Category: Doug Ranck

Trauma And The Inoculation Effect

6/24/2020

This post, written by Rev. Doug Ranck, originally was published on September 3, 2019, on the ICTG blog.

Another day, another shooting. Ten people killed and twenty-seven injured in Dayton, Ohio. Another twenty-two killed and twenty-four injured in El Paso, Texas.

I found myself on the edge of not caring. How had it come to this?

To be inoculated is the process of introducing a microorganism into one’s body, just enough to fight the potential bigger threat. Over the course of our lives, we receive countless inoculations to be pro-active in a healthier life. Given the regular occurrence of shootings in our nation and world I had to consider I may have been “inoculated” to the point of accepting shootings as a more standard part of life and not feeling the horror and sadness as I once felt. This realization shook me. It was anything but pro-active in making my life healthier.

My understanding of the inoculation effect became magnified in mid-July of 2019. In my role as youth minister of a local church, I chose to take some select high school students to our denomination’s once-every-four year national/international leadership conference. For four days they experienced leadership at work on the national stage. We observed different processes of electing leadership, the debate of theological and social justice issues and ratification of new policies to be introduced in the polity of our denomination. In addition, we spent time interviewing various leaders from around the nation and the world to gain a better perspective on what it means to be a leader.

... I had to consider I may have been “inoculated” to the point of accepting shootings as a more standard part of life and not feeling the horror and sadness as I once felt. This realization shook me. It was anything but pro-active in making my life healthier.

Most of these interviews were planned in advance but one day I was led by a third party to a table in the middle of the exhibition hall where seated were Bishop Lubunga and his wife, Esther of The Democratic Republic of the Congo, who cares for over 500 churches there. Having known a little about the unrest and danger of this country I found myself frozen in where to begin the interview. Out of respect for him, we stuck to very general questions and let he and his wife talk about their leadership role. In their statements, we heard some of the challenges they faced.

Fast forward four weeks and I received an email from our denomination calling for special prayer focusing on our brothers and sisters in the Congo. The ongoing civil war was escalating with waves of tribal conflicts, armed groups causing havoc in villages, houses being burned, animals slaughtered and people being killed. The U.N. refugee agency reported that 4.5 million are displaced inside the Congo. Ebola and cholera are spreading since the U.N. and Doctors Without Borders are unable to operate at full strength.

I had not understood the depth of trauma our bishop and his wife were experiencing - personally, and vicariously as they care for their people. My heart was broken as our congregation came together in the morning worship services to lament and pray for peace and deliverance. As I led the prayer I found myself physically shaking and my heart was racing.

These leaders understood the value of being ready not for “if” but “when.” They were not comfortable settling for a world swirling with trauma.

I felt the weight and pain of this beautiful country and yet I was no longer feeling it for my own. How true might this be for many more people in the U.S. who have grown “accustomed” to shooting deaths and fear in our public places?

A few weeks ago, I was invited to Pendleton, Oregon for the purpose of training faith-leaders on how to shepherd trauma-informed ministries. Whenever I am in the presence of other leaders who desire to be pro-active in trauma work, I am inspired. There is often little to no motivation until an event occurs. These leaders understood the value of being ready not for “if” but “when.” They were not comfortable settling for a world swirling with trauma.

How do we move from inoculation and apathy to lament, compassion, and action?

In our ICTG Resource Guides, we propose calming, connecting and communicating as core ingredients for healthy trauma response. I would like to also propose those, with a few details, on how we make the much-needed move:

CALM

Take the time to lament – The first sign of inoculation is reading or hearing a story and quickly passing on to the next thing. Stop, take a deep breath, empathize, feel as if this happened in your context.
Take a break from the news – The sheer volume of trauma around our world could keep us in a constant state of lament, sadness, and fear. Learn when to turn off the news flow. Play, draw, exercise, pray.
Measure your stress – Assess your own threshold of stress. On a scale of one to five, how is this latest event registering, with five being highly stressful? If zero or one perhaps it is time to lament. If it is four or five perhaps it is time take a break.

CONNECT

Find a “lament” community – Having a few people in our lives who “feel” more than us can be helpful. They are the ones we can count on to shine the light on those traumatic events and people who have been impacted.
Get accountability for personal care – As you give priority to personal care you will have more capacity for lament, compassion and action. Invite a few others to be sure you are not either taking on the full weight of the world or allowing yourself to be mired in apathy
Form an “awareness” and “action” community – Connect with people who do not hide from their awareness of trauma or the importance of taking small action steps to help in whatever way possible

COMMUNICATE

Understand your physical well-being – This is healthy internal body communication. The title of Bessel Vanderkolk’s book speaks for itself, “The Body Keeps the Score.”
Bring in the family and friends – Communicate your sadness. Having a safe group around us allows us to freely express our sadness, lament, compassion and desire to act without feeling the need to say “everything is fine.”
Debriefing with ministries and faith-based care groups – What better place to move from inoculation/apathy to lament and action? Walking together in words and presence brings back the appropriate “feeling” we need
Trust in the God of hope and peace – God understands the pain and suffering in this world. Communicating our trust in God can bring hope and peace beyond our understanding.

Do you have an ICTG Resource Guide?

Each is an in-depth training manual for trauma preparedness and response. They include restorative strategies to expand care, build resilient groups, and provide safety for traumatized people to heal and thrive.

Faith Leaders:

Preview the General Ministry Resource Guide here.
Preview the Youth Ministry Resource Guide here.
Preview the Spiritual Direction Resource Guide here.

Community Leaders:

Preview the Organization and Community Resource Guide here.

Rev. Ranck is Associate Pastor of Youth, Children and Families at Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, CA. With three decades of youth ministry experience, he serves as a consultant, trainer and speaker with Ministry Architects, the Southern California Conference, and, nationally, with the Free Methodist Church. He has written numerous articles for youth ministry magazines and websites, and published the Creative Bible Lessons Series: Job (Zondervan, 2008). Doug is happily married to Nancy, proud father of Kelly, Landon and Elise, and never gets tired of looking at the Pacific ocean every day.

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What’s Working For Me Right Now - Part 2

4/7/2020

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In this series we acknowledge that "disasters do not wait until we are fully prepared", that many leaders are learning as they go, and we extend our hope that though sharing perspectives you may find some easier ways to create a new rhythm at this time. Read What’s Working For Me Right Now - Part 1 here.

When I was younger in ministry, many years ago now, I remember talking to another pastor who had just returned from a sabbatical. I had never had a sabbatical so I was curious to hear what he learned. Without hesitating, he said, “I found out what kind of a Christian I was outside of my identity as a pastor.”

Those words were a game-changer for me in how I assessed my own identity. I am a professional Bible studier, prayer, leader, teacher, shepherd and a whole lot more but without the role of pastor who would I be as a person, a child of God?
The role of a pastor is to shepherd, guide and be with one’s people, in the same physical space. What happens when that is taken away? In the middle of this unprecedented pandemic, we are finding out.

California was the first state to adopt “shelter-in-home” standards. When the order was given my home became my “permanent” office. Previously, working from home, was a nice little change in the weekly routine. Now, it is the routine.

Presently I feel I am asking the question again, but for a very different reason, “Without the role of pastor, with one’s people, who would I be?”

To get at this I want to share a shortlist of what is working for me, at the moment (Check back with me in a few days or weeks!):

Quiet – My wife and I are “empty-nesters” so our three-bedroom condo is quiet. We have both taken one of the other bedrooms and set up our offices. Nobody is coming by the office to visit, the phone rings very little, and there are no spontaneous office meetings to attend. While I miss those dynamics, to some degree, focusing on the project at hand does come more easily.
Rest – It has been proven that consistent sleep patterns and strategic rest provide a solid foundation for a range of both physical and emotional health with many studies showing that sleep is an integral part of sustaining “vital functions such as neural development, learning, memory, emotional, cardiovascular, and metabolic regulation, and cellular toxin removal” (Muhkerjee et al., 2015, p. 1451). In the midst of a lurking pandemic, I want to be the strongest I can be for the good of me and the good others. therefore I am heeding the advice of others in the trauma response field to keep a regular sleep schedule. Even though there is now not a time I have to physically leave the house or off-site appointments to attend, I go to bed at the same time, I get up at the same time. Not packing my day with office work at the church, on-site and off-site appointments and meetings offers me a more restful and healthier environment.
Boundaries – One of the liabilities of working at home, being your own “boss,” and having an empty nest is the high risk of blurring the lines of work and rest. Many home workers report they often work more, not less, when home. I have found it important to start my work and end my work at consistent times with the exception of the occasional evening meetings or after-work appointments with others.
Finding new ways to connect – In this season people have been great about asking the question, “How are you?” I first tell them I am physically well followed by “though I do feel like I am very much re-inventing myself right now.” When the “shelter-at-home” directive came my mind went into overdrive on how to stay in touch with the children, youth and families I so consistently see, hug and high five. I began making a list of all the ways I can still connect including talking voice-to-voice on a phone, a mode previously lost in the pile of other new and edgy ways. Getting feedback on ways that work or don’t work has been a little challenging. Affirming connections I was already using, and adding more, has allowed for further touch in people’s lives. I am uncovering the “connection” language of our people! These new ideas will last well beyond the pandemic.
Pastoral Care – Though socially distant from the people I shepherd I don’t have to be relationally distant. Through all the circumstances of life what has, what can and what will work is pastoral care in the lives of God’s creation. This always works even if nothing else does. As we strive to be faithful in our pastoral care, we find reward and affirmation in knowing we have done the most important thing. I heard a quote from a seasoned pastor, when asked what he felt was most important in the pastoral role. He said, “Preach the word, love the people and the rest give to energetic volunteers.” Loving our people is what works for me.
Taking care of my relationship with God – This is last on the list but should never be last on our list of what works for us in ministry. Previous to this time of trauma I scratched and clawed for time to read the Bible for myself and pray. I was consistently irregular. These uncertain days have pushed me back to the scripture and time with God where I find my center and my peace. Interestingly, research has found that one protective measure that can be taken against trauma is to create “positive consequences of negative life events” in order to give meaning to what you are experiencing (Updegraff, Silver, & Holman, 2008, p.719). I believe one of the positives I’ve found during this time has been the opportunity to recenter my time with God. To weather this pandemic and the coming effects of trauma on me and the people I serve it is essential I take time for scripture, prayer, meditation and quiet with God.

In the midst of all the turbulence and unprecedented circumstances may you find what works for you. May it bring you strength, wisdom and peace to walk forward as you care for yourself, your family and your people.

Further Reading:

On Sleep: Mukherjee, S., Patel, S. R., Kales, S. N., Ayas, N. T., Strohl, K. P., Gozal, D., & Malhotra, A. (2015). American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 191(12), 1450–1458. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201504-0767st https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/rccm.201504-0767ST

On Positive Consequences: Updegraff, J. (2008). Searching for and finding meaning in collective trauma: results from a national longitudinal study of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(3), 709–722.

Rev. Ranck is Associate Pastor of Youth, Children and Families at Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, CA. With three decades of youth ministry experience, he serves as a consultant, trainer and speaker with Ministry Architects, the Southern California Conference, and, nationally, with the Free Methodist Church. He has written numerous articles for youth ministry magazines and websites, and published the Creative Bible Lessons Series: Job (Zondervan, 2008). Doug is happily married to Nancy, proud father of Kelly, Landon and Elise, and never gets tired of looking at the Pacific ocean every day.

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Trauma And The Inoculation Effect

What’s Working For Me Right Now - Part 2

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