Caring for People
Richard Halverson
The Sunday morning service is the pastor's greatest opportunity for real caring.
Richard C. Halverson
D
ick Halverson served as pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C., for almost twenty-three years. During that time, he built a ministry of being with people, and spent a large percentage of his breakfasts and lunches meeting with parishioners singly or in small groups.
Then, in 1981, he became chaplain of the United States Senate, where he continues his caring ministry. His activities go far beyond giving the invocation at the opening of sessions of the Senate. He offers counsel and guidance to members of Congress and their families, and countless other people on and off Capitol Hill.
A graduate of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, Dick has written several books, been deeply involved in the prayer breakfast movement, and issued a devotional letter for leaders in business and government.
In this interview, he reflects primarily on his years as a pastoral leader and the unchanging pastoral task of caring for others.
What kind of church programs or structures foster people caring for others?
I can speak only from the viewpoint of my own ministry and experience. What works for me and the people I'm ministering with may not work for anyone else.
When I went to Fourth Presbyterian in 1958, I had come out of about twelve years of small-group ministry. I thought I was a small-group expert. I wasn't. But that's the way we operate in this culture; when you've done something for a few years, you become an expert. After my first pastorate from 1944 to 1947 at Coalinga, California, I never intended to be a pastor again, because I didn't think I was very good material. So I worked with small groups as an associate ...
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