A Spiritual Director's Review of Trauma in the Pews
This series of posts is a gathering of resources for Trauma in the Pews that will hopefully be helpful in encouraging ministry leaders to become trauma-informed/sensitive/responsive.
Introduction to Trauma in the Pews Resource Content
Trauma in the Pews Resource Index
Thank you to Adam Shields (Bookwi.se) for reviewing Trauma in the Pews. Excepts are included below and the full review is available at Trauma in the Pews: The Impact on Faith and Spiritual Practices by Janyne McConnaughey
Trauma in the Pews: The Impact on Faith and Spiritual Practices by Janyne McConnaughey
Trauma in the Pews has three parts. First, there is a brief introduction to trauma and its prevalence in church settings. The second, and most extended section, interacts with Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and addresses 12 spiritual disciplines impacted by trauma. The final section introduces how a church can become more responsive to ministering to and with those with a trauma background.
I have already purchased four copies of the book and given them away. I will recommend it to the group of spiritual directors I meet with for peer supervision. And I plan on buying more copies to give to friends working in church settings. I very much recommend the book. Some books on trauma are more focused on introducing the concepts or discussing healing. However, I am unaware of other books about the spiritual formation and development of those impacted by trauma. I am not unaware of trauma as a concept, but Trauma in the Pews was very helpful in thinking through ways that churches can unintentionally harm and push away people that ideally they want to help.
The book is very readable, with lots of stories and illustrations. Every chapter has good questions that help you process and work with a discussion group. The chapters are relatively short and have a clear point.
I have three main takeaways regarding spiritual formation and trauma. First, trauma, especially trauma during the ages of most developmental growth, can often be misunderstood as sin. Some things traditionally considered a sin may be a survivor’s best attempt at self-protection or addressing the trauma alone. Second, some trauma survivors’ behaviors may seem aggressive or oppositional. But probably more likely for victims of developmental trauma are behaviors oriented toward getting along well. So trauma survivors may overcommit, do tasks that no one else is willing to, or have inadequate boundaries, which Christians may significantly misunderstand as maturity or “a heart for service” instead of a trauma reaction. Third, we must address trauma, leadership development/training, and spiritual abuse as a preventative, not just after problems arise.
Overall, I highly recommend Trauma in the Pews. My only real complaints are about things where I wanted more. No one book can address everything. . . Trauma in the Pews is a book that I hope will be more widely read and applied so that churches can become more trauma-informed and places of natural healing.
Adam Shields’ Bookwi.se is a great place to go for book reviews including the following: