What I want to do in the rest of my time is to continue to use the psychoanalytic lens to outline a theology of church, a theology of the minister-congregant relation, and a theology of the minister's function. I am drawing very broadly on the thinking of the psychoanalyst and Unitarian Universalist Heinz Kohut in my first two points. Unitarian Universalists often, in mind, overestimate human nature. We consistently fail to appreciate the harm human beings will do to each other in our desperation to make relationships serve our needs. I believe that the purpose of church is to offer a setting in which human beings can overcome their distorted narcissism, their disproportionate love of self.
Narcissism simply refers to self-love.
There is healthy narcissism, and there is what I call distorted narcissism. Let me try to give you an example of healthy narcissism. You all know this pose. It is the pose that many preachers assume on Sunday morning, just as they are about to begin their sermon. It is, in short, a picture of healthy narcissism.