The Church as Forgiving Community by Chad Magnuson and Robert Enright - Literature review Example

Journal Review Journal Review Review of “The Church as Forgiving Community: An Initial Model” Summary The article ed byChad Magnuson and Robert Enright discusses how a church as a community can practice forgiveness. It presents a model that churches can follow if they need to be transformed into a forgiving community. The first part of the article offers an elaborate definition of forgiveness and highlights the potential benefits of forgiveness to both the offender and the one forgiving. The authors highlight the need for the church to prove itself a forgiving community because there are possibilities that church members may hurt each other in a certain way. Chad Magnuson and Robert Enright then present a model that can be used as a guideline in making the church a forgiving community. The model focuses on a multilevel approach, which should offer education on the value and process of forgiveness to different groups within the church (Hall & Fincham, 2005). One of the groups highlighted, which serves as the first level includes the pastors. The authors highlight that the senior pastor has a role of ensuring that there are sermons focused on the forgiveness subject. Moreover, pastors are advised to be exemplars to the congregation by practicing forgiveness. Other groups that work closely with the pastors such as the associate ministers also need education on the value of forgiveness. The music minister and the pastoral care are not left out in this multiple level approach. The music minister can incorporate the subject of forgiveness in the songs selected for worship. The pastoral care needs to understand the process of forgiveness because they serve as counselors within the church. The youth minister, children’s minister, as well as the lay volunteers all need objective lessons on how to grant and receive forgiveness. The authors also touched on singles, couples and families as well as the individual describing specific situations that each of these groups may need to forgive (Hall & Fincham, 2005). Although the model may have limitations as highlighted, it has the potential of transforming the church to a forgiving community. Reflection Upon reading this article for the first time, I found it very compelling. Considering the fact that many people often assume that members of the church do need forgiveness from each other. It becomes evident that they may hurt each other in different situations necessitating forgiveness. The article proved to be of interest to me because of the subject it tackles. There is a salient need for pastors and other church ministers to understand how they can instill the value of forgiveness in their members. This article serves as a guideline for church leaders on how to help the different groups in a church on how to practice forgiveness. The model presented in the article appears to be appropriate approaches that can register positive outcomes in helping people embrace the value of forgiveness. The authors consider it an initial model, which means that it can serve as an effective guideline for churches that have not given attention to this subject before. The article discusses both the granting and the reception of forgiveness in depth (Hall & Fincham, 2005). It proves compelling to any reader because forgiveness is a virtual needed by every individual. Notably, the authors highlighted that one should be willing to forgive others because they have erred and received forgiveness in their past. This should serve as the driving force of showing empathy to others. This article sparked interest in me considering the value of forgiveness in pardoning the offender. This has motivated me to indulge in a further rigorous research concerning the subject of forgiveness. Since there are numerous publications on this issue, I will consider several articles, in an effort to understand the Christian view of forgiveness (Hall & Fincham, 2005). Application As a pastor, I have the responsibility of helping the members of my church to appreciate the value of forgiveness and practice it. Therefore, I face different situations depending on the needs of my parishioners who often come for counseling concerning different issues that they face. One of my parishioners came to me depressed because of the rebellion of her children. More specifically, the parishioner highlighted that her daughter had disgraced her and she found it extremely difficult to forgive her. This was a delicate situation, according to my judgment because the parishioner had even chased her daughter away from home. After reading this article, I am more enlightened on how I would handle this situation. It becomes evident that the parishioner needs to understand the value of forgiving her daughter. Therefore, I would embark on an educational session of helping her understand the different stages in the forgiveness process. This is because I realized that she does not know where to begin (Hall & Fincham, 2005). Describing to her the different stages involved in forgiveness would make it easier for her to realize that her daughter had made certain specific mistakes. I would also take her through the reasons why she should be able to grant forgiveness to others. I would highlight to her that she benefits from the unconditional forgiveness of God, and that she should be willing to imitate His character. I would remind her that she was once a teenager and that she made mistakes and hurt others, but was unconditionally forgiven. This would help her consider the situation of her daughter and be more willing to forgive (Hall & Fincham, 2005). I have the conviction that education my parishioner on these aspects would motivate her to forgive easily. Review of “Self–Forgiveness: The Stepchild of Forgiveness Research” Summary The article Self–Forgiveness: The Stepchild of Forgiveness Research, authored by Julie Hall and Frank Fincham focuses on self-forgiveness, which has received minimal attention from researchers. The article seeks to highlight the value of self-forgiveness and offer a contextual analysis on situations that compel the need for self-forgiveness. The article begins by presenting an in-depth definition of self-forgiveness. It becomes evident that self-forgiveness enables the offender to recognize the intrinsic worth, which is not related to one’s wrong doing. This definition is followed by a comparison of self-forgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness. The authors focus on describing the existing similarities and differences between the two types of forgiveness. This comparison is critical in giving a reader the background information about the factors that define self-forgiveness. The article then considers whether an individual should be able to forgive the self for any form of hurt caused and focus on forgiving others. A distinction of true self-forgiveness and pseudo self-forgiveness is also presented in the article (Magnuson, 2008). In an effort to describe how self-forgiveness applies, the authors give attention to situations that make self-forgiveness appropriate. The article reveals that self-forgiveness should be both dispositional and offense-specific. Hall and Fincham then present a model that helps in self-forgiveness. The model focuses on three types of determiners of self-forgiveness. The first category comprises of emotional determiners, while the rest include, socio-cognitive, as well as offense-related determiners. The presented model of self-forgiveness presents certain limitations, but highlights critical aspects about self-forgiveness. Further research can help in the development of these concepts (Magnuson, 2008). Reflection After reading this article, I was impressed by both the subject chosen and its presentation. In addition, self-forgiveness is of critical importance, very few authors have focused on defining the steps of achieving it. This article proves to be one of the few available materials, which specifically focuses on self-forgiveness. The authors discuss the issue of self-forgiveness presenting details of some of the things that serve as barriers to self-forgiveness. It is interesting to realize that self-forgiveness can be achieved if an individual follows the guidelines presented. The fact that the article compares interpersonal forgiveness and the self-forgiveness, it served to make the context clear. The model presented by the authors is very compelling because it takes the reader through the determinants of self-forgiveness. As human beings, these determinants are not new aspects, but are experienced by all the individuals in search for self-forgiveness (Magnuson, 2008). Understanding the value of self-forgiveness is of great significance. This is because it eliminates the devastating effects of failing to forgive oneself. The article is very clear that failure to achieve self-forgiveness presents extreme consequences. Such consequences are more serious than those related to interpersonal forgiveness. Since this subject is both interesting and of critical importance, I am willing to consider other articles that tackle the issue of self-forgiveness. Only a few researchers have focused on self-forgiveness while it is a precondition for any other type of forgiveness (Magnuson, 2008). However, it is evident that there is a need for advanced research on self-forgiveness because there are only limited sources discussing this issue. Application As a pastor, I am tasked with the responsibility of helping my parishioners attain self-forgiveness. Many people do not realize the salient need for forgiving the self. They are likely to hold grudges against oneself, exhibiting shame and guilt. Failure to forgive the self may even lead to self-hatred. Most of my parishioners who come for counseling are usually youths. There is a specific case of a young girl, who has not been able to forgive herself after procuring an abortion. She has harbored guilt in her heart, and she is evidently devastated. She considers her offense beyond forgiveness. For a long period, she has struggled with the journey of attaining self-forgiveness, but with minimal success. With the knowledge gained in this, I feel more prepared to help her achieve self-forgiveness successfully. I will discuss with her the potential consequences of failing to forgive oneself (Magnuson, 2008). Without doubt, there are extreme consequences that could result from guilt and shame she is experiencing. The fact that she considers her offense very severe only makes to make the situation more delicate. I can make her understand that she can achieve true self-forgiveness by owning up to her mistakes and undergoing the process of recognizing herself worth. She should accept the responsibility of her actions as a basis for achieving self-forgiveness. This is very important to her because she seems to blame others for the events that led to the abortion decision. I will guide her thorough the emotional and the cognitive processing of her transgression (Magnuson, 2008). This will help her realize some of the deadly consequences that may result if she does not make efforts of showing empathy to herself. I am sure that helping her to understand the determinants of self-forgiveness ill help her eventually achieve true self-forgiveness. References Hall, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (2005). Self--Forgiveness: The Stepchild of Forgiveness Research. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 24(5), 621. Magnuson, C. D. (2008). The Church as Forgiving Community: An Initial Model. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 36(2), 114-123. Read More