Professional Disclosure Statement
Jim Rose, Fortress Institute Director
I graduated from college in 1980, determined to be a minister. After getting my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I entered full time pastoral work. Over the next several years I was involved in a series of pastorates. In 1985, as a young minister, I proposed a radical new caregiving outreach to my church. It's a long story. But I'll summarize by telling you that it didn't end well. I was forced to leave that charge within a few months which began a time of dark discouragement and disappointment in my life.
Nonetheless, in 2005, twenty years after my dream of a caregiving ministry, I had the opportunity to see it come true. I became the director of a clergy care organization that specializes in counseling and training resources for pastors, youth pastors, missionaries and others in Christian ministry. Shortly after that, I was encouraged to begin pursuit of another dream: getting my professional counseling license in the State of Michigan.
Over these past years in caregiving ministry I’ve repeatedly seen the devastating and tragic consequences of secondary stress and trauma—not only on pastors and other professional caregivers, but also on their families. My theoretical and practical perspectives have been fine-tuned in my own professional practice.
But, even more importantly, they arise from my Christian beliefs. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you there are many approaches to stress management, counseling, and mental health, these days! They offer radically different approaches to the subject, based on varying assumptions about the nature of personal problems and about how people change. A discussion of these various theories is well beyond the purpose of this statement, but I want to explain three counseling values to you so you can better judge if Fortress Living is for you.
1.) The Value of Absolute Truth
“Truth” is not a four letter word! We live in a time when many people approach discussions of absolute truth much like our ancestors viewed profanity: something not permitted in polite society. Because I value absolute truth so highly I am always trying to discover it. That also means I’ve determined to expose its opposite--error. I believe that when people know and practice the truth, the truth sets them free (John 8:32). Indeed, I am convinced that the only way we can experience real change in our lives is by confronting and submitting to what is absolutely true. Ultimately, Jesus identified Himself as the “way the truth and the life” and said that no one comes to the Father any other way than through Him (John 14:6).
I also believe that our source for truth must be verifiable and accurate. As a Christian counselor, I consider the Bible the most verifiable, accurate, definitive and authoritative source for truth. It has a direct application in the counseling process. In my counseling practice I make frequent references to truths discovered by science. But, even more often, I refer to the Bible. Though I have many scientific references in the pages that follow, every one of them must be interpreted correctly and validated against the absolute claims and truths of the Bible. This is because the assumptions and teachings of the Bible inform what I say and do. You don’t need to be Christian or even agree that the Bible is a foundational value in order to benefit from this resource, but you must understand that I will proceed on that basis.
2.) The Value of the Whole Person
In addition to the value of truth, I also believe that individual people have value and worth and deserve respect. The Bible tells us that people have value and worth because they are creatures made in the image of their Creator (Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 8:1). Note I also say that I value the “whole person.” A tragic failure in many therapeutic approaches is to deal with persons in all their complexity. This accounts for many of the errors and misunderstandings in the field of secondary stress management. Sadly, even Christian approaches can be lacking in this regard. Consequently, you will find that my approach includes not only the way we think about stress but also the way we feel. It includes not only changing our attitudes and beliefs but also relearning behaviors.
3.) The Value of the System/Community
The third value is that of persons in relationship with others. We call them communities. I view them as systems. And in our study that follows we’ll spend quite a bit of time trying to understand how these systems operate.
Though I believe in the worth and value of individuals, I also believe we are social creatures who belong to organizational systems. As we will see later, this means what I do doesn’t just affect my future. It impacts all those around me. What my social networks do affects my life and how I live it also. The practical implication for life transformation means that we carefully maintain the significant relationships in our lives. It also means we try to build up those networks to assist us in the change process. Human problems like stress have a social/relational origin. They also have a social/relational solution. Treatment will involve a systemic approach.
Nonetheless, in 2005, twenty years after my dream of a caregiving ministry, I had the opportunity to see it come true. I became the director of a clergy care organization that specializes in counseling and training resources for pastors, youth pastors, missionaries and others in Christian ministry. Shortly after that, I was encouraged to begin pursuit of another dream: getting my professional counseling license in the State of Michigan.
Over these past years in caregiving ministry I’ve repeatedly seen the devastating and tragic consequences of secondary stress and trauma—not only on pastors and other professional caregivers, but also on their families. My theoretical and practical perspectives have been fine-tuned in my own professional practice.
But, even more importantly, they arise from my Christian beliefs. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you there are many approaches to stress management, counseling, and mental health, these days! They offer radically different approaches to the subject, based on varying assumptions about the nature of personal problems and about how people change. A discussion of these various theories is well beyond the purpose of this statement, but I want to explain three counseling values to you so you can better judge if Fortress Living is for you.
1.) The Value of Absolute Truth
“Truth” is not a four letter word! We live in a time when many people approach discussions of absolute truth much like our ancestors viewed profanity: something not permitted in polite society. Because I value absolute truth so highly I am always trying to discover it. That also means I’ve determined to expose its opposite--error. I believe that when people know and practice the truth, the truth sets them free (John 8:32). Indeed, I am convinced that the only way we can experience real change in our lives is by confronting and submitting to what is absolutely true. Ultimately, Jesus identified Himself as the “way the truth and the life” and said that no one comes to the Father any other way than through Him (John 14:6).
I also believe that our source for truth must be verifiable and accurate. As a Christian counselor, I consider the Bible the most verifiable, accurate, definitive and authoritative source for truth. It has a direct application in the counseling process. In my counseling practice I make frequent references to truths discovered by science. But, even more often, I refer to the Bible. Though I have many scientific references in the pages that follow, every one of them must be interpreted correctly and validated against the absolute claims and truths of the Bible. This is because the assumptions and teachings of the Bible inform what I say and do. You don’t need to be Christian or even agree that the Bible is a foundational value in order to benefit from this resource, but you must understand that I will proceed on that basis.
2.) The Value of the Whole Person
In addition to the value of truth, I also believe that individual people have value and worth and deserve respect. The Bible tells us that people have value and worth because they are creatures made in the image of their Creator (Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 8:1). Note I also say that I value the “whole person.” A tragic failure in many therapeutic approaches is to deal with persons in all their complexity. This accounts for many of the errors and misunderstandings in the field of secondary stress management. Sadly, even Christian approaches can be lacking in this regard. Consequently, you will find that my approach includes not only the way we think about stress but also the way we feel. It includes not only changing our attitudes and beliefs but also relearning behaviors.
3.) The Value of the System/Community
The third value is that of persons in relationship with others. We call them communities. I view them as systems. And in our study that follows we’ll spend quite a bit of time trying to understand how these systems operate.
Though I believe in the worth and value of individuals, I also believe we are social creatures who belong to organizational systems. As we will see later, this means what I do doesn’t just affect my future. It impacts all those around me. What my social networks do affects my life and how I live it also. The practical implication for life transformation means that we carefully maintain the significant relationships in our lives. It also means we try to build up those networks to assist us in the change process. Human problems like stress have a social/relational origin. They also have a social/relational solution. Treatment will involve a systemic approach.