Professional
Supervision
Professional Supervision:
Ministry can be incredibly rewarding, but it is also complex, emotionally demanding, and often isolating. Quality professional supervision is a massive contributor to health, vitality, effectiveness, and longevity in pastoral ministry. Pastors and leaders benefit immensely from supervision that knows their world, while at the same time, is removed from it. Such supervision provides a safe and confidential space to reflect on the challenges of leadership, sharpen self-awareness, and sustain wellbeing and effectiveness.
My approach is pastoral, collaborative, flexible, and grounded in years of ministry experience and theological education. Supervision isn’t just a ‘tick-the-box’ best practice (though it is), it is a chance for pastors to develop emotional capacity, navigate ministry complexity, and attend formation and competency requirements that undergird healthy ministry.
If you are a pastor, chaplain, ministry leader, not-for-profit leader, or Christian professional looking for a supervisor, I’d encourage you to get in touch with me today. I work with people across all denominations and offer sessions in person or online. I’m an approved Baptist, Presbyterian, and Vineyard supervisor if that’s your homebase and you need to pick a supervisor off ‘the list.’
Supervision is monthly and ten sessions are recommended per year as standard practice. I am also available for shorter, but more focused bursts of supervision, i.e. a weekly session for four weeks, if there is a particular topic or focus issue to be explored and worked on together.
Pastors, talk to your boards about supervision as it is a standard operating and best practice engagement that should be built into the budget.
joseph@stlukeschurch.org.nz
Master’s
Cohort
Master’s Cohort:
In their wonderful (and challenging book) The Pastor as Public Theologian, Vanhoozer and Strachan note that, “theology is not a luxury, an optional extra (like leather trim), but a standard operating feature (like a steering wheel), of the pastorate.” They highlight how, “historically church leaders were scholar saints, pastors who were as comfortable with books and learning as with the aches of the soul.” More bluntly they put it like this, “too many pastors have exchanged their vocational birthright for a bowl of lentil stew: management skills, strategic plans, ‘leadership’ courses, therapeutic techniques, and so forth.”
Now I’ll happily endorse an and/both of theology and savvy leadership capabilities, but fundamentally, I think too many contemporary pastors are underdone when it comes to theological formation. Mindful of this, I’ve worked with Alphacrucis College to put together a Master’s Cohort for pastors and ministry leadership who are keen to embrace a roust professional development pathway focused on Scripture, theology, and ministry.
Two master’s papers are completed each year with week long block courses held in February and July. There is required reading for each course, the week of lectures, and then a number of assignments post lectures. There are three graduation points you can choose from. Four papers equates to a postgraduate certificate in Christian ministry, eight to a postgraduate diploma, and twelve competes a Master of Art’s degree. The learning is robust, engaging, immediately applicable to ministry life. The process a transformational journey as a disciple and leader.
2025
Christian Spirituality
John & Revelation
2026
Isaiah
Ecclesiology
2027
Creation and Humanity
Discipleship or Leadership
If you’re interested in joining the cohort, get in touch with me. Entry can be via a degree or, if you don’t have a degree, via professional experience - 5 years in church ministry of some sort or another.
A New and Glorious Morning
A New and Glorious Morning:
Now available! A New and Glorious Morning is an Advent and Christmas devotional. $30 plus postage. E-mail me for account and purchasing details.
Each year at St Luke’s, as a part of our Christmas Eve service, I tell the nativity story from the perspective of varied characters who make up the ensemble cast. These stories have been incredibly well received over the years and now its a delight to be able to bring them to you here in. Each Sunday of Advent features one of the stories, with the devotional reflections during the week picking up on the themes of the story.
From the back cover...
In our fast-paced world, A New & Glorious Morning invites you to slow down and immerse yourself in the hope and anticipation of the Advent and Christmas seasons.
Joseph McAuley fuses pastoral care, theological insight, humour and storytelling to create an engaging, edifying and enlightening journey. Part Bible commentary and part daily devotional, the addition of whimsical, adventurous and even romantic explorations of the nativity story brings the wonder of Christmas alive in fresh and compelling ways.
In A New & Glorious Morning, you will discover a delightful provocateur of wonder and amazement that will awaken fresh faith and renewed appreciation of the joy, hope, possibility and promise that come with Christ's incarnation in the world.