Last Fall I was invited to share with a congregation in Helena, Montana, a bit of what I do as the chaplain at Intermountain. Intermountain is a therapeutic group residential facility where children with severe emotional and relational disturbances come to find healing and hope. Historically, Intermountain is connected to the ministry of the Church... most significantly with the Methodists, who are responsible for its founding, and the Presbyterians and United Church of Christ who are both strong supporters. It is this historical connection to the Church that makes it an institutional priority to attend to the spiritual needs of children in our care. More of my work with and for the children of Intermountain can be found at my other site: www.intermountainministry.org .
It is always a little difficult to express just what it is that I do. On the surface, what I do on a day-to-day basis is pretty simple. The activities and chapel services I facilitate are not dissimilar to activities I have led in local church settings. The preaching and teaching I do in various churches in Montana also doesn't look a lot different than that from any other guest preacher. In fact, it was in the context of one of those engagements when I thought I needed to start to think seriously about the connection between what I do and the therapeutic, relational, and ministry underpinnings that make Intermountain's work unique.
As a visual learner and someone who has dedicated his life to living out the implications of my faith, I thought I better try and illustrate to myself where the connections were between Intermountain's relational-developmental model (based on the relational-attachment work of Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others, but more nuanced than that) and the gospel. The picture in this post is the result of that initial effort, and somewhat comically (but profoundly?) served as my sermon outline for that Sunday I preached last Fall when all these thoughts and feelings about my work first started to take shape.
Over the coming months, I will be breaking down the illustration I used, and will use this blog as a platform for fleshing out connections between relational-developmental attachment work with children, and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think the truths explored will have import for all of us, mainly because we are all created by God to be in relationship with him and with one another. Frankly, we could all use some help thinking through our attachments to other people, especially if we experienced any adversity in our childhood that make have made us wary, fearful, or suspicious of the world and others. If you aren't sure if this might apply to you, I would encourage you to take a brief online survey here: www.WhatsMyACEscore.com
As we work through these issues together, I will also be making connections to a variety of religious and cultural traditions. As a Christian, working in a residence for children founded on Christian principals, I will be framing the discussion in a Christian worldview. However, I think that even those who do not share this perspective of the world will be able to take the principals of this approach to heart and will be able to apply them to their own contexts and relationships. At least, that is my hope. I welcome your feedback and input through the comment section... and yes, I really will read them and take your input to heart!
NOTE: this article was originally posted to my NEW blog: www.fullhousewithaces.com I invite you to check it out there!
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