I work as a pastoral supervisor, primarily with those in ministerial roles. Pastoral supervision offers a regular and relational forum in which we work together to reflect on your ministry, for its support and development.
In pastoral supervision, you have a safe and boundaried confidential space in which to explore issues that arise in and around your ministry. Within this, we combine and integrate three broad perspectives:
- Theological/vocational/spiritual considerations
- Psychological insights
- Practical/ministerial factors and options
Pastoral supervision aims to help support both your well-being and your ministerial effectiveness. In doing so, it will inevitably contribute to your ongoing growth and development. Pastoral supervision is not spiritual direction, or coaching, or psychotherapy – and yet it has varying degrees of overlap with each of them. For a more thorough description of pastoral supervision from the national body, click here.
In recent years several major UK denominations have encouraged or required all their ministers to engage in Pastoral Supervision. They have done so because ministry is complex, demanding, and potentially isolating, and pastoral supervision can make a major positive difference.
There is substantial overlap between the way I approach pastoral supervision and the way I approach coaching. This includes: I offer a confidential and creative space in which a relationship of trust and openness can flourish; I work hard to listen well; I don’t tell you what to do, but rather partner with you as you make sense of issues, and explore possible good ways forward.
However, pastoral supervision is not the same as coaching. One primary contrast is that pastoral supervision only makes sense as an ongoing, regular, commitment, typically 6 to 10 times a year. Coaching can be scheduled like this, or in shorter series, or one-off sessions. Coaching typically has a greater focus on personal development, and it can be approached in a more goal-focused way.
I have a Professional Certificate in Pastoral Supervision from the Institute of Pastoral Counselling and Supervision, and I am accredited as a pastoral supervisor with the professional body, APSE. I have my own professional supervision, in order to keep my practice as a pastoral supervisor well-honed and effective.
I am an ordained minister of the Church of England (2002). I served in parish ministry in Northampton 2002-15, including more than 9 years as vicar of a large suburban parish. In my 8 years as Director of Ministry for the Diocese of Worcester, 2015-23, the support and development of clergy and other ministers was a major part of my role. My 2015 PhD integrated neuroscience and theology to propose a humane, integrated and life-giving approach to ministerial leadership. The thinking behind it forms the basis of my forthcoming book, Fullness of Vision, Fullness of Life: the Divided Brain, Improvisation, and Leadership in the Church, due to be published Easter 2025.
If you would like to explore further, I’d love to hear from you: jk@jkimber.co.uk.