Page 34 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 18

Throughout the 2017 AACC World Conference www.aacc.org there was a Chris�an psychology
track, where besides others Jonathan Badge�, spoke on "A Chris�an Approach to Shame".

2018, I, Werner May, asked Jonathan for an interview.

Out of the Gutter by Godʼs Grace

A Chris�an Psychological Approach to Shame

Werner: You have told me that you had two
aims with this session?

Jonathan: First, I was hoping to illuminate the
interpersonal roots of shame. Most of what I
have seen on shame from an evangelical
perspec�ve tends to focus on sin/transgression
as the root of shame. I think too much
emphasis on personal guilt can obscure the
rela�onal/covenantal nature of the self. While
sin always leads to shame, it’s not always my sin
that is the cause.

Werner: And the second aim?
Jonathan P. Badge�
Jonathan: I wanted to challenge the counselors PhD is a pastor and pastoral
in the session to reflect on their own struggle(s) counselor working in a mi-
with shame. It can be very difficult to iden�fy nistry context in Southwest
shame intrasubjec�vely. Sensi�vity to our Georgia. He is the author of
countertransference is one of the best ways to the transdisciplinary trea�-
uncover unresolved shame in ourselves. se, Mirrors of Self: Human
Besides this, we become be�er counselors as Personhood in Christologi-
we apply these truths to ourselves first. It has cal Perspec�ve. Jonathan
certainly helped me in my work as a pastor and and his wife, Alison, are the
pastoral counselor! parents now of four teenage
children.
ge|halt|voll: And in your own family? Your wife
Alison and you have four nice children in the Here you can read the re-
age of 13, 11, 8, and 6. Do you have experiences port from the workshop:
like you can avoid the development of shame? h�ps://emcapp.eu/AAC-
C_2017_Shame_session-
Jonathan: Primordial or “original" shame only _handout.pdf
has one cure - our personal union with Christ.
Like most parents, my wife and I began to
recognize signs of shame-proneness and
avoidance in our kids as soon as they started
making comparisons between themselves. We

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