“I PLANTED, APOLLOS WATERED BUT GOD GAVE THE INCREASE” (1COR. 3:6): TOWARDS COLLABORATION IN PASTORAL MINISTRY

Abstract

The care of souls remains central in any Christian religion worthy of the name. That implies an inclination towards the transcendence. That is however founded on the fact that man is composed of two natures - body and soul, reminiscent of the hylemorphic composition of man. This viewpoint however led to a dualistic metaphysics, which views the body and soul as two substances really distinct even if they are united in the formation of man. However, Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy sought for the concrete unity of these two realities, because though man is a corporeal being composed of the material stuff of the inorganic world, still, he cannot be completely explained in terms of his corporeal life alone for he also possesses a spiritual-intellectual life, which is intrinsically independent of everything material. Consequently, if man is a being that can perform both immaterial and spiritual acts like thinking, deciding and knowing, ipso facto he is a spiritual being. By dint of this fact he enjoys spiritual existence. However the two dimensions complement each other. All in all, this natural inclination to God is the fulcrum of our faith, which is based on God’s revelation of Himself and man’s response. Consequently, faith requires human agents and human response. Faith needs nourishment through collaborative pastoral ministry in which every plays his/her part reasonably well. The researcher therefore will expose how pastoral ministry has to be aimed at drawing people to God and not to the person of the pastor. The research will use descriptive methodology aimed at unveiling exegetical implication of this verse under consideration and analytic approach that will delineate its implication to collaborative pastoral ministry. In the end, the research will recommend the necessity of giving God a central place in every pastoral ministry.