Social work in line with biblical ideas, HPU educator insists

BROWNWOOD—After working eight years in secular social work higher education, Rachel Derrington knew she was referred to as to whatever extra.

"I all the time diagnosed the parallels between social work values and ethics and Jesus' teachings, however I couldn't determine a means to mix the two," she referred to.

After praying concerning the situation for 2 years, she bought a call from Toni Damron, assistant professor of social work at Howard Payne university.

"She got my number from a friend of a chum and advised me she heard I had moved to the area from a colleague I had most effective met as soon as," Derrington mentioned. "It turned into somewhat serendipitous."

Derrington joined the HPU faculty in 2018, moving from the college of Denver where she changed into an adjunct college member and curriculum developer.

prior to now, she labored in baby welfare, helping to area babies with adoptive households and providing the households with post-adoptive support. She also worked for the federal government in infant welfare coverage analysis and marriage/family strengthening activities, and for the state executive in Colorado providing policy communications for the state regulatory company.

deserve to be 'rooted in Christ'

Now, as assistant professor of social work and director of HPU's social work application, Derrington is instructing students how they could lean on Christ to make a kingdom impact of their future careers.

Social workers deal regularly with the darkest forces humanity has to present—abuse, trauma and addictions amongst others, she noted.

"Social laborers are all the time coping with the fallouts of evil on earth," Derrington referred to. "in the event that they don't seem to be rooted in Christ, are not counting on Jesus to empower them, it's basically hard to hold a healthy steadiness of their lives and stay away from burnout."

Social work ideas are based on Christian values and the teachings of Jesus, she insisted.

"Jesus taught us to do something about the prone, the oppressed, orphans, displaced people," she talked about. "one of the crucial values of social work is maintaining americans in unconditional effective regard and holding human dignity and the value of people. That's all according to what the Bible tells us."

Derrington spoke with her pastor, Sam Crosby of First Baptist Church of San Saba, about Jesus' teachings.

"He talked about there are 13 references in the King James edition of the Gospels involving Jesus blessing or ministering to the terrible," she talked about. "although opinions fluctuate in accordance with interpretations, some students argue that the Bible commands compassion toward these in need some 300 times."

Seeing God's redemptive vigour at work

Christian social workers are more suitable placed to peer God's redemptive powers at work within the lives of the individuals with which they have interaction, she introduced.

"Secularly, social work promotes the theory of empowering others to attain their full knowledge," Derrington stated. "if you happen to add the Christian influences, social work is about attaining this talents within someone's relationship with Christ."

despite the fact social work frequently can be extremely difficult, it's equally moneymaking, she asserted.

"Your complete lifestyles is headquartered around the concepts of Jesus' teachings," Derrington stated. "Your career, the way you relate to people for your personal existence—even who you're in the group and on the earth. individuals who have it of their hearts to serve and in fact need to model the lifetime of Jesus will locate that the social work field is a good way to achieve that."

promotion fantastic construction and suit families

it's also essential, Derrington noted, to remember that social work is as a whole lot about combating evil on the planet as it is about dealing with the fallout of it.

"Social work is also about promotion high quality youth construction and match relationships and strengthening marriages and parenting potential," she stated.

A social work education prepares college students to follow in agencies or associations or to work with small corporations or households, she explained. Careers encompass positions with grownup defensive features, child welfare, group companies, schools, correctional amenities, prisons, hospitals and medicine amenities among many others. Social worker's may additionally also decide to go into politics, research, policy analysis or administrative roles.

"There are additionally opportunities to do international social work in any class of surroundings anyplace on earth," stated Derrington.

Many might also wonder if they have "what it takes" for a career in social work, however Derrington is definite Christians do.

"You need an excellent relationship with Jesus and a superb understanding of how he taught us to deal with others," she observed. "When put together with the concrete tools that social laborers advance in higher schooling, there are truly no limits on easy methods to have an effect on high quality changes in individuals, households, groups and communities."

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