Synod Appoints Associate Professor of Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is less about solving problems than about listening, Dr. Danjuma Gibson told delegates during an interview at synod on Monday evening.

Following the hour-long interview, Synod 2016 appointed Gibson to be associate professor of pastoral care at Calvin Theological Seminary.

“In a pastoral course, I want to teach [students] how to listen,” Gibson told delegates. “My goal with students is to destabilize the fixed image they may have that pastoral ministry is about solving problems. We focus on how to be fully present, share in people’s joys and suffering without trying to solve something that’s unsolvable.”

Gibson pastored an inner-city church in Chicago for 16 years while also working as a banker. He has advanced degrees in pastoral theology, Christian studies, urban ministry, and business administration.

“I’ve been all over the place,” he told delegates. “Never would have imagined that I would be in pastoral care ministry, but here I am.”

Gibson, who has already been lecturing at the seminary, said he has been welcomed and encouraged there.

“The trust was there from day one,” he answered. “I told people that I can only be me. I’m an African American male from the south side [of Chicago]. The embodied desire for me to do well and to prosper is very affirming of the call.”

Asked what is a key issue facing students in seminary today, Gibson said they need an understanding of pastoral leadership.

“I ask my students, Could you be a pastor to your parents, your professor, the president? If the answer is no, why not?

“Pastoral leadership shouldn’t be about a power dynamic. Many of the people you will be pastoring have more life experience than you will. Realign to a servant leadership paradigm.

“Leadership is about servant leadership,” he said. “Christ makes it clear, whoever is great among you must be his servant.”

Asked about what issues come up in an urban context, Gibson replied:“When I think urban, I think of high population density. You could have a CRC and five other churches on one block.

“Individuals who don’t know the Lord see all of us as the body of Christ and they are looking at how we interact with each other. ... One of the challenges that we face is how to remain grounded in what we believe but at the same time how are we to be neighbors.”

Gibson says he uses the word ‘multiplicity’ rather than diversity. “The multiplicity of God is the beauty of his creation.”

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