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SUMMARY
who feels called. Ihis is often a thought or indeed from the Bible that addresses
one, inspires further thinking, and becomes a kind of leit motif, a metaphor for
the meaning of life.
Calling is the result of different levels of interaction: the dialogues between God
and me, me and myself, the individual and the community, and the community
and God together can confirm the calling of the person who feels called.
The career of pastors makes it clear that this is not a final or settled process;
depending on the life situation, questions related to personal calling come up
again and again; for example before starting university, during university studies,
at the beginning of one’s ministry in a congregation, as well as at the points when
the pastor comes to crossroads in his work or faces a personal crisis.
In the environment of a university the most important characteristic as well
as the hardest challenge of theological studies is for these to also provide an
opportunity for spiritual growth. At the beginning of theological studies it is
important that the student should be clear about the basic schemes, frameworks
and expectations. As time goes on and he becomes more competent in dealing
with schemes and starts to see connections, it is important, however, that more
space is given to personal reflexion, the forming of opinions, and that rather than
received from others, his view of the questions of life and faith becomes his own.
University years — whether a positive or negative experience — leave their mark
on one’s attitude to, and view of the world and of the most important theological
issues. It is on what they learned here that pastors base their life and attitudes in
their later life and ministry. The measure of the success of theological education
is whether the student is able to reflect theologically on life’s issues, and whether
he regards the Christian message as the ,,final determinant.”
From the point of view of the pastor’s long-term health it is important that
he has an opportunity for growth both within the circle of the family and
the community of the church. In the course of pastoral ministry the pastor’s
family plays an important role in the life of the congregation, as — alongside
other people, sometimes families — it takes a central place in the network of
relationships. There is hardly any profession where the interface between work
and the family is as important as in the case of the pastor of a congregation.
In a system approach, the crises of the church family affects the pastor’s own
family, and, the other way round, the crises of the pastor’s family (may) cause(s)
ripples in the system of the church community. Proclaiming God’s boundless
love and certain truth in a world without boundaries provides the minister with
a difficult task, while at the same time he also has to respect and protect his own
boundaries, and those of his family. The protection of personal and family life
may take different forms, dependent on the pastor’s personality, temperament
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