultimately, real power is a gift from God.
Kornfield's research is grounded in reality. There is the reality that clients face when life's changes impact upon them. Another reality is that caregivers may find themselves, not only in positions of privilege, but also in circumstances of temptation. Kornfield's not so subtle alert to the caregiver is that in order to help a client develop good health, the counselor and client must be clear about the professional boundary issues surrounding confidentiality and sexuality. The caregiver needs to be a non-anxious presence and not exacerbate a client's situation!
Kornfield's use of the Bible, her philosophic attitude, her examination of case studies, her creative use of anecdote, and her practical instructions expand the valuable resources available in the literature of pastoral care and counseling. Cultivating Wholeness is a vital read for caregivers in particular, and anyone else for that matter, who wishes to grow in grace.