Interpreting Congregational Situations at Multiple Levels Church leaders must interpret congregational situations at many simultaneous levels.
Pastoral concerns center on relationships, emotions, perspectives and self-image.
Pastorally, you want to make sure that the youth themselves feel heard and that they are taken seriously in planning the service that will bear their name. So, for example, when they suggest that they want you to preach without a robe, you hear the symbolic importance that they will place on dictating the appearance of the service. And, from a pastoral perspective, you will want to make sure that Foster Franks does not push through ideas that do not appeal to the youth. You can also listen to hear them comment on how they experience the worship service throughout the year. So, their desire for an interactive, question-answer format during the sermon says a lot about their experience of weekly worship.