First Christian Voices: Practices of the Apostolic Fathers

Resources for Application

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Soul Work and Soul Care: The Christian Discipline of Meditation By Isaiah A. Swain

No one presumes to teach an art until he has first carefully studied it. Look how foolish it is for the inexperienced to assume pastoral authority, since the care of souls is the art of arts! ~ Gregory the Great, c. 590

Your leaders . . . keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. ~ Hebrews 13:17a

Each Sacred Roots Spiritual Classic has a “Soul Work and Soul Care” resource to illustrate how Christian leaders across cultures and generations have found a particular spiritual classic helpful in pastoral ministry. “Soul work” includes the personal work of watering, weeding, pruning, and fertilizing the garden of one’s own soul. In a similar way, “soul care” involves the pastoral work of nurturing growth in another’s friendship with God. When Jesus discusses “soul work” and “soul care,” he often uses metaphors from the medical and agricultural professions. Like a doctor for souls, or a farmer caring for an orchard of fruit trees, congregational leaders who hope to tend souls can learn much from the wisdom of those who have gone before us.