ABSTRACT
Rarely do I read a book on mental health, pastoral counseling, or ministerial practice that does not emphasize the importance of acceptance. In these fields, a clarion call over the last several decades has been: "Be accepting of others." Rogers, Carkhuff, Ivey, Clinebell, Oates, and many others have made it eminently clear that if one is to develop effective pastoral relationships, one must manifest appropriate attending behaviors, careful reflective listening, suspension of judgment, and other expressions of acceptance. 1
This call for acceptance in the interpersonal relationships of ministry is usually acknowledged and received with appropriate nods and knowing smiles. I have often sounded the same call myself.2 Who could possibly disagree? Who indeed could possibly favor nonacceptance, rejection, or a therapeutic cold shoulder? In fact, the acceptance of acceptance is now so common as to deserve fresh reflection and critique.
