Not only are they generally cheerful, calm, considerate, and compassionate people doing a great job helping their clients, they have a distinct perspective on their work. Physical and Occupational Therapists have as their overall outcome their patients getting back to their lives as successfully and completely as possible. Much of the medical community is, by necessity, illness-based and centered on hospital, office, or care facility. Physical and occupational therapists are health- and recovery-focused, and center their work on the patients’ home or workplace. They aim for “real world” results. People getting back to doing what they do and able to do as much as possible for themselves is their goal.
Sometimes their work is not comfortable. Often they are working on strengthening muscles and expanding range-of-motion. They are well trained and very attuned to the person they are helping and understand what is needed. Sometimes they can push people farther than they like and may often cause discomfort with their exercises, yet they encourage the person to push on through the discomfort. I remember hearing one PT explain to someone, “this may be painful, but I will never hurt you. I know how far to push you so you get better but not so far that you damage anything.” Good physical therapists also help patients learn or relearn good behaviors, to adjust their motions to maintain good health. A good sports therapist might not merely massage injured muscles or flex joints but help the athlete develop better form that doesn’t cause damage and good recovery routines. Good practices avoid repetition of problems. Their intention is that we get stronger and healthier so that we can do everything we can. Like so many therapists, they are health-oriented and outcome-oriented.
A number of us in the transitional ministry business feel an affinity. We are focused on congregations getting back to doing what they need to do. Unlike many consultants, we are hands-on with congregations. We have research and experience to know what might be underlying a problem. We may need to push to free up frozen joints or loosen adhesions, which may certainly be uncomfortable at the time, but allows fuller healing and recovery. Helping develop better practices and behaviors helps a church get back onto its stride and get back out there in the game. We sometimes have to torque things, and sometimes we have to give recovery time. Like PT/OTs, we know the idea is to get people moving, and to help them establish good patterns that will last. Like PT/OTs we know we only have a limited time working with someone, and like them, we know it is actually up to the person— or congregation— to commit to a healthier course.
And, like PT or OT sometimes it takes a while to get back the range of motion or the strength or the new habits, and the process can be frustrating. Or annoying. But if you do the work, you get better. If you work on good technique and good recovery practices, you decrease the chance of another problem.
Another way to put this is that we are really early in the process of understanding what has happened with FCCI over the decades. But remember that I like the image of PT/OT; this is not a post-mortem looking back. It is helping us look forward and push forward and get back to being the kind of church members and community benefit from. We need to understand the past not to dwell there but to find clues for doing things more healthfully into the future. If we learn where the congregation has stumbled in the past, maybe a few adjustments will keep our stride from faltering again.
We are still figuring stuff out. In the second part of our all-congregation work we will be taking “the data,” drawing some perspectives from it, and defining a shared vision of the way forward. After a break for the Thanksgiving through Christmas crush our question expands to “So, what’s next for us?” From there we will elect a search committee to match up our vision with the right pastor or pastors. I expect that our conversations and “ah ha!” moments this fall will lead us also to work on some ways to avoid some of the difficulties of the past and define our life together in ways that will work in years to come. Already some themes are emerging after only two at-large meetings. I suspect we will need to look at clearer structures and processes for working together and at pastoral relationship support. Positively, there have been several times of tension around different subjects, yet the congregation and its leaders have dealt with them as they arise in fairly creative and practical ways. Some of that history can provide insight for the future.
All in all, you are to be commended for good work and good (very good) spirit. Honestly, I think FCCI is rebounding remarkably well and is amazingly open to the work needed to get out there running again. Yeah, there may be a few owowowow moments when something gets pushed past comfortable, but if you keep the main goal of a strong witness to God’s love foremost in your mind, you’ll get there!
The secret? The real spiritual therapist in all this is God!
In Christ,
David
Texts For Sunday Worship:
From the Hebrew Bible Jeremiah 31:27-34
From the Gospels Luke 18:1-8
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