Finishing: Living Stories by Donald Capps

The next and final type of story that Capps tackles is the “Miracle Story”- the art of identifying exceptions.

This sort of counseling is mainly used to identify the the exceptions in peoples lives. One of the examples given in the book is that of someone who knows they are depressed, the counselor than asks them why they know they are depressed. After they receive their answer, the counselor goes on to ask when they were not depressed, what are the exceptions to this “always” they feel. What then happens is that the counselor draws upon the fact that a miracle must have occurred in the moment that things were okay.

I will admit that a lot of this chapter was hard for me to follow, I got lost I in the back and forth nature of Capps writing style. However, what I gathered from this chapter is this: Focusing on the good that is occurring in someone's life will help them to push the bad to the back of their mind. In addition to this, if we seek to have the exceptions become common instead of exceptions, there is a goal to aim for, something to strive for.

The final chapter focuses on social gossip. It is important for anyone going into congregational ministry to realize that social gossip is real and happens in all churches. Capps points out that it is important that we minimize gossip and not allow it to stand in the way of doing pastoral care.

Thinking about gossip I realize that it may be one of the hardest thing pastors face. I remember when I was the staff chaplain at a summer camp and part of my job was taking care of the staff of 80 college students. Many times it was a delicate dance to be present with someone while they were sharing something with me and pushing out what I had heard about that person or the situation they are talking about. As I have grown older I realize that the most important thing to do is to avoid gossip (which is often hard) or to not hold it with in, to hear it and then forget it. This is something that I am still working on, and I honestly believe it is something everyone in ministry will struggle with and will have to constantly be working on.

For my next book, I will take some time to focus on pastoral care to youth. I will be reading Counseling Troubled Youth by Robert C Dykstra.