Where does one learn how to assert their pastoral authority?
I remember the very first time I heard this question asked, which was also the first time I seriously considered what the correct answer might be. It was the summer after my first year in seminary, and I was in the beginning days of an intensive clinical pastoral education chaplaincy internship. The topic of pastoral authority was raised in a group conversation with my fellow interns. We were all very eager but also very nervous about beginning rounds on our assigned units in a busy hospital in the suburbs of Atlanta.
None of us knew exactly what to expect, but what we knew for sure was that our role as chaplain would invite us into complex spaces with patients, loved ones, and hospital staff. Our presence and what we represented to people was sure to invite all sorts of responses—including sometimes no response at all—from those whom we encountered. What would it mean to acknowledge and assert pastoral authority in a hospital setting, in situations where chaos was swirling, tensions were high, and the chaplain’s input and assessment were the last things on the medical team’s list of priorities?
