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As a theologian of the church, a preacher should theologically be aware of what happens in her/his preaching, that is, theology of preaching. Whether the preacher has her/his own theological reflection of her/his preaching is quite significant because how she/he theologically defines her/his preaching provides her/him a theological framework or a theological viewpoint which determines entire preaching process from exegesis to sermon deliverance, not least a homiletical method. In that sense, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate how one’s theology of preaching facilitates homiletical methods. For that end, Fred B. Craddock and Paul Scott Wilson would be the main dialogue partners to deal with how their theologies of preaching are related to their homiletical methods: Inductive preaching and four page sermon. This research would be arguing that both Craddock and Wilson are much interested in preaching as an event, but their theology of preaching and homiletical methods are quite different from each other. This difference is originated by some theories which influence their formation of theology of preaching. Whereas Craddock much relies on the New Hermeneutic which underscores performative dimension of language, Wilson is motivated by theology of Karl Barth who centers God in preaching. As a result, although Craddock and Wilson both consider preaching as an event, in Craddock’s view an event is explained in human terms while Wilson’s view sees an event from God’s terms. Finally, this paper suggests that both scholars’ works have their own merits. Their methods have been developed from their own homiletical theologies and struggles. We, therefore, cannot say which one is right or wrong. Rather, we should choose one of them or sometimes use both in complementary way according to our preaching situations since for preaching we neither lose God as the initiator of our preaching nor forget the hearers as the recipients and active participants of our preaching. Thus, a preacher should first of all exegete her/his own congregation and, then, choose a proper method. Also, she/he has to have her/his own explanation of preaching in theological terms.

This paper investigates Paul's redefinition of the term soma (body) in his first epistle to the Corinthians within the Greco-Roman context. Contrary to the prevalent dualistic view influenced by Cartesian philosophy, which separates body and soul, Paul presents a holistic understanding of the human person. Through a detailed analysis, this study explores the linguistic and philosophical backgrounds that influenced Paul's conceptualization of the soma, including Old Testament and Hellenistic traditions. It examines how Paul integrates Jewish and Greek perspectives to advocate for the integral nature of the human being, encompassing body, soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma). This redefinition challenges the Corinthian Church's dualistic misconceptions and emphasizes a unified view of the human person in (terms of human) relation to God. Moreover, the research highlights Paul's innovative approach in addressing the social, political, and philosophical influences of his time, ultimately constructing a Christian anthropology that recognizes the permeability and malleability of the soma as a vessel for (the relationship between) the divine and human elements.

This research aims to clarify the military chaplain’s Christian counseling method on moral injury (MI). MI is a psychiatric term that refers to psycho-emotional injuries occurring in military and battlefield situations. It is a generalized concept that has been used since 1994. MI refers to psycho-emotional, psycho-social, and psycho-spiritual damage that begins with disharmony and conflict that occurs when military personnel’s moral beliefs, faith, and values do not match those of people in power. MI causes a variety of psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, phobia, and trauma, stemming from feelings of betrayal, disappointment, frustration, guilt, shame, disgust, conflict, and anger. MI often appears in organizational cultures with strong vertical relationships, such as the military. MI mainly affects superiors and can be seen as a violation of the ‘duty of care’ of those in power and the ‘duty of loyalty’ of those who are ruled. Military chaplains are the psycho-spiritual experts of military personnel and can best handle MI. Resolving MI from a ‘care-based perspective’ requires the role of military chaplains. To deal with this effectively, group counseling is a good method, but the effectiveness of psycho-education at the platoon level can also be explored. Individual counseling can be the most optimal way to overcome MI. Accordingly, soldiers with MI need to strengthen their spiritual strength, such as prayer, and receive spiritual support counseling for psycho-spiritual resilience. When suffering from MI, the primary emotion is anger toward the person who committed the offense, but forgiveness is a major factor in Christian counseling and psycho-spiritual recovery.

The purpose of this study is to help clients' distorted representations of God be restored to a correct representation of God through an empathic selfobject experience with a pastoral counselor. Individuals can develop an intact or distorted representation of God depending on the caring environment of their primary caregivers. Individuals who fail to establish an empathic relationship with a primary caregiver develop a distorted self-representation and an object-representation. The distorted object representation becomes entrenched within the individual, resulting in a dysfunctional God representation. In addition, individuals who have experienced psychological trauma in their upbringing are unlikely to develop a healthy self. They remain in a fragmented self that feels like it will fall apart whenever they encounter another traumatic event in their life journey. Rizzuto said that the formation and reshaping of an individual's image of God is never a one-time event. Even individuals with a mature sense of self revisit the God of their childhood at critical junctures in their lives. Thus, the representation of God can be reshaped as self-understanding changes through interaction with the objects they encounter at critical junctures in their lives. So, how can individuals who have developed a distorted representation of God throughout their life journey recover a correct representation of God? As for the research method, a single case study method was adopted, and the study participant is a 31-year-old man who is a young adult. A total of 50 sessions were conducted once a week for 60 minutes from February to December 2023. The researcher will examine how the young man who has experienced a negative upbringing may have developed a distorted representation of God, but through safe and healthy encounters with the pastoral counselor who provides a secure base, he can rebuild his representation of God. To do so, this study first provides a theological and pastoral counseling review of the representation of God. Next, Heinz Kohut's (1913-1981) Self-psychology provides a case example of how reflective selfobject experiences, idealized selfobject experiences, and the twin selfobject experiences can help the individual recover a positive image of God.

Many people believe that pastors have a duty to care for church members not only on a religious dimension but also on a mental-spiritual, excluding consideration of life situations and conditions. Of course, pastors also believe that they have a duty to care for their members at various dimension, so they obsessively take care of their members. Such obsessive thinking of pastors is bound to have a serious negative impact not only on the pastor but also on the church members. In particular, it causes mental atrophy and feelings of inferiority in pastors. If pastors fail to provide the care that the church members want, they may feel anxious that they will be viewed as an ‘incompetent pastor’ or a ‘pastor who does not love the church members’. Therefore, pastors believe that they must unconditionally satisfy the needs of church members, and to do this, they have to respond sensitively to the needs of church members. However, at this time, the pastor feels pain and experiences great conflict and difficulty in caring for the congregation due to the congregation members being overly dependent on the pastor and obsessing over the pastor unilaterally satisfying their needs. In other words, church members show immaturity, such as obsession and dependence on the pastor, and naturally hand over their life tasks and duties to the pastor, just as a child unconsciously entrusts the tasks of its growth and maturity to its caregivers. The obsession and dependence of these church members toward their pastors is clearly related to ‘regression.’ Regression is a symptom commonly discovered by clients during the counseling process, and temporary-limited regression is considered a necessary element of the client's mental-emotional recovery. However, continuous regression is a key factor that makes clients immature, and this equally applies to pastoral care. Therefore, pastors who must provide a facilitative environment for the maturation process of church members must be able to identify the causes of church members dependence and obsession toward the pastor and apply this to pastoral care. Through this thesis, I aim to discover the reasons for church members dependence on pastors from a psycho-dynamic dimension and study ways to apply this to care. In particular, just as the ‘good enough care’ provided by a caregiver to a young child stimulates his or her growth and maturity, I am trying to study ways in which pastors can provide ‘good enough care’ to their church members while helping them move toward mental and spiritual maturity. In addition, by understanding the risks a pastor may experience in a pastoral care situation due to church members who are obsessed with and dependent on the pastor, I want to provide an opportunity for him to find ways to escape from these risks on his own. I hope that this study will be helpful to pastors who are suffering due to their congregation's dependence and obsession with their pastors.

This paper is a study on the changes in meaning that occur in the process of interpretation and reinterpretation of a story. The pastoral counselor's hermeneutical perspective on the patient's story has a significant impact on the patient's self-understanding and healing. I examined how the meaning of a text actually changes according to the pastoral counselor's hermeneutical perspective. For this purpose, I attempted to interpret and reinterpret the story of Se-Ji Kim's conversion experience. I noted that the Western concept of sin and the Eastern concept of filial piety were fused together in the texts. I also noted that even though the expression ‘sin’ is same, the ‘experience of sin’ is different due to the differences in social, cultural, historical, and personal contexts of the two persons. Furthermore, as a Korean female theologian living in 21st century, I viewed the expression ‘sin’ as a kind of a symbol and explored the multi-layered meanings of this symbol. I proposed to approach Se-Ji’s ‘sin’ with the Eastern concept of ‘filial piety’ and han. I concluded that it is appropriate to understand the ‘sin’ confessed by Se-Ji not as a sin in the Western Christian concept, but as an emotional outpouring of her broken life and an expression of filial piety toward her mother. Se-Ji’s han which had accumulated over a long period of time could not be relieved by simply confessing one's sins and receiving forgiveness. I suggested that the image of Jesus who left his beloved mother behind at the age of 33 and silently accepted the shameful cross can bring true comfort, peace, healing, and liberation to Se-Ji who is struggling with feelings of unfilial piety. From an Eastern perspective, this is the image of Jesus as the worst unfilial son. But the image of Jesus who experienced the most humiliating shame and became the most unfilial son could be a powerful metaphor that made Se-Ji’s bitter heart melt like water.

This article presents an in-depth case study of one mother's experience raising a child with disabilities, examined through the lens of practical theology. Drawing on extensive interviews with Karyn, whose daughter Corbyn has multiple disabilities, this study explores how her experiences have shaped and reshaped her theological understandings and spiritual practices over time. The research reveals a complex journey where Karyn navigates multiple, often seemingly contradictory, theological stances. Her lived theology frequently diverges from normative disability theology, highlighting a significant gap in current literature and pastoral practices. The study demonstrates that Karyn's spiritual and emotional journey does not follow a linear progression but rather a spiral pattern, where early reactions and later acceptance coexist. This complexity challenges existing frameworks in both disability theology and psycho-social literature on parenting children with disabilities. The article argues for a more nuanced approach in practical theology that honors these lived experiences, calling for pastoral and community practices that can accommodate and support the diverse theological positions held by parents of children with disabilities.

The purpose of this study is to identify the process of change through the experience of the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy (BBRT), which is a method of Christian meditation. This study aims to determine what changes occur when Christian meditation methods are utilized in counseling sessions with Christians. Specifically, the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy developed by Yang Jung-sun was implemented in group counseling. After five weeks of participation by Christian participants, a qualitative case study was conducted to identify specific experiences and the process of change. To achieve this, the study first demonstrates the differences between Christian meditation and general meditation practices such as mindfulness, highlighting the necessity of Christian meditation. Christian meditation is not about dwelling within oneself but discovering oneself in the relationship with God. The Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy is proposed as a Christian counseling method to be used in counseling sessions. This technique involves deep breathing, short prayers, and the use of Bible verses, utilizing all five senses and engaging thoughts, emotions, and will to meditate on the scripture in a holistic and multi-dimensional way. After the program, in-depth interviews were conducted for raw data. The data were divided into contexts and analyzed within and across cases. Cross-case analysis involved forming sense units, summarized concepts, and categories, which were then arranged into experiences and the process of change. The results of the study are as follows: the experience of the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy included Breaking and Accepting Prejudices, adapting to breathing, awareness, vivid encounter with God, the Word approaching three-dimensionally, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The process of change after experiencing the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy included experiencing freedom and safety, deepening of meditation, healing of wounds, physical healing, changes in daily life, and becoming a wounded healer. Based on the results, discussions and suggestions were made regarding the experiences and the process of change through the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy. In conclusion, the Bible-Based Relaxation Therapy was familiar to Christians, and unlike general meditation, participants experienced awareness within the relationship with God. It had therapeutic effects on psychological and physical symptoms, fostered growth in living with God in daily life, and helped participants become wounded healers who look towards the Kingdom of God.

This study aims to provide a pastoral theological reflection on compassion. In acts of compassion, people often focus on extending compassion toward others, particularly friends, family, or benefactors. While understanding ordinary forms of compassion is relatively straightforward, it becomes more challenging to practice compassion towards individuals or groups that inflict pain and suffering through abuse, oppression or discrimination. When someone attempts to show compassion for those who have consistently caused harm or suffering, their efforts are frequently criticized as potentially jeopardizing the safety of victims and leading to further dander and suffering. Consequently, such acts of compassion are sometimes deemed irrational or pathological. Acknowledging these concerns, this study engages in a pastoral theological reflection on the meaning of compassion in contemporary society. First, it explores the meaning, motivations, and validity of compassion, addressing criticisms from scholars. In addition, the objects of compassion are examined based on Germer's six categories. Second, the practice of compassion for those who cause suffering is discussed at both individual and societal level, drawing on the arguments of practical and pastoral theologians. Ultimately, this study asserts that compassion must be understood as a complicate and complex human experience comprising various dimensions, such as emotion, reason, faith, and duty, rather than merely as an irrational emotion. Furthermore, this study contends that compassion has the potential to dismantle the dualism between self and others, as well as oppressor and oppressed. Practicing compassion for adversaries within families and society can be achieved through an acknowledgment of interconnectedness and relationality.

Recently, character education has become one of the major topics of interest in the general educational world, and there is a growing consensus on its necessity not only in elementary and secondary education but also in university education. In our society today, it can be easily to see that there are various phenomena in which humanity is being lost. The cause of this loss of humanity may be complex for many reasons, but one fundamental reason can be said to be the absence of character education. It presents the basis for why character education should be emphasized in the Christian community that values the restoration of humanity, which is the image of God. Sound Christian education help people to inner awakening along with spiritual enlightenment, leading to a life in which love for God and love for neighbors. And the ultimate purpose of Christian education is to lead people to a life that glorifies God according to the God's purpose of creation. Therefore, education in the church must be about finding true humanity in the ‘Word of God’. And we must teach, learn, and practice based on those words. From this perspective, hoping to contribute to this research, this study first looked at the general and Christian concepts of character and character education, And next it examined the current problem of educational ministry within the Korean church. From a reflective point of view, lock of integrated Christian education and absence of educational philosophy deepening Christian character are pointed out as a problem that needs to be solved. Lastly, in related to Christian character education in the local churches, this study suggested four strategic directions such as 1) developing experiential learning that integrates knowing and doing, 2) activating programs that learn through community service, 3) enforcing convergence type of character education, and 4) concerning democratic citizenship education as a core learning contents in character education.

The purpose of this study is to propose principles for producing religious textbooks based on a Christian worldview that can be used in private Christian schools. Major changes are expected in Korean education with the full implementation of the high school credit system in 2025. The high school credit system began to overcome the ranking and uniformity caused by entrance-centered education, and its biggest purpose is to allow students to design and prepare a career that suits them. The high school credit system is expected to have an impact on Christian private schools as well. In Korea, Christian private schools are experiencing a conflict between publicness and autonomy. In other words, interference from the government in matters such as curriculum selection and operation, student selection, and teacher selection cannot be avoided. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Christian schools to run religious education courses. This situation will become more serious when the high school credit system is implemented. Therefore, there is a need to design religious classes that reflect this reality and produce new religious textbooks necessary for this. It is necessary to prepare for the high school credit system by producing religious textbooks based on a Christian worldview that are different from existing religious textbooks. First, religious textbooks based on the Christian worldview must reflect biblical principles and the Christian worldview. Second, it must be produced as a textbook that connects changes in future society and students’ careers. Third, it must reflect the problems in students' lives and be composed of units that fit the credit system. Fourth, religious textbooks should be produced so that they can be taught using a variety of teaching methodologies. Since the educational situation has changed significantly with the implementation of the high school credit system, Christian education must also respond to this. The researcher hopes that faith education will be actively carried out in Christian schools by producing religious textbooks based on the Christian worldview that suit these situations and the characteristics of learners.

A Significant number of modern Korean churches have not hesitated to embrace new technologies. They have embraced technology at a faster rate than any other religious organizations. The unstoppable use of new technologies by Korean churches is due to the belief that they can create advanced Christian culture by adopting new technologies. However, this view of technology as a tool that can be arbitrarily useful is erroneous. This perspective has no regard for the dangers that technology can have on human society. Consequently, Korean churches have been constrained in their capacity to comprehend the impact of technology on humanity as well as to respond to social issues caused by technology. This study sheds light on how Christianity can have a voice in a technology-driven society. Initially, it aims to enhance Korean churches’ limited comprehension of technology. By referring to the study of philosophy of technology, this work elucidates the meaning of technology and also how technology affects human society. This study also examines social problems caused by technology and finally, proposes a Christian perspective on how to approach those problems. It provides practical theological responses to the impact of technology on human society and allows for reflection on the role of Christianity in this technology-driven society.

The Christian church has been interested in two different perspectives on how to define the mission of the church. One focuses on the proclamation of the gospel and individual salvation. This can be referred to as the traditional concept of mission, but this view has been challenged by the concept of social action. The ecumenical circle’s emphasis in Christian mission shifts from the proclamation of the gospel to human activities. The ecumenical circles took the world's social, political and economic problems seriously, they felt that the mission of the church should lead to the liberation of human beings from oppression and economic exploitation. This polarization of emphasis on mission has led to confusion. The evangelical circles were challenged by evangelism that was theologically linked to social action. So how has the evangelical circle’s understanding of mission changed in terms of evangelism and social concern, and why is holistic mission being presented as the solution? Among evangelical Protestants, there is always a tension in the relationship between evangelism and social concern. An emphasis on one or the other can lead to problems. Conservative evangelical circles and churches understand mission mainly in terms of church growth and individual salvation, so they relatively ignore social concerns and draw a sharp distinction between church and society. Conversely, progressive ecumenical circles and churches understand mission as the reformation of society, so they do their best to transform society and free people from evil power or government. They generally favour the universal church over the local church, so they neglect individual salvation and church or congregational growth. However, only when we reject the dualism of evangelism and social concern can the full gospel be proclaimed. The right understanding of missions is a proper blend of evangelism and social concern for the sake of the kingdom of God. Evangelism and social concern are two sides of the same coin and that coin is the gospel of the kingdom of God. This kingdom of God is defined by its King, Christ. His salvation includes not only eternal life in the presence of God, but also a new earth characterised by righteousness, peace, justice and the fullness of life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted both national and individual lives. The suspension of economic activities hit small business owners and the self-employed particularly hard. Between 2020 and 2022, during the period of restricted daily activities due to COVID-19, there was a dramatic increase in the number of personal rehabilitation applications. The personal rehabilitation system is designed to efficiently aid the debtor's recovery and benefit creditors by adjusting the legal relationships of debtors and stakeholders who have the potential for continuous future income. The researcher employs a phenomenological method to examine the religious characteristics influencing those who have experienced personal rehabilitation. Through interviews with 14 participants who underwent personal rehabilitation during the COVID-19 period, this study explores the psychological traits and the correlation with religious experiences during the process. Qualitative research revealed that, initially, personal rehabilitation applicants struggled with the "social stigma" and turned to religion for solace. Subsequently, they experienced a sense of stability through encounters with a higher power and gradually reintegrated into society through community activities. Ultimately, their lives became intertwined with religious experiences, demonstrating a deep correlation between personal rehabilitation and religious experiences through a field-centered research methodology. The study concludes by offering practical recommendations to assist individuals in economic crisis who have experienced personal rehabilitation.