{"id":20021,"date":"2024-08-30T07:38:41","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T07:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=20021"},"modified":"2024-09-01T16:11:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T16:11:21","slug":"the-power-of-hearts-wide-open-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/the-power-of-hearts-wide-open-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Hearts-Wide-Open Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

29 August 2024| Belgrade, Serbia [Marcos Paseggi with tedNEWS, and Adventist Review<\/em>]<\/p>\n

As human beings, we are wired for stories, and telling ours, including our experiences of pain and trauma, can be a powerful tool for healing and redemption, said Marko Zeko, pastor of the Split Church in Croatia, 28 August. Zeko\u2019s comments were part of a breakout presentation during the 2024 European Pastors\u2019 Council (EPC) in Belgrade, Serbia.<\/p>\n

The event, which is taking place August 27-31 under the theme \u2018Engaged in Mission,\u2019 has gathered more than 1,000 Adventist pastors from across the 22 countries in the Trans-European Division (TED) and regional and world church leaders to worship, learn, and connect. It included plenary sessions and scores of workshop sessions on theology, psychology, counselling, church pastoring, outreach and mission. Zeko\u2019s presentation called participants to be aware of their own stories and to harness what he called \u201cthe redemptive power of an engaging narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Role of Life Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Storytelling is embedded in our human nature, Zeko reminded pastors. They create a connection between other people and us. In that context, our early stories, including our stories of pain and trauma, have the power of shaping who we are. They affect even the development of our brains, he said, quoting American psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry. \u201cOur life experiences shape the way key systems in our brain organize and function,\u201d Zeko quoted.<\/p>\n

For Seventh-day Adventists, Zeko said, it is vital to be aware that \u201crelationships impact our brains more than anything else \u2014 more than exercise, more than nutrition, more than religious experiences,\u201d he shared. At the same time, our earliest life experiences are much more significant for the development of our brain than our later experiences. It is the reason psychologists agree that our earliest experiences with our primary caregivers are the most significant in shaping what we are.<\/p>\n

Against that background, our past stories can be a fundamental feature to understanding who we are in the present. Once again, Zeko quoted Perry. \u201cYour past is not an excuse. But it is an explanation \u2014 offering insight into the questions so many of us ask ourselves: Why do I behave the way I behave? Why do I feel the way I do? For me, there is no doubt that our strengths, our vulnerabilities, and unique responses are an expression of what happened to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marko Zeko, pastor of the Split church, discussed how to use one’s personal story, including past pain and traumas, to better connect with members and the community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Integration vs. Fragmentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zeko explained that when, as Adventists, read in Romans 8:22 about the groaning of creation, we usually think of the signs of the second coming. But the Bible verse also talks about the disintegration, the fragmentation that has resulted from sin, which affects families and churches, and about who is the father of that disintegration. We should ask ourselves, \u201cHow has this disintegration affected my marriage, family, church, and the stories that shape me?\u201d He added, \u201cI believe the time has come to become more aware of what has happened to God\u2019s creation, and not only what is wrong with God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a pastoral context, pastors often must focus on what\u2019s wrong with God\u2019s creation (church discipline, for instance.) However, pastors and other people of faith would benefit from framing the discussion on what happened to God\u2019s creation. \u201cWhy does a person act this way? What has happened in their experience to inform their decisions and behaviour?\u201d So, pastors would be more willing to find out and listen to people\u2019s life stories, asking them, what happened to you? \u201cIt is a hard thing to do and requires more time, effort, and empathy\u2026 more love for people,\u201d Zeko said.<\/p>\n

This approach can help pastors and other leaders to better understand how people in church act, how they process their theology \u2014 how they understand God \u2014. \u201cThe more people in our churches are disintegrated, the more they will cling to a theology that is not 100% the gospel,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n

Zeko shared the case of a mature lady interested in the Adventist message who followed Bible studies but can\u2019t still decide to surrender to God fully. \u201cHer past life experiences were so hard that now she is struggling with two basic questions, \u2018Am I safe? Am I loved?\u2019 Because she can\u2019t answer those questions positively, she finds it hard to make a decision,\u201d Zeko shared.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are vulnerable, we are wounded, but we are beautiful at the same time.” This image was captured in the multi-sensory prayer room by Anja P. Cila\u010d, who also serves as a pastor in the Solvenian Conference.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Power of Our Past Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the next part of his presentation, Zeko called Adventist pastors, leaders, and members to embrace their past stories, including their trauma experiences, to use them as a tool for growth and connection to others. He cautioned it is a long, slow, and painstaking process but a rewarding one. \u201cIt is a process that requires building tolerance for emotional discomfort,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I confronted my trauma, my childhood experiences in group therapy, it felt so unpleasant. I wanted to flee,\u201d Zeko acknowledged.<\/p>\n

Zeko also called pastors to know that conversion does not mean all our past issues are solved. Using his own life story, he shared how even after he converted and accepted God in his life, he was not aware of how much historical and intergenerational trauma was affecting his experience. In his case, he required therapy, the support of his wife, and other people to become more aware of his own story, and it informed what he was and how he acted.<\/p>\n

He emphasized, \u201cWe are vulnerable, we are wounded, but we are beautiful at the same time. And when you enter your story, your trauma\u2026 you experience God accept you more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastoral Implications<\/strong><\/p>\n

This new awareness will inform and impact even how an Adventist pastor approaches his role, Zeko said. He quoted professor and theologian Henri Nouwen, who wrote that \u201cthe Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God\u2019s love\u2026 The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the pastoral practice, Zeko called Adventist ministers to integrate people\u2019s life stories in their churches, to \u201cengaging the lived stories of people and bringing those stories into dialogue with their biblical narratives,\u201d he said, quoting consultants Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk. Zeko shared how he organized two small parallel groups for storytelling as part of a leadership project. \u201cOne group consisted of church members and the other was formed with non-members,\u201d he shared. \u201cChurch members had a harder time connecting with their past and their stories,\u201d Zeko reported.<\/p>\n

This has strong implications for pastoral practice, Zeko emphasized. \u201cImagine what would happen if in our churches, besides engaging with the biblical text, we would start in small confidential groups sharing our life stories,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if you think it\u2019s too difficult to implement, begin at least to reflect on your life story. For a start, begin to listen to your spouse\u2026 In my story, God used my wife to reach out to me and save me from my disintegration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The objective is, Zeko said, to reach a place where we may not only find ourselves but also find God. \u201cThe ultimate goal is finding true shalom<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

[Photos: Tor Tjeransen] \/ Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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