Meaning-Making Forum 1 (Week 4)

Meaning-Making Forums 1-4 are this course’s unique final project. Be fully engaged in Phase One! After reviewing the readings, presentations, lecture notes, articles, and web-engagements, and previous assignments, artificially move your predetermined careseeker (i.e., Crossroads’ Careseekers: Bruce, Joshua, Brody, Justin, or Melissa) through Phase One.

NOTE: These research-based forums require that you draw upon ALL of the course readings and learning activities to date, in order to substantively develop each phase in our Solution-based, Short-term, Pastoral Counseling (SbStPC) process.  Noticeably support each core assertion.

• Ministry or Agency-based Context. Introduce classmates to your actual or anticipated role in a ministry or agency-based context and your predetermined careseeker. 
• Guiding Purpose Statement. Concisely point out how a Guiding Purpose Statement will help you be and become more like Christ in every relational context, especially this pastoral counseling scenario.
• Rapport and Relational Alignment. Briefly discuss how to build rapport and shift your relational style in order to best align with the careseeker’s style (i.e., use DISC language) and current behavioral position (i.e., attending, blaming, or willing).
• Phase One Distinctive Features. Narrate movement of careseeker through Phase One’s distinctive features (i.e., purpose, goal, chief aim, role/responsibility, use of guiding assumptions) and apply pertinent insights and techniques from ALL the readings, previous assignments, and the Bible.
• Phase One Marker. Describe a marker that indicates you have been invited into the careseeker’s story. 
• Food for Thought: After reviewing the readings and SbStPC Handout’s “The Art of Triage and Referral” websites, point out the essential elements in pastoral care triage and referral?

TIPS:

• Carefully Follow Meaning-Making Forum Guidelines & Tips!
• Make sure to use headings (6) so that the most inattentive reader may easily follow your thoughts.
• Use the annotated outline approach. Bullets should have concise, complete, well-developed sentences or paragraphs.
• Foster a “noble-minded” climate for investigating claims via well-supported core assertions (i.e., consider the validation pattern of the Bereans; Acts 17:11).  Noticeably support assertions to facilitate reader’s further investigation and to avoid the appearance of plagiarism.
• Since you have the required materials (e.g., Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling), abridge related citations (Kollar, p. 47) and do not list the required source in a References’ section.
• Secondary sources must follow current APA guidelines for citations and References.
• Make every effort to prove that you care about the subject matter by proofreading to eliminate grammar and spelling distractions.

A substantive thread (at least 450 words) is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) of the assigned week/module in Course Schedule (Friday). One substantive reply (at least 150 words) to a classmate (via QUOTE function) is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) of the assigned week/module in Course Schedule (Sunday).