Techniques for determining needs in pastoral work.
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Abstract
The problem undertaken in this work is to find techniques which will enable the minister to determine the needs of his congregation more adequately. This problem grows out of (1) the functional, person-centered approach to pastoral work, (2) the difficulty in determining deeper needs and (3) the desire for a more scientific basis for pastoral work. The individual is the point of major concern; the aim, to help him grow; the problem, to discover his needs. If the minister meets the needs of his people, his work will become increasingly important and vital to the people whom he serves; if not, religion will not seem to be pertinent to life as it is lived.
A need is defined as a unique, dynamic, inner feeling of tension toward a value goal, and is distinguished from a want in that it is basic, real, necessary, whereas the want may be but the expression of a superficial desire. Wants which ignore basic needs may not be desirable. Religion is effective to the extent that it meets genuine needs.
The hypothesis of this study is that the minister can better serve his people when he employs psychodiagnostic techniques to discover their actual needs. To test this hypothesis a series of inventories and tests were given to young people in two summer institutes, and the information gathered was used to understand and meet their needs through group activities and individual counseling. [TRUNCATED]
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University
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