Using Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy in Ministry with Christian

Gardner-Webb University

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Divinity Projects School of Divinity

7-2016

Changing A(itudes Toward Life : Using Viktor E.

Frankl's Logotherapy in Ministry with Christian

Women in Church of the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-

do, South Korea

Jihye Kim

Gardner-Webb University

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Recommended Citation

Kim, Jihye, "Changing A>itudes Toward Life : Using Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy in Ministry with Christian Women in Church of

the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-do, South Korea" (2016). Divinity Projects. 30.

h>ps://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/divinity_etd/30

CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARD LIFE: USING VIKTOR E. FRANKL’S

LOGOTHERAPY IN MINISTRY WITH CHRISTIAN WOMEN

IN CHURCH OF THE LORD, ANYANG, KYOUNGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA

A PROJECT

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY

OF THE M. CHRISTOPHER WHITE SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY

BOILING SPRINGS, NORTH CAROLINA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

JIHYE KIM

JULY 30, 2016

APPROVAL FORM

CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARD LIFE: USING VIKTOR E. FRANKL’S

LOGOTHERAPY IN MINISTRY WITH CHRISTIAN WOMEN

IN CHURCH OF THE LORD, ANYANG, KYOUNGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA

JIHYE KIM

Approved by:

__________________________________________________ (Faculty Advisor)

__________________________________________________ (Field Supervisor)

__________________________________________________ (D. Min. Director)

Date: ________________

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1 QUESTION 1

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 65

FIGURE 2 QUESTION 2

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 67

FIGURE 3 QUESTION 3

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 68

FIGURE 4 QUESTION 4

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 69

FIGURE 5 QUESTION 5

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 70

FIGURE 6 QUESTION 6

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 72

FIGURE 7 QUESTION 7

FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION EVALUATIONS 73

FIGURE 8 SERMON COMPLEXITY 91

FIGURE 9 PROVIDING THE WAYS OF FINDING MEANING

AND PURPOSE IN LIFE 93

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 2.1 SERMON AND GROUP SESSIONS SCHEDULE 26

TABLE 4.1 DEMOGRAPHICS FOR THE TARGET GROUP 51

TABLE 4.2 DATA RESULTS INITIAL AND POST COURSE SURVEYS 60

TABLE 4.3 QUESTION EIGHT FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION

EVALUATIONS 75

TABLE 4.4 QUESTION NINE FOR WEEKLY GROUP SESSION

EVALUATIONS 78

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ who has begun a good work in me and

sustained me during the process of completing this project. He has continued to open

many doors for me to be better equipped as a person, a theological student, a missionary,

a minister, and a pastoral counselor and caregiver up to this present time.

To Dr. Doug Dickens who generously invested quality time and provided guidance,

helpful insight, and encouragement. He is a role model for me as a pastoral counselor and

caregiver. Without his patience and warm encouragement, I could not have completed

this project.

To the faculty of the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity, especially Dr. Danny

West, Dr. Gerald Keown, and Dr. Robert Canoy, for their invaluable comments and

suggestions for this project as well as their contribution to my studies and personal

growth.

To Dr. Terry Casino who first taught me theology and led me into the field of pastoral

care and counseling. He and his wife, Dr. Cecille Casino constantly encourage me to

fulfill what God has called me to do.

To retired Missionary Rev. Duance and Marilyn Dorsing who first allowed me to

experience theological study in an English-speaking environment while in the

Philippines. Their life and ministry taught me love, faithfulness, obedience, and

humbleness.

To the members of my church, the Church of the Lord, for their encouragement, patience,

participation, support, and prayer to finish this project successfully.

To my parents, Rev. Chang Gil Kim and Rev. Boo Young Lee for their love, influence,

faithfulness, and prayer for my life and study.

To my beloved family, my husband, Jaewook Park and my children, Sewon and Sehyun

Park for their love, care, encouragement, support, and sacrifice.

vii

ABSTRACT

Changing Attitudes Toward Life: Using Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy in Ministry

with Christian Women in Church of the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-do, South Korea is a

project designed to help the target group increase the degree of meaning and purpose in

life and motivate a desire to live lives more meaningfully and responsibly with hopeful

attitudes by exploring the biblical messages with integration exercises utilizing the key

concepts of Dr. Frankl’s Logotherapy. Through a five-week sermon series, six weeks of

group sessions including the final group reflection session, and writing reflection and

autobiographies, the participants are provided opportunities to evaluate and even revise

their values, meaning, and life-styles. Using quantitative and qualitative instruments,

results show that educative pastoral counseling along with reflection in a small group

setting can effect significant positive changes in their attitudes and behavior.

viii

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS….………………………………………………………… iv

LIST OF TABLES….……………………………………………………………………..v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……..……………………………………………………….vi

ABSTRACT…...………………………………………………………………...…….vii

Chapter

1. INTRODUCTION……...……………………………………………………. 1

a. Statement of Need 1

b. Ministry Setting 3

Overview of South Korea 3

Overview of Church of the Lord, Anyang, South Korea 7

c. Ministry Question 9

d. Project Goals 9

e. Resources and Literature Review 11

Resource Review 11

Literature Review 11

f. Rationale 21

2. OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT ………………………………………... 23

a. Project Description 23

b. Target Group 27

c. Five-Week Sermon Series 27

d. Small Group Sessions 28

e. Journaling 29

f. Means of Evaluation 29

Quantitative 31

Qualitative 33

3. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS ………………….. 34

a. Introduction 34

b. Biblical Sources from Hebrew Scriptures 35

Relational Being (Genesis 1:26-28) 35

Responsible Being (Genesis 2:15-23) 37

c. Biblical Sources from Christian Scriptures 40

Attitudinal Values in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-11) 40

Life in Christ (Galatians 5:13-6:2) 43

4. CRITICAL EVALUATION………………………………………………... 48

a. Demographics 49

b. Target Group 52

c. Pre and Post-Course Survey Instruments 58

d. Five Weekly Group Session Evaluations 64

e. Curriculum Design 79

f. Group Interview and the Final Reflection Paper 80

Small Group Sessions Challenged the Participants 80

Integration of Sermons and Small Group Sessions 82

Small Group Experience and Reflection 83

Autobiography 84

Freedom to Choose 86

Thinking about One’s Own Death 87

g. Collaborative Sermon Review 88

h. Mid-course Modification 93

5. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………....97

a. Findings 98

Confirmation of the Need of Young Women in Korea 98

Small Group Process was More Effective than Simply

Listening to Sermons 99

Different Age Groups Showed Different Level of Interest 99

Teaching the Key Concepts of Logotherapy is Challenging 99

Self-examination and Reflection Are Difficult Task 101

Effective Use of Different Materials 104

Personal Discoveries 104

b. Future Opportunity for Growth and Contributions to Ministry

Setting 106

Appendix

1. RECRUITING FLYERS...............................................................................108

Bulletin insert 108

Letter to Respondents 110

2. SERMON SERIES........................................................................................112

Sermon One: What Does It Mean To Be Human?

(Gen.1:26-28; 2:18) 112

Sermon Two: Finding Meaning in Life through Values

(Phil 3:4b, Gal. 5:19-23) 119

Sermon Three: Finding Meaning in Life through Experiential Values

(Gen. 1:26-27; 2:18, Ps. 42:1-2) 125

Sermon Four: Finding Meaning in Life through Life’s Hardships

(Acts 16:16-34) 129

Sermon Five: Restoring Human Dignity

(Mark 5:1-20, Gal. 5:19-26) 134

3. GROUP SESSIONS……………………………….……………………….139

Session One: Search for Meaning 139

Session Two: Finding Meaning in Life through Values 141

Session Three: Experiential Values 143

Session Four: Attitudinal Values 145

Session Five: Restoring Human Dignity 147

4. JOURNAL ENTRIES……….…………………………………………….148

5. AUTOBIOGRAPHY.…………………………………………………..... 149

6. MEANS OF EVALUATION………………………………………………151

Confidential Information about You 151

Purpose in Life test (PIL) 152

Seeking of Noetic Goals (S.O.N.G) 155

Collaborative Sermon Review Instrument 157

SOURCES CONSULTED….…………………………………………………………..158

１

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

a. Statement of Need

Many people who come to ministers for pastoral counseling bring the following

questions: “What am I here for?” “Why do I have to experience this painful situation?”

“What is the meaning in my life?” “Is there a purpose why God planted me in this

particular situation?” These are very real questions that pastors often encounter in

ministry. Ana-Maria Rizzuto lists various reasons why people come to see spiritually

oriented therapist or pastors: “overt psychopathology, obvious symptoms, or feelings of

dissatisfaction, emptiness, and lack of meaning in life.”

People need sound values and

meanings in life to be healthy.

The Swiss psychiatrist, Paul Tournier points out that “the

epidemic of moral confusion and value distortions in our society is the seedbed within

which are bred many of the psychological, psychosomatic, interpersonal, and spiritual

problems that bring people to counseling and therapy.”

He also says, “Many who seek

Ana-Maria Rizzuto, “Psychoanalytic Considerations about Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy,”

in Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy, ed. Len Sperry and Edward P. Shafranske (Washington, DC:

American Psychological Association, 2005), 42.

When Melissa M. Kelley, the assistant professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling in Boston

College School of Theology and Ministry, talks about “the meaning of meaning”, she explains that “From

the German root meinen, which is ‘to think,’ meaning is the deep sense we make of things, the way we

understand the world, how we articulate the overarching purpose or goal of our lives, the significance we

seek in living, the core values by which we order our lives. Meaning also includes theological dimensions

such as how we understand God’s activity in the world, God’s feelings about and responses to us, and

God’s role in suffering. Meaning, including theological meaning, helps to create order, sense, and purpose

out of experiences and events that could otherwise seem random, nonsensical, disordered, or chaotic.

Perhaps in large part for this reason, humans seem driven to seek meaning.” Grief: Contemporary Theory

and the Practice of Ministry (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010), 75.

Paul Tournier, The Meaning of Persons, trans. Edwin Hudson (New York: Buccaneer Books

Inc., 1997), 138.

２

pastoral help with personal problems are suffering from distorted, immature, or vacuous

consciences. Often they are unaware of the ethical roots of their pain.”

Ethical,

meaning, and value issues are critical in pastoral care and counseling

and these concerns

were certainly present in the problems that the selected group of women were dealing

with. Equipping the target group with better understanding of themselves biblically and

psychologically can help them grow in Spirit-centered wholeness. Evaluating and

revising their values, meaning, and their life-styles can help them cope with their crises

and problems in life as well.

This project explored the integration of Christian theology

and Logotherapy as a practical and psychological tool for persons searching for meaning

in their lives. The researcher believes that Frankl’s experience in the Nazi concentration

camps could provide insights for some of the inevitable pain and suffering we experience

in life. The goal of this project was to help the target group address the pain and suffering

in life by finding meaning and changing their attitudes toward life. The participants were

expected to change their question from “why me?” to “how should I live?” throughout

the program

Ibid.

Howard Clinebell in his Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Resources for the Ministry

of Healing & Growth, 3

ed. Rev. Bridget Clare McKeever (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2011) devotes

an entire chapter 11 to ethical, meaning, and value issues in pastoral care and counseling as it supports the

thesis of my project.

Ibid., 139.

Frankl says, “As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and meaning of life may

actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must

recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to

life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” See his Man’s Search

for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006), 109. “Why me?” is the question trying to find reasons for living

in the pain and suffering caused by negative experiences. However, Dr. Paul T.P.Wong, the founder of

integrative meaning therapy says “the quality and the worth of our lives depend to a large extent on how we

answer the existential and moral question: How should we live?” See his article “A Course on the Meaning

of Life – Part 2” from http://www.meaning.ca/archives/MOL_course/MOL_course2.htm, accessed on

October 23, 2015.

３

b. Ministry Setting

Overview of South Korea

In order to understand Korea and Koreans, one should know something about the

history, culture, and geographical features of Korea. Korea is located on a peninsula in

the Far East between China, the far eastern part of Russia, and Japan in Northeast Asia.

South Korea covers an area of 100,284 Square Kilometers (38,720 square miles)

on the

southern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital city is Seoul. For many years, Korea

was under the influence of Chinese culture, but it developed a unique cultural identity

distinguished from China and Japan during the last 2,500 years.

Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and other Chinese culture and religions are

integrated into Korean culture. During the Japanese rule, modern Western civilization

became a significant influence. After gaining its independence in 1945, modern

democracy and capitalism were delivered by the United States. Korea has interpreted and

developed many aspects of democracy and capitalism in its own way. As a result, modern

Korean culture and religion is complicated and has a mixture of these properties.

The most decisive turning point in understanding modern Korea is the 20th

century. In the early 20th century (1910-1945), Korea lost its independence, which had

been maintained over 2,000 years and was ruled by Japan. Fortunately, Korea was

emancipated in about 36 years. However, in the process of reshaping the international

order after World War II, a democratic based government supported by the United States

was established in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist style

http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Society/South-Korea-Summary accessed on September 4,

2015.

４

government supported by the Soviet Union was installed in the north.

The Korean War

(1950-53) devastated the Peninsula and left it divided into two Koreas by the Korean

Demilitarized Zone around the 38th parallel, a division which exists to this present time.

Since the 1950s, facing the on-going security threats coming from the North, the

challenge given to the Koreans has been to quickly establish a modern economic system

from the ashes of the Korean War as well as developing a transplanted democratic

government for the first time in our culture. Korea has made great strides toward stability

from the ruins of the Korean War. In order to understand modern South Koreans, one

needs to understand the success that Koreans have achieved for the last 60 years, and the

dark side of it.

In this project, Korea refers to South Korea (not North Korea) unless

distinguished otherwise. Korea has achieved amazing economic growth in a short period.

This dramatic time of economic growth is often called “the Miracle of the Han River.”

Emerging from absolute poverty, according to OECD

Better Life Index, the average

household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is $19,510 a year.

Putting an end

to the era of military coups and dictatorship, and developing a democratic government

has established Korea on a stable foundation economically and politically, regionally and

globally. Unlike many other countries in South East Asia, in Korea it is impossible to

think of a military intervention into politics regardless of social insecurity and internal

conflicts. Numerous churches including the world’s largest Pentecostal church, Yoido

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html accessed on

September 4, 2015.

OECD refers to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OECD Better Life Index, http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/korea/ accessed on

September 4, 2015.

５

Full Gospel Church in Seoul were planted during this explosive growth period, from the

1960s to 1990s. Protestantism was introduced to Korea only 130 years ago. However,

statistically, the Protestant churches numbered 77,000 as of 2012; this translates to a 1-to-

660 ratio of churches to Koreans.

Professor Byung Joon Chung suggests that the reason

for this rapid church growth in Korea is that “churches offered lonely urban dwellers a

sense of belonging, peace and a place for community activities as Korea underwent a

rapid industrialization and urbanization.”

South Korea has now become the world’s

second-largest country for sending Christian missionaries to other countries.

However, there is a dark shadow hidden behind the rapid growth and success of

the economy and politics. Entering the stage of economic stability, many Koreans began

to question the meaning of their lives. In the past, many factors helped them center their

lives: revival of the nation, economic growth, political ideologies, and personal dreams

that offered meaning. A considerable gap developed between the richest and the poorest

people. The top 20 % of the population earns nearly six times more income than the

bottom 20%. In general, Koreans are slightly less satisfied with their lives than the OECD

average. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10,

Koreans gave it a 5.8 grade, lower than the OECD average of 6.6.

The researcher

believes that the relationship balance between spiritual values and material values has

changed dramatically. Money replaced nobility, mission, calling, and virtues. In this case,

the relationship of the value of life based on possessions seemed to reduce the meaning of

life. For instance, in the past such criteria as calling, serving, or self-fulfillment were

Lee, Sun Young, “Why So Many Churches in Korea?” The Korea Herald, published on January

15, 2014, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140115000985 accessed on September 2, 2015.

Ibid.

OECD Better Life Index.

６

important values when a Korean person chose jobs. Now, the most important criterion for

choosing an occupation seems to be materialistic and economic: How much money can I

make working this job? The altruistic value of work was replaced by selfish materialism -

values shifted.

The young generation was once called a “Give up Three” (Sampo) generation

as many of those in the group gave up the three things central to what was once

considered a meaningful life: relationships/ courtship, marriage, and childbirth. Today,

many of the young generation have unstable jobs, high student loan payments, precarious

preparation for employment, and difficulty affording housing. They postponed love,

marriage, and childbirth without any promises. Eventually, the “Give up three”

generation approach resulted in the disintegrating structure of the traditional family. With

the contemporary loss of “meaning,” “values,” and healthy families, the suicide rate is

increasing at an alarming rate. Even though the modern Korean does not suffer from

extreme poverty, many young people seem to have lost the will to live due to the

projected dark future. I believe the Christian church must address these challenges.

This term is used in a similar way of describing many people of the Millennial generation and

late Generation X in the United States. This social phenomenon is mainly caused by high unemployment

rates coupled with various economic hardship.

Clinebell says, “In fact, pastoral care and counseling are among the most effective instruments

by which churches stay relevant to changing human needs in our rapidly changing society and churches. . .

An effective caring and counseling program in which clergy and trained laypeople minister in partnership

can transform the interpersonal climate of a faith community. It can make congregations life-transforming

places where wholeness is nurtured in persons throughout their life journeys. And significantly such giving

and receiving care helps inspire and equip members to express their own God-given vocations in healing

outreach beyond their congregations.” See Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Resources for the

Ministry of Healing & Growth, 2.

７

Overview of Church of the Lord, Anyang, South Korea

The Church of the Lord Assemblies of God in Anyang, South Korea was the

ministry site for this project. Church of the Lord was pioneered October 5, 2000, and was

originally located in a different part of Anyang. Anyang is a city in Kyounggi Province,

South Korea. With a population of approximately 610,000, it is the 15th largest city in

South Korea. It is a satellite city of Seoul which is the capital city of South Korea.

Anyang is located approximately 13 miles south of Seoul.

The church has

relocated four times since 2000 and experienced losing members

with each relocation. The current location is in a neighborhood of the socially and

economically underprivileged. As many of the other pioneered small churches in Korea,

Church of the Lord is renting a floor of a building and uses it as a worship place. Thirty-

two people are enrolled as members of this church. Eight of them are the original

members. About 20 people regularly attend worship. 40% of the congregation is male

and 60% is female. The largest group in the church is of young adults in their 20’s

through 40’s. These young adults are slightly more than half of the congregation in

numbers. The second largest group is the elderly, ages 60-80s. The church members have

a strong bond together. Many are related as family, relatives or friends.

The Church of the Lord is affiliated with Korea Assemblies of God. There are two

worship services on Sundays: morning and afternoon. Morning services are traditional in

worship style and afternoon services are contemporary in music style. The senior pastor

is the researcher’s mother. She had been the only pastor before the researcher joined this

church in 2013. After returning to Korea from her D.Min course in North Carolina, the

researcher got pregnant and was expecting a baby in eight months. The researcher had a

８

difficult time dedicating herself to the full time ministry due to her condition. The church

needed an assistant pastor for organizing and expanding its ministry. The researcher

serves this church as an education pastor primarily involved with teaching young adults,

participating in the music ministry and preaching on Sunday afternoons.

The floor space of the church measures about 170 square meters. It consists of a

worship place, a pastor’s office, a Sunday School class room, a multi-purpose room and a

kitchen in the space. The annual budget of the church is about $42,000 and the monthly

average income is about $3,360. The church does not have elders, but has one senior

deacon and seven deacons. There are six ministry groups: young adults, female members,

male members, children, youth, and music. In addition, Sunday School for children, small

group Bible study for young adults, Praise and Worship ministry, and charity ministry are

ongoing ministries.

Churches in Korea generally suffer from a decline of young people in church.

However, it is encouraging to see young adults in this church. Prior to the researcher’s

arrival, there had not been many activities or programs for young adults. Primarily they

had individual pastoral counseling by the senior pastor and occasional fellowship among

themselves. We recently reorganized the structure of the young adult group and started a

praise and worship team. Of course, one of the hindrances for ministry is the lack of

resources which from time to time resulted in frustration and tiredness to do ministry due

to the lack of resources.

When the senior pastor offered the researcher the ministry opportunity, the pastor

explained to the researcher that people in this church are “like the people gathered in ‘the

Cave of Adullam’” described in 1 Samuel 22:2. The verse describes them as “[a]ll those

９

who were in distress or in debt or discontented . . . (NIV)” The pastor also expressed that

she hoped and wanted to see these people become healed/whole and stronger socially,

emotionally, and spiritually just as the people gathered in Adullam became 400 brave

men.

From the beginning, the senior pastor has been interested in helping the

underprivileged and serving the local community. Even though this church is small in

numbers, they have been active in serving the community: sharing the donated goods

with the needy, offering a fellowship for the elderly four times a year, and art and cultural

classes for children, etc. The Church of the Lord has a good reputation in the community

because people recognize it cares for them.

c. Ministry Question

In light of the previous information given about her nation, about her city, and

about her church, the researcher posed the following question: Can educative pastoral

counseling

with young Korean women living as Christians in difficult circumstances

effect significant positive changes in their attitudes and behavior?

d. Project Goals

The primary goal of this project was to assist the selected Christian women of

Church of the Lord by using selected concepts of Logotherapy to enhance their meaning

in life and their approach to suffering and hardship.

The first goal of this project was to help the selected women through teaching and

guided experiences in a small group. To attain this goal, a series of five sermons and the

integrated group sessions were developed. The women were taught key concepts of

Howard Clinebell, 347-76. Clinebell proposes several kinds of pastoral counseling. This project

is developed primarily as an educative pastoral counseling project.

１０

Logotherapy and in groups was provided an opportunity to engage in sharing and

expressing their experiences and reflecting about selected significant themes of

Logotherapy as related to their lives. The key concepts were freedom to choose, self-

transcendence, responsibility with life and three ways of finding meaning, that is, by

realizing creative values, experiential values and attitudinal values. Understanding of

these key concepts of Logotherapy helped the women to evaluate and revise their values,

finding greater meaning and purpose in lives. At the end of this project, these women

were expected to make their decision to be more accountable and responsible with their

lives.

The second goal of this project was more personally and professionally related to

the researcher and her ministry. Through the preparation and execution of this project, the

researcher hoped to develop skills related to pastoral counseling, teaching, preaching, and

group dynamics. This goal was reached by reading and discussing related literature with

the researcher’s field supervisor and by discussing her ideas and methodology with other

professionals to gain their insights. In order to enhance the researcher’s communication

skills, the researcher asked Rev, Eunil Lee from Antioch Church to review the sermon

series and critique and offer suggestions.

The third goal of this project was to encourage the congregation to become more

aware of how biblical concepts related to Logotherapy can help us consider what it means

to be fully human. To achieve this goal, biblical and theological foundations for the

topics, as well as key concepts of Logotherapy, were explored in the sermon series.

Through understanding Logotherapy utilizing biblical concepts, the congregation was

１１

encouraged to become a community offering the world an alternative way of fully being

human.

e. Resource and Literature Review

Resource Review

The ministry organization is Church of the Lord affiliated with Korea Assemblies

of God in Anyang, Kyounggi-Do, South Korea. This project was made possible by

support from leadership in Church of the Lord and academic guidance from the Divinity

School of Gardner-Webb University. The leadership in Church of the Lord generously

provided adequate resources for conducting this project. The church has allotted the

Sunday afternoon service time for the sermon series and designated meeting spaces for

the small group sessions. The target group for this study consisted of five Christian

women in their 30s and 40s from the membership of the Church of the Lord and of one

non-Christian woman who had been seeking to find meaning and purpose in her life.

Other members of the church served as the control group for this project. The project

proposal was submitted to the senior pastor for the appropriate approvals prior to

implementation.

Rev. Eunil Lee was the collaborative partner for sermon review. He is an

associated pastor at Antioch Church affiliated with Korea Assemblies of God in Anyang,

Kyounggi-Do, South Korea and has a Ph.D in Systematic Theology.

Literature Review

In this section, I will attempt to note that significant authors and publications

affirm and undergird this project. Viktor E. Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and

psychiatrist. During World War II, he spent three years in Nazi concentration camps

including Auschwitz and Dachau. Frankl is the founder of Logotherapy which is a form

１２

of existential psychology. He developed Logotherapy and its basic fundamentals through

his book Man’s Search for Meaning.

Beginning with an autobiographical section

which includes Frankl’s experiences in the concentration camps, he presents an outline of

the basic concepts of Logotherapy weaving his personal experiences into the framework

of Logotherapy.

Frankl claims that “There is no psychotherapy without a theory of man and a

philosophy of life underlying it.”

Logotherapy is based on a philosophy of life and

concept of man which has significant application for the clinical situation. According to

Logotherapy, three factors characterize human existence: spirituality, freedom, and

responsibility.

Frankl rejects mechanistic, deterministic, and reductionistic view of man

while he emphasizes the spiritual

dimension in man

. He sees that every human is heavily influenced by instincts,

inherited dispositions, and environment. However, “man is by no means merely a product

of heredity and environment. There is a third element: decision.”

A basic tenet of

Logotherapy is that every person has “the freedom of will.”

Realizing that people are

finite beings, Frankl defines our freedom, not as freedom from conditions, but “freedom

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1959).

Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy (New

York: Plume Books, 1969), 15.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, Revised and

Expanded trans. Richard and Clara Winston (New York: Vintage Books, 1986), xxiv.

“Man lives in three dimensions: the somatic, the mental, and the spiritual. The spiritual

dimension cannot be ignored, for it is what makes us human.” Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul,

xvi. Frankl’s writings are dated, using the masculine pronoun “man” when he is speaking of all humankind.

As the writer of this project, and as a woman, I recognize the significance of inclusiveness and gender

awareness. However, when quoting Frankl, I have chosen to retain his quotes as originally written.

Occasionally, for diversity and simplicity, I may use “man” to refer to all humankind.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, xxiv-xxv.

Logotherapy is based on the following three concepts: the freedom of will, the will to meaning,

and the meaning of life. Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning, 16.

１３

to take a stand on whatever conditions might confront him.”

Aron J. Ungersma says

that every individual has freedom because he/she is capable of making real decisions and

responsible acts.

Robert C. Leslie also agrees with Frankl by saying that “The decisive

factor does not lie in the conditions; the determining element is found in personal

response to the conditions. . . Man is responsible for how he handles the conditions which

life presents to him.”

Responsibility is one of the important issues in Logotherapy. Frankl emphasizes

that each man or woman has the ability to choose his/her attitude in a given circumstance,

so that persons are responsible for his/her choices. Frankl said that, in the concentration

camps some people behaved like animals, while others acted like saints. “Man has both

potentialities within himself, which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on

conditions.”

In other words, whatever the circumstances, freedom of choice remains.

This seems to absolutize freedom of choice. However, Frankl emphasizes self-

transcendence as a way of going through an inevitable suffering instead of giving up or

blaming the circumstances.

Logotherapy focuses on the meaning of human existence as well as a person’s

quest for meaning. It asserts that human existence is unconditionally meaningful, no

matter what circumstances he/she is in, and attempts to extend this meaning even into

suffering and death. Frankl asserts that the primary motivation in every person is the will

to meaning, which contrasts with Freud’s “will to pleasure” and Adler’s “will to power.”

Ibid.

Aaron J. Ungersma, The Search for Meaning: A New Approach in Psychotherapy and Pastoral

Psychology (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1968), 20.

Robert C. Leslie, Jesus and Logotherapy: The Ministry of Jesus as Interpreted Through the

Psychotherapy of Viktor Frankl (Nashville: Abingdon, 1965), 51.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 134.

１４

The will to meaning is defined as the “. . . innate desire to give as much meaning as

possible to one’s life, to actualize as many values as possible.”

Ungersma suggests that

the will to meaning is not only man’s most valuable asset in mental health, in achieving

happiness, or in self-realization, but also “it alone can enable man to realize the ultimate

values and possibilities of which his life is capable.”

Frankl mentions two differing kinds of meanings: the ultimate meaning and the

meaning of the moment. He says, “The ultimate meaning surpasses the finite intellectual

capacities of man.”

It can be God, but also science as the search for truth, nature, and

evolution for those who do not believe in God.

It has to do with the world beyond the

physical world. Frankl asserts that there is no one meaning in life; “what matters is . . .

the specific meaning of a person’s existence at a given moment.”

He goes on to say

that every person is unique who cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.

Someone cannot prescribe meaning for another person.

The meaning of the moment is

rather to be found.

According to Logotherapy, meaning can be found by realizing three values,

creative values, experiential values, and attitudinal values. Ungersma

summarizes what

those three values are. Creative values are those which result from creating a work or

doing a deed; it is what a person gives to the world. “The crucial thing is how . . . [a man]

works, whether he fills the place in which he has landed. The radius of his activity is not

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, xvi.

Aaron J. Ungersma, 23.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 118.

David Gutmann well explains what the ultimate meaning/the Supra-meaning is in his book,

Finding Meaning in Life, At Midlife and Beyond: Wisdom and Spirit from Logotherapy (West Port, CT:

Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2008), 36-39.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 108.

Ibid., 109.

Aaron J. Ungersma, 28-32.

１５

important; important alone is whether he fills the circle of his task.”

Experiential

values are what individuals take from the world by encountering another person

(relationships/love) and experiencing beauty, kindness, truth, etc. “The capacity of

natural beauty, of great music, or of stimulating truth to arouse responsiveness in the

human spirit results in experiential values that add meaning to life.”

Attitudinal values

are to be achieved by the way persons face inevitable suffering/hardship or by the way

they handle unavoidable suffering.

Through finding meaning in all life circumstances, Logotherapy hopes to heal the

despair and feeling of meaninglessness. Frankl termed this feeling of meaninglessness

and emptiness “the existential vacuum.”

It is the condition sometimes caused by the

frustration of the will to meaning. This condition characterizes the modern world in the

twentieth century, where the previous traditions and values no longer provide guidance as

to what to do even when the person often does not know what he/she may wish to do. A

person in the existential vacuum may simply do what others do (conformism) or do what

others tell him/her to do (totalitarianism).

According to Frankl, the symptoms of this

existential vacuum include boredom and apathy. If the condition of an existential vacuum

continues over a period of time, it results in existential frustration. When

neurotic/psychotic symptoms accompany this existential vacuum, then noogenic

neurosis, a clinical condition in which psychological symptoms are caused by moral and

spiritual conflicts, will be present

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, 48.

Aaron J. Ungersma, 29.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning, 83.

Ibid., ix.

Ibid., 85.

１６

Self-transcendence, Frankl believes, is a uniquely human capacity. Being human

always means being directed and pointing to something or someone other than oneself.

This means that every person has the ability to overcome his/her present problems or

difficult circumstances by finding meaning outside himself/herself or by giving meaning

to something or someone. Joseph Fabry views self-transcendence as the human quality

“which enables persons to forget about themselves and reach out beyond oneself, toward

other human beings and toward meanings.”

Frankl gives a pronounced and specific explanation of the Logotherapeutic thesis

in The Doctor and the Soul,

where the concept of meaning applies to life itself, death,

suffering, work, and love. He goes into great detail about the unconditional

meaningfulness of life even in suffering or impending death. Frankl acknowledges the

advantage of the religious person in facing suffering and death, but insists that the non-

religious person, even an atheist can find meaning in those circumstances.

There have been many attempts to present Logotherapy in relation to Christianity

and pastoral counseling. Aaron J. Ungersma was the first to apply Frankl’s Logotherapy

to practice in pastoral counseling. In his book, The Search for Meaning, he introduces the

philosophical foundations of Frankl’s Logotherapy and presents the intriguing

possibilities of Logotherapy regarding certain areas of counseling and pastoral

psychology. Frankl’s Logotherapy was in the early stage of development when Ungersma

wrote this book. However, he saw the potentiality of Logotherapy to be an effective tool

Ibid., 18.

Joseph B. Fabry, The Pursuit of Meaning: A Guide to the Theory and Application of Viktor E.

Frankl's Logotherapy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1968), 155.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy (New York:

Vintage Books, 1986). 3-175.

１７

for pastoral psychology in the long run. Ungersma especially emphasizes the importance

of group therapy, since “[I]n mental health the individual remains open and alert to new

experience, which enables him to grow not only in self-appreciation but also in the

understanding of others.”

Donald F. Tweedie, founder of the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological

Seminary, observed common ground between Logotherapy and Christianity in his book

Logotherapy and the Christian Faith. Even though Christianity can go beyond what

Logotherapy presents, such as the concept of God and His purpose for each person,

Logotherapy can offer valuable contributions to Christian psychotherapy. Tweedie

develops a branch of Logotherapy which he called Christian Logotherapy.

Jesus and Logotherapy by Robert C. Leslie has been a helpful resource in this

project by interpreting the ministry of Jesus through the lens of Frankl’s Logotherapy.

Leslie’s primary interest is finding timeless and directly relevant principles concerning

personal relationships in selected biblical incidents. Using these biblical incidents from

the ministry of Jesus in a method similar to the case study, Leslie presents the conceptual

link between the approaches of Jesus and the key concepts of Logotherapy. He says

“Logotherapy offers a philosophy of life and a method of counseling which is more

consistent with a basically Christian view of life than any other existing system in the

current therapeutic world.”

The framework of Jesus and Logotherapy complements

Frankl’s therapeutic approach, evidenced by the fact that each chapter heading is chosen

Aaron J. Ungersma, The Search for Meaning, 141.

Donald F. Tweedie, Jr. Logotherapy and the Christian Faith: An Evaluation of Frankl’s

Existential Approach to Psychotherapy (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), 179.

Robert C. Leslie, Jesus and Logotherapy: The Ministry of Jesus As Interpreted through the

Psychotherapy of Viktor Frankl (Nashville: Abingdon, 1965), 9.

１８

from Frankl’s terminology. The common ground between Logotherapy and Christianity

include every person’s freedom of choice, his/her responsibleness for choices in life, the

concept of the will to meaning, and of the significance of values, especially one’s values

affecting his/her attitude toward suffering.

Paul Welter, in Counseling and the Search for Meaning, presents practical

guidance related to Frankl’s Logotherapy for those who experience meaninglessness or

for those who help people struggling with feelings of emptiness and meaninglessness.

Welter summarizes the causes of meaninglessness: choosing money over meaning, lack

of purpose, affluence, the pursuit of happiness, the demise of sin, and the loss of a sense

of gratitude.

The solution to this meaninglessness, according to Welter, is not an

answer to the problems of life, but a choice followed by an action.

In The Courage to Be, theologian Paul Tillich, outlines three kinds of existential

anxieties: the anxiety of fate and death, the anxiety of guilt and condemnation, and the

anxiety of meaninglessness and emptiness. He wrote that “[I]f doubt and meaninglessness

prevail, one experiences an abyss in which the meaning of life and the truth of ultimate

responsibility disappear.”

Tillich defines courage as “the self-affirmation of being in

spite of non-being.”

He continues to say that “[t]he power of this self-affirmation is the

power of being which is effective in every act of courage. Faith is the experience of this

power.”

The way to combat the anxiety of meaninglessness is “the acceptance of the

power of being, even in the grip of nonbeing.”

Paul Welter, Counseling and the Search for Meaning, Resources for Christian Counseling

Series 9, ed. Gary R. Collins (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987), 32.

Ibid., 28-31.

Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1980), 174.

Ibid., 172.

Ibid.

Ibid., 176.

１９

The researcher found Irvin D. Yalom’s book, The Theory and Practice of Group

Psychotherapy to be helpful as she planned and led the target group. Yalom offers

principles and practical methods of group psychotherapy which can be applicable to the

target group. It is an important admonition that a group leader’s task is to move “the

focus from outside to inside, from the abstract to the specific, from the generic to the

personal, from personal to the interpersonal.”

This is precisely what the researcher

hoped for her group sessions.

Amanda M. A. Melton and Stefan E. Schulenberg summarized relevant

measuring tools and empirical studies related to Logotherapy in their article, “On the

Measurement of Meaning: Logotherapy’s Empirical Contributions to Humanistic

Psychology.”

An overview of five Logotherapeutic measurements of meaning is

presented: the Purpose in Life test (PIL), the Life Purpose Questionnaire (LPQ), the

Seeking of Noetic Goals test (SONG), the Meaning in Suffering Test (MIST), and the

Life Attitude Profile Revised (LAP–R). As the researcher studied the five measuring

tools from this article, the” Purpose in Life test” and the “Seeking of Noetic Goals test”

were chosen for this project.

Sunhee Cho

suggests that writing a guided logo-autobiography utilizing the key

concepts of Logotherapy is effective for reviewing and integrating one’s life and can be

helpful for persons to find meaning in their lives. Cho says, “A life review is one of the

ways by which one can find meaning in life and is commonly designated as being

Irvin D. Yalom, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 5th ed. (New York, NY:

Basic Book, 2005), 158.

Amanda M. A. Melton and Stefan E. Schulenberg, “On the Measurement of Meaning:

Logotherapy’s Empirical Contributions to Humanistic Psychology,” The Humanistic Psychologist 36

(2008): 31-44.

Sunhee Cho is an associate researcher in the Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul

National University, Seoul, Korea.

２０

therapeutic without therapy - it (originally in italic) is an efficient method of evaluating,

integrating and accepting one’s own life.”

She explains that the logo-autobiography

program is more focused on searching for the meaning in life by adding and combining

the key concepts of Logotherapy in the autobiography program, while “traditional

autobiography programs are more focused on promoting a sense of integrity in the lives

of the elderly, with less emphasis on therapeutic counseling by therapists.”

Obviously

the researcher was not able to use everything from the logo-autobiography program for

this project due to limited time. However, the researcher invited members of the selected

target group to journal, integrating aspects of their own autobiography, and the researcher

created a safe psychological environment in which each person could share parts of their

stories with the group to aspects of Logotherapy.

The influences of religion on the meaning of life and the efficacy of Logotherapy

on faith maturity and mental health are addressed in one Ph.D dissertation, The Moderate

Effect of Religious Coping on Purpose of Life and the Effectiveness of the Logotherapy

Program by Myung Shim Choi, Chonbuk National University, 2009. Logotherapy was

proved to be useful for Christian students who search for meaning in life, faith maturity

and positive religious coping.

The effects of a Logotherapeutic pastoral counseling program for psychological

problems and purpose in the lives of the elderly was discussed in an Ed.D dissertation,

The Effects of Pastoral Counseling Program Based on Logotherapy of the Psychological

Sunhee Cho, “Effects of Logo-autobiography Program on Meaning in Life and Mental Health

in the Wives of Alcoholics,” Asian Nursing Research, Vol. 2 No. 2 (June 2008): 130.

Ibid.

Myung Shim Choi, “The Moderate Effect of Religious Coping on Purpose of Life and the

Effectiveness of the Logotherapy Program,” (PhD diss., Chonbuk National University, 2009), 134.

２１

Problem and the Purpose in Life of the Old

by Kang Ho Lee, Dong-A University,

2002. The control and the experimental group were each composed of twelve elderly

people. This dissertation suggested that the Logotherapeutic pastoral counseling program

is an effective counseling tool for certain psychological issues such as depression, feeling

incompetent, loneliness, and for finding a purpose in life.

The researcher also found a D.Min project, Viktor Emile Frankl’s Meaning

Paradigm: Logotherapy as a Model for Meaning-Centered Pastoral Ministry in the

Contemporary Singaporean Context, Asbury Theological Seminary, 2005, by Peter

Wong Keen Mun. Mun attempts to utilize Frankl’s meaning paradigm for pastoral

ministry in Singapore. He came to the conclusion that “Frankl’s theories and techniques

are a useful tool for providing meaning-centered counsel. Not only is it able to explore

and address the question of meaninglessness in the characters [the clients], it also can

orientate them toward deeper faith and positive meanings.”

The fact that the Ph.D

dissertation, Ed.D dissertation, and D. Min project were written in an Asian context

encouraged the researcher in the development of this project in Korea.

f. Rationale

There are thousands of people in the researcher’s country who are experiencing

loss of meaning in life, suffering they can hardly control, and brokenness in relationships

which need to be healed. The researcher has recognized those problems in the people to

whom she ministers. The researcher wants to help her church be more involved in

Kang Ho Lee, “The Effects of Pastoral Counseling Program Based on Logotherapy of the

Psychological Problem and the Purpose in Life of the Old,” (Ed.D diss., Dong-A University, 2002).

Peter Wong Keen Mun, “Viktor Emile Frankl’s Meaning Paradigm: Logotherapy As a Model

for Meaning-Centered Pastoral Ministry in the Contemporary Singaporean Context” (D.Min diss., Asbury

Theological Seminary, 2005), 146.

２２

helping these people. The researcher has chosen to utilize the key concepts of Dr.

Frankl’s Logotherapy as a way to increase the degree of meaning and purpose in life and

to motivate a desire to live lives more meaningfully and responsibly with hopeful

attitudes.

２３

CHAPTER TWO

OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT

a. Project Description

Changing Attitudes Toward Life: Using Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy in

Ministry with Christian Women in Church of the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-do, South

Korea is a project designed to help the target group increase the degree of meaning and

purpose in life and motivate a desire to live lives more meaningfully and responsibly with

hopeful attitudes by exploring the biblical messages using integration exercises. Dr.

Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy is utilized as a psychology basis for this project.

Recognizing self-worth, human dignity, and responsibility in a person’s life was the focus

of this project. The utilized materials and activities provided opportunities for the

participants to evaluate and perhaps even revise their values, meaning, and life-styles

through a sermon series and group sessions.

The target group participated weekly in the group process. This project utilized

educative counseling which aims for healing and wholeness. Educative counseling is not

merely teaching information. Howard Clinebell describes educative counseling as helping

persons “understand, evaluate, and then decide if and how they will apply the relevant

information to coping more constructively with their stressful life situations. Education

２４

and counseling become natural allies with a common goal of maximizing whole-person

growth.”

This project included a five-week sermon series and six weeks of group sessions,

the last concluding with a final reflection session for the target group. The target group

for the group sessions was self-selecting from the membership of the Church of the Lord

which began on December 20, 2015, and ended on December 27, 2015. An open

invitation with an overview of the project was made through the church bulletin and

respondents received a letter on December 30, 2015 advising them of the content of the

sessions and the request to commit to the complete process of sessions and reflection.

Utilizing this method of selection was expected to promote the group participants’

commitment to the process of learning and group participation. Other members of the

church congregation served as the control group for this project. The control group only

attended the sermon series during the regular Sunday afternoon services while the target

group participated in group sessions.

The initial session was in place with the administration of the pre-course survey

and a brief description of the project on December 27, 2015. Everyone who attended the

Sunday afternoon service had an opportunity to hear the brief introduction of the

Changing Attitudes Toward Life program and to take the pre-course survey during the

initial session. In this way, the whole church congregation learned what was going to

happen for the next five weeks; those who were interested in this program were presented

Howard Clinebell, Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Resources for the Ministry of

Healing & Growth, 3rd ed. rev. Bridget Clare McKeever (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2011), 348. For

more information about educative counseling, please refer to chapter 14 of Clinebell’s Basic Types of

Pastoral Care & Counseling, 347-75.

２５

with the necessary information. This initial session was approximately twenty minutes

following the regular Sunday afternoon service.

Implementation of the project began on January 3, 2016 with a description of the

content of the five week sessions, distribution of journal materials, sermon review, group

exercise, and weekly group session evaluation. During the first session, participants were

informed that individual pastoral counseling was available if necessary along with the

group sessions. The five sessions took place on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in the

Sunday School classroom of Church of the Lord from January 3 through January 31

including a week break.

Final group reflection from the target group occurred on February 14 with the

administration of the post course survey. This final session was designed to provide an

opportunity for the target group members to share their autobiography and their

experience in the course. Two of the group participants out of six could not finish or even

start writing their autobiography. After sharing the group members’ autobiographies,

these two members expressed that they also wanted to finish writing their

autobiographies and to present them in the group. The rest of the group agreed to give

them an opportunity to finish and to present their autobiographies. Therefore, the group

decided to have one more group session. For the extended final session, the group agreed

to hear the two autobiographies and to present written reflections of their experience in

group instead of interviews in order to share qualitative data in a confidential setting.

２６

Table 2.1. Sermon and Group Sessions Schedule

Date Sermon Title & Text Group Session Topic

Week

One

January 3, 2016

“What does it mean to be

human?”

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18

Search for Meaning

- Group Exercise: Realizing

Creative Values

Week

Two

January 10, 2016

“Finding meaning in life

through values”

Philippians 3:4b-9,

Galatians 5:19-23

Finding meaning in life

through values

- Reflection on the quotes

from “Man’s Search for

meaning”

Week

Three

January 17, 2016

“Finding meaning for life

through experiential values”

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18,

Acts 2:1-13

Values in what you take from

the world

-Group Exercise: Realizing

Experiential Values

Week

Four

January 24, 2016

“Finding meaning for life

through life’s hardships”

Acts 16:16-34

Attitudinal Values

- Group exercise focused on

one’s attitude toward the

inevitable suffering

Week

Five

January 31, 2016

“Restoring Human Dignity”

Mark 5:1-20,

Gal. 5:19-26

Restoring human dignity

- Group exercise: Assuming

the situation that you have

only 24 hours left before your

death.

Week

Six

February 14, 2016

Presenting the participant’s

autobiography.

Post-course survey.

Week

Seven

February 21, 2016

Additional Session

２７

b. Target Group

Six women in their 30s through 40s signed up as the focal group for this project.

Five of them were Christian women from the membership of the Church of the Lord and

one was a non-Christian from a Buddhist background. Limiting the size of the group

facilitated a non-threatening atmosphere in which participants could share personal

reflections and experiences. These women came from different backgrounds, and yet they

had something in common in their life experiences and culture. Demographics of the

target group will be presented in the critical evaluation part in Chapter Four.

c. Five-Week Sermon Series

The sermon series included a biblical understanding of humanity and basic

education about how to rediscover meaning, value, and human dignity in life. This

sermon series provided an opportunity for the entire church to evaluate their lives and

reflect on their meaning and purpose in life. The emphasis was upon their responsibility

to make their own future.

The sermons were part of the Sunday afternoon service beginning on January 3,

2016. Immediately after the Sunday afternoon service, 15 minutes was given for a brief

break. The first sermon focused on a biblical understanding of what it means to be

created as human, followed by an introduction to Viktor Frankl and Logotherapy.

Accountability and responsibility in life was emphasized. This sermon also served as an

overview of the sermon series. The three ways of finding meaning in life were the topic

Clinebell talks about the goal of educative counseling which this project is utilizing: “Educative

counseling seeks to enable people to awaken reality-based hope for a better future and to help them do what

is necessary to move themselves and others toward that future. . . such hope can help people make the

difficult changes necessary to grow healthier and have more ability to cope.” in his Basic Types of Pastoral

Care & Counseling: Resources for the Ministry of Healing & Growth, 3

ed. Rev. Bridget Clare McKeever

(Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2011), 352.

２８

of the second sermon. The listeners understood how to find meaning in life through

creative values, experiential values and attitudinal values from Paul’s life and ministry.

Experiential values and attitudinal values were the foci in the third and the fourth

sermons. From previous interviews and pastoral counseling, it was learned that

relationships and problems of suffering and pain in life were primary concerns for the

target group as well as with many others in the congregation. Restoring human dignity

was the topic for the fifth and the final sermon. One’s value in God’s eyes and human

accountability and responsibility in life were addressed. This was the conclusion of the

sermon series. Throughout the sermon series, the church was encouraged to continue

becoming a community to find meanings from one another, to become meaningful to one

another, to experience the renewal of the image of God within each person and to offer

the world an alternative way of being fully human.

d. Small Group Sessions

The group sessions were integrated with the sermon series and provided a variety

of practical exercises based on Logotherapy to enhance each sermon topic. Each group

session was ninety minutes in length. These sessions were designed for the participants to

share thoughts and experiences rather than imparting new information.

Each week’s session was divided with the initial thirty minutes given to sermon

review, another thirty minutes for sharing their journals with the group, and the

remaining thirty minutes for a group exercise including completion of the weekly

evaluation of the group session. The group session started with feedback about the prior

sermon. The target group had an opportunity to share what they heard from the sermon

and how it related to them. The topics for the group sessions were parallel or

２９

complemented the sermon series. Each group activity enhanced the sermon message with

activities and practical materials.

Before the final group reflection (the sixth group session), there was a one-week

break during the Lunar New Year season. This break gave the group participants enough

time to reflect on what they had learned from the program and to explore their own

autobiographies as a way of thinking about their past history and also to contemplate their

“Future story.”

e. Journaling

For further reflection, writing a guided journal was assigned as homework for the

target group. The participants were given a couple of significant questions to contemplate

weekly and each person wrote at least one or two paragraphs weekly, describing their

own life experience, their reflections on the topic that week, or thoughts which may help

them rediscover meaning and values in life. Journaling promoted individual reflection,

provided qualitative data regarding the participant’s experience and reflections with the

sermons, and integrated the total five-week program. Participants were encouraged to

share their journal entries for the benefit of the group learning process.

f. Means of Evaluation

The means of evaluation for this project was designed to explore whether this

project helped the selected Christian women find meaning in their lives and whether they

were motivated to live out of that meaning. Moreover, it was designed to explore whether

Andrew Lester, Hope in Pastoral Care and Counseling (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster

John Knox Press, 1995). Multiple chapters of his book talk about the use of future stories for imaging new

and more positive and hopeful life experiences.

３０

this project ultimately effects significant positive changes in a person’s attitudes and

behavior.

Effectiveness of this project was evaluated by quantitative and qualitative means.

First, each group participant was given a pre-course survey. Two self-assessment surveys

were administered to the group: The Purpose-In-Life (PIL) Test and the Seeking of

Noetic Goals (SONG) Test developed by James Crumbaugh in 1977. These surveys

provided data to analyze the participant’s existing sense of meaning or purpose in life and

motivation to find it. Second, the post-course survey was offered at the end of the six-

week group sessions. The PIL and the SONG tests were administered again. The changes

in score indicated that the participants understood and applied the key concepts of

Frankl’s Logotherapy integrated with the biblical message throughout the project.

Likert scale measurement surveys were also administered to the target group after

every group session to measure how this researcher functioned as a communicator, a

group facilitator, and a leader. The researcher wished to get congregational feedback

about a sermon series. However, laypeople culturally feel uncomfortable to evaluate their

pastor or preacher, especially when it is a small congregation in number. The researcher

thought that collaborative sermon review would be helpful for her to learn about the

preparation and the delivery of the sermon series. The sermon review by Rev. Eunil Lee

was also included in the assessment. The effectiveness of this project, as noted

previously, is to help participants find meaning and purpose in life, and ultimately

significant positive changes in attitudes and behavior.

Third, the participants were asked to write at least one or two paragraphs weekly

in a self-reflecting journal for five weeks. Open-ended questions utilizing the

３１

Logotherapeutic exercises were offered to help participants integrate what was learned

from the sermon series and the group sessions with life experiences. Beside journaling,

the participants were asked to write their autobiographies and reflection about their

experience with the group process. Collected data from the instruments, journals,

reflective writings and autobiographies were analyzed and reported as part of the final

evaluation of this project.

Quantitative

The Purpose-In-Life (PIL) Test was developed from the existential philosophy of

Frankl by Crumbaugh and Maholick. The PIL is composed of a 20-item and a 7-point

Likert-type attitude scale that “assesses the degree to which an individual experiences a

sense of meaning or purpose in life.”

Each item is added for a total score ranging from

20 to 140; the lower the PIL score the greater the degree of a lack of meaning or purpose

in life. Scores above 112 indicate definite presence of purpose and meaning, scores

between 92 and 112 are indeterminate and scores below 92 suggests a lack of purpose

and meaning in life.

The PIL has been examined in many studies over the decades and

maintained a reliability coefficient from PIL from .80 and .90 in samples of patients,

students and caregivers.

Marvin J. MacDonald, Paul T. P. Wong, and Daniel T. Gingras, “Meaning-in-Life Measures

and Development of a Brief Version of the Personal Meaning Profile,” ed. Paul T. P. Wong, The Human

Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications, 2nd., ed. (New York, NY: Routledge), 359.

James C. Crumbaugh and Leonard T. Maholick, “An Experimental Study in Existentialism:

The Psychometric Approach to Frankl’s Concept of Noogenic Neurosis,” Journal of Clinical Psychology

Vol. 20 Issue 2 (1964): 202.

M. J. Edwards and R. R. Holden, “Coping, Meaning in Life, Suicidal Manifestation: Examine

gender differences,” Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 59 Issue 10 (2003): 1135.

３２

The PIL was developed “using primarily white American respondents, and it is

based on a culturally Western philosophical view.”

Therefore, the PIL was translated

and modified in the Korean context for this project. The translated Korean version of PIL

by Kim applied to Korean American adults, has a Cronbach’s alpha of .87 and .87 for the

reliability of the Korean and for American versions respectively

. This researcher also

modified some of the wording in the translated Korean version of PIL by Kim in order to

help for better understanding.

Crumbaugh’s Seeking of Noetic Goals Test (SONG) was used in conjunction with

the PIL test. The SONG test is composed of a 20-item attitude scale “designed to measure

the strength of the motivation to find meaning and purpose in life.”

It was designed to

be complementary to the PIL. Thus, combining the PIL and the SONG would be useful

and highly desirable for assessment purposes.

For instance, if the score is low on the

PIL and high on the SONG, the client would be a good candidate for counseling. He/She

may lack meaning, but he/she is motivated to find it.

The research participants took the PIL test and the SONG test as a pre-course

survey. Then, the surveys were repeated following the six group sessions. The researcher

suggests that the changes in score from the pre-course survey to the post-course survey

Daniel N. McIntosh, “Scales of Related Constructs: Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh &

Maholick, 1964),” Measures of Religiosity, ed. Peter C. Hill and Ralph W. Hood Jr., (Birmingham,

Alabama: Religious Education Press, 1999), 505.

“In Kim’s (2006) pilot study, three spirituality instruments were translated from English into

Korean using an adaptation of Brislin’s (1976) model for cross-cultural research.” PIL is one of them. Suk-

Sun Kim, “Independence of Spirituality and Well-Being Among Korean Elders and Family Caregivers,”

(PhD diss., The University of Arizona, 2008), 78.

Gary T. Reker and J. B. Cousins, “Factor Structure, Construct Validity and Reliability of the

Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) and Purpose In Life (PIL) Tests,” Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol 35,

No. 1 (1979): 85.

Ibid., 91.

Paul Welter, Counseling and the Search for Meaning, 102.

３３

indicated the effectiveness of this project in helping the participants find motivation,

meaning and purpose in life and motivating them to find meaning and purpose in life.

Qualitative

Qualitative data was obtained from reflective journal entries with open-ended

questions focused on the key concepts of Logotherapy. The group participants were

requested to write one or two paragraphs each week for five weeks. This offered an

opportunity for the target group to reflect on their lives in the past, in the present and in

the future. Journaling along with reflection was expected to be helpful for finding

meaning and purpose in life or for motivating the target group to find it.

３４

CHAPTER THREE

BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

a. Introduction

The researcher has chosen to utilize Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy as a counseling

tool to evaluate and perhaps even revise the values and the life-styles of the selected

group. Frankl mentions that persons not only transcend their environment, “he also

transcends his being toward an ought”

In so doing, he becomes truly human by

entering a “new dimension, the noetic, the dimension of the spirit”

Logotherapy aims

for healing through the discovery of meaning. By focusing on areas of a person’s life

which bring meaning, and by finding what is truly of value, healing occurs. Since

Logotherapy seeks to understand human beings, the biblical foundation for the rationale

of this project begins with the researcher’s biblical understanding of humanity. Critical to

a biblical understanding of what makes us fully human is the teaching that each and every

human has been created in the image of God. The researcher examined biblical teaching

about the image of God found in the first and the second chapters of Genesis followed by

the example of “the perfect man,” Jesus Christ in the second chapter of Philippians.

Finally, the researcher examined Paul’s exhortation on living a Christian life in Galatians

chapter five in order to ascertain what kind of relationship and values Christians are

encouraged to have.

Viktor E. Frankl, Psychotherapy and Existentialism (New York: A Clarion Book, 1967), 136.

Ibid.

３５

b. Biblical Sources from Hebrew Scriptures

Critical to a biblical understanding of humanity is that every person has been

created in God’s own image and likeness, the Imago Dei. This expression, “God’s own

image and likeness” is used only of humans and it distinguishes human beings from the

rest of the creation. The image of God is what makes humans human. Initially, we will

explore this concept from the first chapter of Genesis.

Relational Being (Genesis 1:26-28)

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our

likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in

the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the

creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind

in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and

female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be

fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over

the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living

creature that moves on the ground.” (NIV)

The first chapter of Genesis expresses the uniqueness of persons, that is, only ha

adam was created in God’s image and God’s likeness. The word tselem can be translated

as “image, likeness, or of resemblance.”

The Hebrew word for likeness, demuth, is

derived from a root that means “to be like, resemble”

The words image and likeness

are similar in meaning and are used in parallel in Genesis 1:26.

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, s.v. “tselem,” by Francis Brown, S.R.

Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997).

Ibid., 197-8.

However, Tillich suggests that the Image of God “is interpreted as differently as the Christian

doctrine of man. The discussion is complicated by the fact that the biblical report uses two terms for this

idea, which were translated as imago and similitudo. These were distinguished in their meaning (Irenaeus).

Imago was supposed to point to the natural equipment of man; similitudo, to the special divine gift, the

donum superadditum, which gave Adam the power of adhering to God. Protestantism, denying the

ontological dualism between nature and supranature, rejected the donum superadditum and with it the

distinction between imago and similitudo.” from Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology Vol.1 (Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press, 1951), 255.

３６

The image makes persons capable of relating to God. Our divine image enables

God to enter into personal relationships with us, speak to us, and respond to us.

According to Karl Barth, the image and likeness of God describes the uniqueness of the

human who can enter into partnership with God because the human can stand in an I-

Thou relationship.

Westermann also argues that “human beings are created in such a

way that their very existence is intended to be their relationship to God.”

Frankl

believes that the capacity of self-transcendence is a uniquely human capacity. He says,

“Man transcends himself either toward another human being or toward meaning.”

God’s creature, human beings can understand themselves only and always in relation to

God, the Creator.

A particular emphasis on human gender differentiation occurs in verse 27 which

says “male and female he created them.” What is being said, according to Westermann, is

that “a human being must be seen as one whose destiny it is to live in community.”

Most contemporary theologians read this phrase, “Male and female he created them” as

an indication of “the irreducibly relational nature of human life.”

This point is made

more specific in Genesis 2:18, which describes the creation of Eve: “The Lord God said,

‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (NIV).’”

Human beings are relational/social beings. We come to know who we are, mature, and

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/Part One, ed. G. W. Bromeliad and T. F. Torrance

(Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1958), 182. A similar idea is expressed in Martin Buber’s “I-Thou”, Martin

Buber, I and Thou: A New Translation with A Prologue “I and You” and Notes by Walter Kaufmann (New

York: Touch Stone, 1996).

Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11: A Commentary (SPCK Publishing, 1984), 158.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning, 18.

Ibid., 160. Paul Tillich argues that “There is no personal life without the encounter with other

persons within a community . . .” in his Systematic Theology Vol. 2 (Chicago: The University of Chicago

Press, 1957), 135.

Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Gen. ed., “Image of

God” by Stephen R. Holmes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005), 313.

３７

can only fully develop our potentialities in community. Jesus also tells us how we should

relate to others, that is, we should love our neighbors as ourselves.

From the beginning God chooses to share His creative power with human beings.

God establishes a power-sharing relationship with humans and serves as the supreme

delegator of responsibility.

Gerhard von Rad insists that this passage (vv. 26-28)

speaks less of the nature of God’s image than of its purpose. The purpose of creating man

in the image of God is domination in the world, especially over the animals.

God blessed human beings and gave them a mandate to be fruitful, to multiply, to

fill the earth, and to rule over all of the living creatures (v.28). This command is about the

human being’s relationship to the earth. We are placed upon earth in God’s own image as

God’s representative, summoned to maintain and to rule over the earth. As a being

created in the image of God, human creativity should express the nature of God’s

creativity. It should be exercised not only in being fruitful and multiplying, but also in

subduing the earth and having dominion over it. In this light, “domination” cannot be

exploitation, but it must be understood “in the sort of facilitating servanthood which

maintains an environment in which persons who reflect something of the nature of God’s

love and creativity can be at home.”

Humankind should relate to the rest of the creation

as God relates to us.

Responsible Being (Genesis 2:15-23)

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of

Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God commanded the

Terence E. Fretheim, “Genesis,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1, (Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 1994), 346.

Gerhard von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary, Old Testament Library Series, rev. trans. John H.

Marks (London: SCM Press LTD., 1972), 59.

David Atkinson, The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Genesis 1-11 ed. J.A.Motyer

(Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), 41.

３８

man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not

eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” 18 Then

the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will

make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord

God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and

brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and

whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The

man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to

every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper

suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall

upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed

up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman

the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the

man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of

my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of

Man.” (NASB)

God gave the Adam (man) a task to cultivate and keep the garden of Eden (2:15),

his immediate environment, as well as to fill and subdue the earth (1:28). Work is part of

our responsibility on earth.

The significance of work is that it is “the creative

engagement with the world on behalf of God.”

Frankl indicates that the will to meaning

is “the innate desire to give as much meaning as possible to one’s life, to actualize as

many values as possible.”

According to Frankl, we can find meaning in life in three

different ways: by creating a work or doing a deed; by experiencing something or

encountering someone; and by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.

Meaning in one’s life is most readily found “through the act of creativity, of active

Paul Tillich states that “being a creature means both to be rooted in the creative ground of the

divine life and to actualize one’s self through freedom. Creation is fulfilled in the creaturely self-realization

which simultaneously is freedom and destiny. But it is fulfilled through separation from the creative ground

through a break between existence and essence. Creaturely freedom is the point at which creation and the

fall coincide.” in his Systematic Theology Vol. 1, 256.

David Atkinson, The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Genesis 1-11 (Downers Grove,

Illinois, Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), 61.

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, xvi.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 111.

３９

involvement in life with the goal of contributing through personal accomplishment.”

Frankl said that his desire to rewrite the manuscript of his Logotherapy which was

confiscated gave him meaning to his life in the Nazi concentration camp.

Human beings were obviously blessed with a creative task from the beginning.

Work itself was not the consequence of the Fall, but only after the Fall has it changed into

toil. From the fact that God gave human beings a mandate, Anthony Hoekema says, “We

may infer that humans also resemble God in that they are persons, responsible beings,

who can be addressed by God and who are ultimately responsible to God as their Creator

and Ruler.”

Human beings have a certain independence and freedom since the creation. God

leaves room for human beings to make genuine decisions and to make one’s own choices.

Frankl views this responsibleness as the very essence of human existence. He writes that

“each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own

life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

Furthermore, God gives them

“powers and responsibilities in a way that commits God to a certain kind of relationship

with them.”

Genesis 2:18-23 demonstrates that God’s decisions interact with human

decisions in the creation of the world. Human beings are not capable of ultimately

obstructing God, but the future depends on what humans choose to do with what God

presents. God has established a relationship with human beings so that their decisions

about the creation truly count.

Robert C. Leslie, Jesus and Logotherapy, 76.

Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 14.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 109.

Terence E. Fretheim, “Genesis,” The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol. 1, (Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 1994), 355.

Ibid., 357.

４０

c. Biblical Sources from Christian Scripture

Christian scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the Word who became flesh (John

1:14) and was the perfect man, i.e. “human” totally without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He is the

example of what humanity was meant to be, that is, the perfect image of God and the

reflection of God’s glory. In the following section, we will explore what God wants us to

be like and what makes humans fully human as demonstrated in the example of Jesus

Christ.

Attitudinal values in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-11)

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who,

though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form

of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human

form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of

death - even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted

him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at

the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth

and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus

Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NRSV)

Philippians 2:5-11 is almost universally regarded as a hymn designed for public

worship.

Paul includes this hymn for a pastoral reason, to exhort the Christians in the

Philippian church about how they are to live the Christian life. Ralph P. Martin insists

that “The entire quotation of the hymn is meant to enforce an ethical appeal.”

Considering the context of the Philippian church, Christian believers faced both external

“Christians first began to articulate what they thought about Jesus by means of spirit-inspired

hymns in the context of worship. . . . The songs were not only a means of praising, and thanking God, but

were a means of teaching about Jesus Christ and about morality, as hymnody was accessible to both Jewish

and Gentile Christians.” Bonnie B. Thurston and Judith M. Ryan, Philippians and Philemon, Sacra Pagina

Series Vol. 10 (Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2005), 78-9.

Ralph P. Martin, A Hymn of Christ: Philippians 2:5-11 in Recent Interpretation & in the

Setting of Early Christian Worship (Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997), xlix.

４１

pressure from the hostile society (Phil. 1:27-30) and the internal divisions caused by self-

seeking tendencies and mutual criticism (2:1-4, 14).

Paul introduces the life of Jesus Christ as the model of the humble, obedient, self-

sacrificing, self-denying, and self-giving service that the Christians in Philippi were to

practice in their relations.

Jesus Christ as a human being did not live his earthly life in

the same way the people of Philippi did. He did not stand “where the battle was fought

for honor, right and credit.”

This hymn challenges the false values that the Philippian

Christians had. Paul urges the Philippian Christians to follow the example of Jesus’ life

and to live under his lordship. Ralph P. Martin quotes Pierre Bonnard, “The obedient one

is to be obeyed.”

Paul commends them to have the attitude/mind that Jesus Christ had. Verses 6

through 8 describe the mind that verse 5 commended. Jesus, who was always essentially

God no matter what his “form” was, did not consider equality with God to be exploited.

He refused to take advantage of his position for his own advantage, but rather he emptied

himself. The word “emptied,” εκενοσεν, is a key verb describing Jesus’ choice of self-

negation. Jesus emptied himself of the essence of God to assume the essence of slave.

The slave has absolutely no rights. He does whatever the will of his master is. Jesus

Christ put himself in the place of the slave for the purpose of fulfilling God’s will and

serving all humankind. He was willing to humble Himself for the sake of others even to

Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.43. Revised and expanded

by Ralph P. Martin (Colombia: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2004), 104.

Karl Barth, Epistle to the Philippians, 40th Anniversary Edition, trans. James W. Leitch

(Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 64.

Quoted in Ralph P. Martin, lii. Originally in Pierre Bonnard, 49.

４２

the point of death.

While the focus has been on what Jesus voluntarily chose to do in verses 6

through 8, in verses 9-11 the focus is on God’s action. The last half of the hymn, verses 9

through 11, starts with a strong conjunction (διo, “therefore”) followed immediately by

another conjunction (και, “also”). Together the words may be translated “as a

consequence, therefore”

It indicates that God’s action, that is, exalting Jesus Christ as a

cosmic Ruler is the result of Jesus’ obedience.

100

In terms of rhetoric, the hymn is supporting a specific thesis introduced in the

immediately preceding verses in 2:1-5 that “count others better than yourselves (2:3);

look to others’ interest as well as your own (2:4).” “[T]he hymn amplifies this claim,

extolling one who did the same (2:6-8) and, as a consequence, was exalted (2:9-11).”

101

Paul intends to encourage the suffering church by communicating “a paradigm of the

biblical principle that God will bring his faithful ones through trial to ultimate victory and

conquer his enemies, who may be deemed the church’s real adversaries behind the human

agents in Philippian society.”

102

One of Frankl’s major contributions lies in his assertion

that meaning in life can be found in the attitude toward unavoidable suffering. Frankl

urges that:

But this does not and cannot mean that Jesus became lesser than God. On the contrary, Jesus

retained all his divine powers (Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience) and moral attributes (love,

mercy, and justice) during his incarnate life. He was capable but chose not to exert them in his own

prerogative. He humbled himself before the Father and voluntarily chose to do so. In this way, Jesus

recapitulated the failure of the first Adam, setting eternal model for his disciples. See Stanley Grenz,

Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and

Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Publishing, 2000), 306-308.

Bonnie B. Thurston and Judith M. Ryan, Philippians and Philemon, 82.

100

Ibid.

101

Michael Wade Martin and Bryan A. Nash, “Philippians 2:6-11 As Subversive Hymnos: A

Study in the Light of Ancient Rhetorical Theory,” Journal of Theological Studies Vol. 66 part 1 (April

2015), 137.

102

Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, Word Biblical Commentary Vol.43 Revised and expanded

by Ralph P. Martin (Colombia: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2004), lxxiii.

４３

We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even

when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that

cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the

uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a

personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a

human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a

situation - just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable

cancer - we are challenged to change ourselves.

103

The Bible never denies the reality of suffering and hardships. The Bible does not declare

that God’s creatures are immune from evil and suffering. In reality, the Scriptures remind

God’s children that they will suffer. To be human is to live “subjected to all the

consequences of existential estrangement.”

104

The passage of Philippians 2:6-11 is a way of teaching what “life in Christ”

should mean. Käsemann says: “The Philippians are admonished to conduct themselves

toward one another as is fitting within the realm of Christ.”

105

Christians place

themselves in the realm and reign of Jesus Christ only through voluntarily chosen acts of

self-emptying, only through looking to others’ interest as well as their own (2:4).

106

Certainly we cannot be like Jesus Christ in every aspect. But we can be like Him

in His humiliation, in His willingness to fulfill God’s will and to serve others. This is our

responsibility: to imitate Jesus Christ, who is the perfect image of God.

Life in Christ (Galatians 5:13-6:2)

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do

not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but

through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law

is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your

neighbor as yourself.” 15 If, however, you bite and devour one

103

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 112.

104

Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology Vol.2, 135.

105

Ernst Käsemann, “A Critical Analysis of Philippians 2:5-11,” God and Christ: Existence and

Province, Journal for Theology and the Church Vol. 5, ed. Robert W. Funk (New York: Harper & Row,

1968), 84.

106

Bonnie B. Thurston and Judith M. Ryan, Philippians and Philemon, 91.

４４

another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.

17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what

the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to

each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if

you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now

the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity,

licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy,

anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness,

carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned

you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom

of God. 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and

self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those

who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its

passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be

guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing

against one another, envying one another.

6:1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you

who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit

of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the

law of Christ. (RSV)

The main subject in the book of Galatians is that human beings are justified by

faith alone without the works of the Law. Paul’s exhortation for the Galatian church

teaches us how we should live and what values we should have. In verses 13-15, Paul

particularly has urged that true Christian freedom express itself in self-control, serving

one another through love.

107

He continues by saying the reason why loving service of

one another is so imperative in verse 14: “For the whole law is summed up in a single

commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Thus, the question is - how

is this kind of Christian living possible? Paul’s answer is that it is the Holy Spirit who has

made us free from sin and given us new life in regeneration.

107

John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians: Only One Way, The Bible Speaks Today

(Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), 145.

４５

Paul used four distinct verbs to describe the Spirit-controlled life. All four verbs

are roughly equivalent in meaning: to walk in the Spirit (v.16), to be led by the Spirit (v.

18), to live by the Spirit (v. 25a), and to keep in step with the Spirit (v. 25b). Each of

these verbs expresses “a relationship of dynamic interaction, direction, and purpose.”

108

The RSV translates the last half of v. 16 as another imperative: “do not gratify the desires

of the flesh.” However, ου μη τελεσητε, as Burton explains, “is equivalent to an emphatic

promissory future, expressing, not a command, but a strong assurance that if they walk by

the Spirit they will not, in fact, fulfil the flesh-lust, but will be able to resist and conquer

it.”

109

For Paul, the Spirit not only regenerates the believer spiritually, but also

“sensitizes the believer to what is contrary to God’s will, gives to the believer an intrinsic

standard of values, and enables the believer to do what is good, with expressions of that

goodness being for the benefit of others.”

110

Verse 17 shows Pauls’ understanding of humanity before God since “sin entered

the world (Rom 5:12)”: “The flesh” and “the Spirit” are in opposition to one another, so

that one cannot do what is good/right in “the flesh” but in “the Spirit.” Throughout

Galatians chapters 5-6, the word “flesh” (σαρξ) is used as an ethical term with a negative

connotation.

111

The catalogue of vices found in vv. 19-21 is contrasted by a catalogue of

virtues in vv. 22-23 which has to do with “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the

Spirit” respectively. To live according to the flesh is “to trust in one’s self as being able

to procure life by the use of the earthly and through one’s own strength and

108

Timothy George, Galatians, The New American Commentary Vol. 30, Gen. ed. E. Ray

Clendenen (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 386.

109

Ernest De Witt Burton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians,

The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1962), 299.

110

Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 41 (Dallas, Texas:

Nelson Reference & Electronic, 1990), 247.

111

Timothy George, 377.

４６

accomplishment.”

112

As C. K. Barrett observed, the opposite of flesh is love which

“looks away from the self and its wishes, even its real needs, to the neighbor, and spends

its resources on his needs.”

113

Frankl asserts that “being human always points, and is

directed, to something, or someone, other than oneself - be it a meaning to fulfill or

another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself - by giving himself to a

cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he

actualizes himself.”

114

Paul does not seem to so much be concerned with how each of the virtues works

out in practice, but “with the underlying orientation of selfless and outgoing concern for

others.”

115

It is because the believers found a new orientation for life which reflects the

selfless and outgoing love of God. Therefore, Paul exhorts the Christians in Galatia to

acknowledge that their new relationship in Jesus Christ also involves being dead to “the

flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24) and to live their lives in the guidance “by the

Spirit” (v. 25). The point is that we must walk by the Spirit. We cannot produce the

virtues and Christlikeness in us apart from the Spirit’s work. Only when we become “new

self” by the work of the Spirit, according to Paul in this passage, we do have “the power

to naturally, holistically, and gradually bear fruit.”

116

To live life controlled by the Spirit results in our fulfilling “the whole law” and to

stifle the desires of the flesh. Therefore, the Christian life in this present fallen world is

112

Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press,

2007), 239.

113

Barrett, Freedom and Obligation: A Study of the Epistle to the Galatians (Louisville,

Kenturkey: Westminster John Knox, 1985), 72-73.

114

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 110-1.

115

Richard N. Longenecker, 267.

116

Tony Merida, “Walk by the Spirit (5:16-26)” in Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in

Galatians, ed. David Platt, Tony Merida, and Danny Akin (Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Reference,

2014), 115.

４７

“inevitably one of conflict and tension, but by no means does this necessarily mean

defeat.”

117

By the grace of God, every believer has been delivered from the realm of

slavery into the position of freedom and sonship. However, these benefits of Christian

freedom are not something to be taken for granted. “[T]hey are rather realities to be

owned and proved in the daily spheres of obedience and testing.”

118

For this reason, Paul

applies his teaching in the preceding verses to more specific situations in 6:1-10. As J. M.

G. Barclay sums up Paul’s exhortation in Galatians 6, Paul tries to remind the Christians

in Galatia of their accountability to God and their responsibilities to one another.

119

To summarize the biblical/theological rationale of this project, (1) Every person is

of unique worth and value, created in the image of God. (2) Every individual is created

with a capacity for transcendence - created for meaningful relationship with God, with

other persons, and with all of creation. (3) Because of our partnership with God in

creation, every person is obligated through God’s creative power - and because of God’s

command that we should be responsible as we live in and care for our world, we should

responsibly engage it. (4) Our use of freedom and responsibility are essential God-given

characteristics of every person. (5) The “New man,” shaped by the nature of Christ and

the nurture of the Holy Spirit lives in such ways that model attitudes and values which

reflect humility and sacrifice, and lives ethically, relationally, and responsibility even in

the face of inevitable sufferings and hardships, and even death.

117

Timothy George, 408.

118

Ibid.

119

J. M. G. Barclay, Obeying the Truth: A Study of Paul’s Ethics in Galatians (Edinburgh: T & T

Clark, 1988), 167.

４８

CHAPTER FOUR

CRITICAL EVALUATION

This project was conducted from January 3 to February 21, 2016. The bulletin

insert for the study was distributed on December 20, 2015 with 20 people attending

morning worship. Four respondents expressed interest in attending the group sessions.

Two more people responded with interest on December 25, 2015. Six letters were sent to

the respondents explaining the study in detail and requesting that they commit to

faithfully attend the six week sessions including the final group reflection.

The initial session for introducing the project and for the pre-course survey was

administered with six respondents and fourteen other church members present. Each

attendee received a numbered pre-course survey during the initial session. All interaction

with respect to survey data and personal reflection writings were coded according to the

administered survey number provided to the participants to maintain complete anonymity

of the subjects. Demographic information in the form of age, sex, education level, and

years of association with Church of the Lord was collected for statistical purposes only.

Attendance for Sunday afternoon worship throughout the study ranged from a

high of 19 for the initial session to a low of 15, while the attendance of the target group

for all group sessions including final review session was 100%. Usually, 20-25 people

attend Sunday morning worship and 13-18 people attend afternoon worship. Only

individuals who were over twenty years old were counted towards the study. The

attendance depends on the members’ health, family events, and work schedule in general.

４９

Average worship attendance of 17 is higher than anticipated and this statistic

demonstrates the church’s strong interest and commitment to the study.

a. Demographics

The control group was made up from the membership of Church of the Lord who

are over twenty years old. These individuals provided a baseline sample of those who

listened to a series of sermons but did not participate in group sessions along with

personal reflection. There were a variety of ages represented with the youngest being

twenty-three years old and the oldest being eighty-three years old. Three were in the 23 to

30-year-old age group and three members were in the 32 to 38-year-old age group. Two

were in the 41 to 45-year-old age group and one was 58 years old. Two members were 62

years old and two were in 74 to 78-year-old age group. One person was 83 years old.

Nine people were female and five were male.

Education levels for the initial survey included 21 percent (3 individuals)

completing elementary school, 14% (2 individuals) completing middle school, 21% (3

individuals) completing high school, 7% (1 person) currently enrolled in college, 14% (2

individuals) completing college, and 21% (3 individuals) with a graduate degree.

Analysis of the survey found a downward trend with respect to education level as age

level of the group increased. The average education level was between high school and

college. The average years of association with Church of the Lord was 8.07 years. Eleven

out of fourteen individuals responded that they had experienced a crisis in life.

Two individuals were teenagers when they experienced a crisis in life and three

were in their 20s. Four individuals were in their 30s while two individuals were in their

40s when they experienced a crisis in life. In regards to the kinds of crises that

５０

individuals faced, eight individuals responded that their crisis was related to a family

issue and two responded that their crisis was personal problem. One person answered that

her crisis was due to the difficulties during the Japanese rule and the other person said

others instead of answering the specific type of crisis. Five individuals were Christians

when they faced the crisis and they responded that their Christian faith helped them make

a decision or make a choice.

The target group participants consisted of five women from the membership of

Church of the Lord and a non-Christian woman. Initial plans for recruiting the target

group were expected to have five to seven Christian women in their 30s through 40s who

are not related by blood or marriage, and yet have something in common in their life

experiences and culture. In finalizing the process of recruiting the group participants, four

active members of Church of the Lord were confirmed and one of them recruited her

sister (a nominal Christian) and her friend (a non-Christian). Before the implementation

of this project, the six women introduced one another on Christmas and everyone

expressed that they felt comfortable to participate in the study as a group. It turned out to

be better to have people who had different levels of Christian faith and even had a

different faith in the group. The group participants recognized the difference between

Christians and non-Christian in terms of facing an inevitable pain and suffering in life.

The participants of the group who were in the 31 to 40-year-old group is as

follows: two were 31 years old and two members were 35 years old. One was 37 years

old and the other was 40 years old. Education levels for the target group included one

person completing high school, three participants obtaining their associates degree in

junior colleges, one member dropping out a college, and one participant obtaining a

５１

bachelor’s degree. For the five Christians, the average years of association with Church

of the Lord was 11.2 years. All of them responded that they had experienced a crisis in

life. When they had experienced a crisis in life, three individuals were in their 20s while

the other three individuals were in their 30s. In regards to the kinds of crises that

individuals faced, three individuals responded that their crisis was related to a family

issue and the other three responded that their crisis was personal problem.

Table 4.1 Demographics for the Target Group

Questions #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

1. Age 40 35 31 31 37 35

2. Marital status Single Single Married Single Married Single

3. What is the highest

level of education you

have completed?

Junior

college

College

Junior

college

High

school

Junior

college

High

school

4. Are you employed? Yes Yes No Yes No Yes

4-1. What kind of job

do you have?

Employee Employee

House

wife

Employee

House

wife

Employee

5. How old were you

when you became a

Christian?

8 7 24 25 10

non-

Christian

6. How many years

have you associated

with Church of the

Lord?

15 15 9 7 10

7. What kind of crisis

have you

experienced?

Personal Family Family Personal Family Personal

8. How old were you

when you experienced

a crisis in life?

34 32 31 24 29 25

8-1. Were you a

Christian then?

Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

9. If yes, did your

Christian faith play a

Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

５２

significant role in

make a decision or a

choice?

9-1. If yes, how did it

help you?

Believed

that God

was with

Depended

on God

and

prayed

b. Target Group

Each group participant had different expectations. Describing each of the

individual target group participants is necessary to demonstrate the success of this

project. For the reader’s information, there was a pastoral small group counseling

focusing on “healing and growth” which was similar to this project for eight weeks from

August 2, 2015 to September 20, 2015. Participants #1, #2, and #3 were the only

members from that group.

Participant #1 is the oldest in the group and is one of the most active members in

church. She is the first Christian in her family and is known to be a faithful Christian in

her family and at work. She is single, wants to be married, and has been dealing with

social pressures.

Just a week before the previous small group began in 2015, participant #1 lost her

job, where she had worked for 20 years, due to the company going bankrupt. She was

very emotional with the fact that she was single and lost her job. She was afraid of the

anticipated unstable future because she felt that she was too old to get a new job in her

field. She used to believe that as long as she was a good Christian, God would bless her

in every step of her life. Participant #1 honestly told the researcher that she had

resentment towards God because her prayers of finding a spouse had gone unfulfilled for

so long. She thought that because she wanted to marry a faithful Christian man that it was

５３

hard for her to find one. However, she realized that she was a Christian who focused on

religious practice rather than a personal relationship with God in the previous small group

experience. She learned that it was not God who was the problem, but she was the

problem.

Participant #1 dramatically changed her attitude toward her life and even her

spiritual life. Surprising things happened. When she determined to make a change instead

of wallowing in self-pity, she unexpectedly had a job interview and got the job with an

exceptionally good offer. After the eight-week pastoral group counseling, she expressed

that she lived her life because life was given to her. But since she renewed her personal

relationship with God, suddenly a word came out of her mouth that “Life is beautiful.” It

became her testimony. The previous pastoral small group counseling greatly impacted

participant #1. When she signed up for this study, she expected to reinforce what she had

learned previously.

Participant #2 is also the first Christian in her family and one of the most active

members in church. She is the one who recruited her sister and her non-Christian friend

to the group sessions. Her family had been suffering because her father had been

unfaithful to their family. Her mother wanted to keep the family together so that she

worked hard to support the family and raise the children. Her mother became a Christian

around the time that she was no longer able to work due to health problems caused by

stress. Her father became a Christian four years ago and cared for his wife who suffered

with dementia for ten years until her death on March 8, 2016.

Participant #2 suffered from insomnia since her youth and felt insecure about

opening herself to others. She began to practice opening up to close church friends

５４

throughout the previous small group. She expressed in the previous small group that even

though her father became a new person and faithfully took good care of her mother, she

could not forgive him and she had an anger issue. The researcher recommended her to see

a psychiatrist and a sleep specialist. Participant #2 began to see these medical

professionals in November of 2015. A month later, she passed out twice on her way to

work. She was diagnosed with a panic disorder just around the time this project started.

Participant #2 said that the things which the researcher advised her was similar to the

Cognitive-behavior therapy discussed with her therapist. She expressed that she

cognitively realized what her problem was in the previous small group and she expected

to get some help from this study to make a change in her behavior and her attitude

towards life.

Participant #3 had been preparing for a civil service examination for almost a year

because of her husband’s expectation. She grew up in a non-Christian family and her

parents did not allow her to go to church. She occasionally attended Sunday worship

following her friends. When her parents found out, she suffered from ill treatment and

confinement in her house for 24 hours on Sundays. Her parents were hard working, but

things did not go well. Due to her family’s economic situation, she chose to go to a

vocational high school.

It was participant #3’s only dream that she would marry a faithful Christian man

and live a stable life. When she married her husband, everything seemed to be perfect

according to her expectations. She thought a married couple would naturally have a baby

in a couple of years. But they have been married for four years and still do not have a

child. Participant #3 and her husband planed that both of them would continue to work

５５

after marriage. She was able to stay employed while working at a variety of jobs. Her

husband expressed his disappointment with her and eventually suggested her to take a

civil service examination. He thought it was the best option for participant #3 to take in

terms of getting a job. If she got pregnant, both of them agreed to stop preparing for the

exam. Participant #3 expected to be pregnant soon since both of them did not have any

medical problems for conceiving a baby. Despite their repeated attempts to have a child,

she did not get pregnant. She continued to prepare for the exam even though she did not

think the job would be a good fit.

When participant #3 signed up for the small group sessions, she expressed that

she was able to face who she really was in the previous small group experience. She

expected to learn how to make a change in her life throughout this small group

experience.

Participant #4 is a friend of participant #3 since high school. She grew up like an

orphan because her parents got divorced when she was an infant. Participant #4 grew up

with her grandmother until she passed away when participant #4 was still in middle

school. Her mother is a schizophrenic and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a

long time. Participant #4 remembered that her mother was on medications when

participant #4 was still a child. Her mother did not take her medication regularly and was

very abusive and violent. She thought her father had passed away so he did not look for

her. However, when she applied for her social security number, she found out that he

remarried after the divorce and has two other children.

For a long time, participant #4 suffered from feelings of abandonment, loneliness,

and even suicidal thoughts. Participant #3 was her best friend and used to listen to

５６

participant #4. She is the one who invited participant #4 to Church of the Lord when she

expressed that life was not worth living and she was all alone on earth. Participant #4

used to be a very dependent person and was a bystander all of her life. The researcher

recommended her to see a psychiatrist last year, so she was on medication for depression

for a couple of months. However, she complained that it was too expensive to see a

psychiatrist even though the medicine helped her.

Participant #4 has a boyfriend. They have been seeing each other for five years

now, but their relationship has not been a healthy relationship. He expects that they will

get married soon. But she could not make a decision, because she is afraid of the

consequences. In fact, participant #4 signed up for the previous small group, but she

dropped out in the first meeting. At the time, she did not feel that she was ready to go

through the self-reflection process and take her life seriously. Thus, participant #4 felt

that this Changing Attitudes toward Life study is her second chance. She observed that

the members of the previous small group made a significant change in their physical and

spiritual lives. When participant #4 signed up for this project, she expected to experience

some changes in her life.

Participant #5 is a sister of participant #2. She became a Christian because of her

sister, but she has been a nominal Christian. She has been living like a night owl for a

long time. Most of the people around her thought that it was just her bad habit. But she

expressed that she spent most of the daytime for other people and she could use the night

time for more productive and significant things for herself. Because of her lifestyle,

attending church was not her priority and she was rarely able to attend worship. Even

when she came, she would leave church right after the service because she was tired. So,

５７

this was her first time participating in a church activity, particularly in a small group.

Since her mother became a Christian and attends the Church of the Lord, participant #5

feels close to the Church of the Lord. Even though she does not know much about the

Christian faith, she believes that she is a Christian.

Participant #5 expressed that she occasionally wondered about the meaning or

purpose in life. But she would intentionally push these thoughts from her mind because

she was afraid of feeling morose. She confessed that she did not have an expectation from

the project for her benefit, but she signed up for it because she wanted to help the

researcher.

Participant #6 is a friend of participant #2. The researcher met participant #6 on

Christmas day in church, but participant #6 had previously visited the Church of the

Lord. She is a non-Christian growing up in a Buddhist family. She does not belong to any

religious group. She has read many books, mostly related to psychology, spirituality,

novels, etc., to learn what to expect from life. Participant #6 said “Library or reading

books is the source of peace to me.” The researcher experienced her as a seeker of the

Way. But even if she found the Way, she does not want to take it and rather decides to

stay in her own way with her own struggle. She honestly expressed that she was afraid of

change and felt that it was tiresome and troublesome to make a change in life.

Participant #6 has been going through a rough path in her life. She did not

communicate what the difficulty was in detail, but she said, “Since the bad experience

happened to me, that made me distrust people and I became a different person.” She also

expressed that she had been suffering from depression and occasionally serious suicidal

thoughts. The researcher recommended that she see a psychiatrist, but participant #6 said,

５８

“I know that I have a problem and according to my self-diagnosis, I have bipolar

disorder. I don’t need help and I can manage it by myself.” She has a cycle of different

moods. Her remedy for it has been reading books, gathering information from others, and

making herself busy with different responsibilities.

When participant #6 heard that Church of the Lord offered a project related to

finding meaning and purpose in life, she was not interested in the topic itself for her own

benefit. However, she was curious at how others would feel about it and she took it as an

opportunity to check on participant #2 since participant #6 learned that participant #2 was

having some health problems. In the first meeting, participant #6 expressed that she

expects nothing from life and she would not live long.

c. Pre-course and Post-Course Survey Instruments

This researcher initially had two groups: the target and control groups. However,

the researcher learned that since these two groups are not homogeneous, they cannot be

compared. Thus the researcher decided to compare only the pre and post survey data

from the target group in order to prove the success of this study.

The researcher used the Wilcoxon test formula to evaluate whether there was a

significant difference between the pre and post surveys from the target group. For the

SONG test, the Z-value is -1.5724. However, the size of N (6) the target group is not

large enough for the distribution of the Wilcoxon W statistic to form a normal

distribution. Therefore, it is not possible to calculate an accurate p-value. The W-value is

3. The critical value of W for N = 6 at p≤ 0.05 is 0. Therefore, the result is not significant

at p≤ 0.05. Likewise, for PIL test, the Z-value is -2.0226. However, the size of N (5) is

５９

not large enough for the distribution of the Wilcoxon W statistic to form a normal

distribution. Therefore, it is not possible to calculate an accurate p-value.

Since the size of the target group is not large enough, it is not statistically possible

to get a meaningful result. However, comparing the pre and post survey individual data

and interpreting the changes in score could show the success of this project. The purpose

of the surveys was to measure changes that may have taken place as a result of the

process. As mentioned earlier in Means of Measurement, SONG test was designed to

measure the strength of the motivation to find meaning and purpose in life and was

designed to be complementary to the PIL test. Therefore, if the score is low on the PIL

and high on the SONG, the person may lack meaning, but is motivated to find it.

If the SONG test score is 73 or less, the person is not very motivated to find

meaning. If it is between 73 and 87, it shows uncertainty, and if it is 87 or more, the

person is definitely motivated. The PIL test scores above 112 indicate definite presence

of purpose and meaning, scores between 92 and 112 are indeterminate and scores below

92 suggest a lack of purpose and meaning in life. The result from the target group shows

in a chart below.

６０

Table 4.2 Data results Initial and Post Course Surveys

The scores of the pre-course survey suggest that participant #1 was uncertain with

her motivation to find meaning and purpose in life and lacked meaning and purpose in

life. In the post-course survey, the scores on SONG dropped 6 points down and the scores

on PIL raised 11 points up. Participant #1’s scores on SONG indicated that she was

６１

uncertain with her motivation to find meaning and purpose in life, but her scores on PIL

indicated definite presence of purpose and meaning. It could be interpreted that

participant #1 found meaning and purpose in life so that her motivation to find them

decreased. This result was well-matched with what participant #1 stated in the group that

“I have been getting clearer about calling in my life as I participate in this study. I want to

live the rest of my life more responsibly. I wish I would be able to say that life has been

beautiful with my Lord at my last breath.”

Participant #2 scored 93 on SONG and 59 on PIL in the pre-course survey while

she scored 87 on SONG and 106 on PIL in the post-course survey. This result indicated

that participant #2 was definitely motivated to find meaning and purpose in life, but she

had lack of meaning and purpose in life before participating in this study. In the post-

course survey, her scores on SONG dropped 6 points down and her scores on PIL raised

47 points up. This result showed that participant #2 was still definitely motivated to find

meaning and purpose in life and even though it was indeterminate, her sense of meaning

and purpose in life was raised after participating in this study.

Participant #3 scored 90 on SONG and 63 on PIL in the pre-course survey while

she scored 92 on SONG and 111 on PIL in the post-course survey. Her pre-course survey

scores indicated that she was definitely motivated and had lack of meaning and purpose

in life before participating in this study. Her scores on SONG raised 2 points and on PIL

raised 48 points in the post-course survey which indicates that she was still definitely

motivated and her meaning and purpose in life was indeterminate after participating in

this study.

６２

Participant #4 scored 87 on SONG and 62 on PIL in the pre-course survey while

she scored 89 on SONG and 79 on PIL in the post-course survey. This scores suggests

that she was definitely motivated and had lack of meaning and purpose in life before and

after participating in this study. Scores on both SONG and PIL raised a little in the post-

course survey, but participant #4 was still within the range of having lack of meaning and

purpose. This result is also accurate that participant #4 expressed in the group that “I

want to find meaning and purpose in life, but I don’t know how to do that. This study

helped me little bit. But I don’t think I found meaning and purpose in life which could be

a foundation of my life.”

Participant #5 scored 97 on SONG and 64 on PIL in the pre-course survey while

she scored 89 on SONG and 65 on PIL in the post-course survey. The scores indicated

that participant #5 was definitely motivated to find meaning and purpose in life, but she

showed lack of it before and after participating in this study. There was a slight difference

between the pre and post-course surveys. Scores on SONG dropped 8 points and just 1

point up on PIL in the post-course survey. Participant #5 expressed that she wanted and

needed to rediscover meaning and purpose in life. However, since she was still new in

faith and church activities, she learned more about how faith helps Christians deal with

life issues and problems and was motivated to become a better Christian throughout this

study.

Participant #6 scored 71 on SONG and 58 on PIL in the pre-course survey while

she scored 64 on SONG and 58 on PIL in the post-course survey. Both surveys indicated

that participant #6 was lacking in meaning and purpose in life and was not very

motivated to find it. The result was exactly the same with what she expressed in the

６３

group. Participant #6 joined the study out of her curiosity in how others live their lives

and as a favor to a friend. But she expressed that “I don’t want to be bothered by finding

meaning and purpose in life. I won’t live long anyways.” According to Frankl, participant

#6 is a very difficult person to help out because she does not expect anything from life.

The post-course survey was taken right after the final small group session in which the

participants shared their autobiographies. Participant #6 expressed that she struggled with

depression and felt that she was hopeless and helpless. Her feeling seemed to affect the

scores as well. Later in the week, she called the researcher and expressed struggling with

this for several weeks. She experienced some changes in her thoughts and attitudes

toward life, but she did not admit them. She said, “I am afraid of the fact that I have to be

responsible with my life. Another chance for me to write my autobiography also provided

me an opportunity to reflect on myself and on the lessons which I have learned from this

study. This study impacted me and left a ripple in my life.”

Participant #2, #3, #4, and #5 were good candidates for this study. They were very

motivated to find meaning and purpose in life. This study was effectively helpful for

participant #2 and #3. They faithfully participated in this study and went through the

process. Participant #4 and #5 did not show much changes in their scores. When the

study was implemented, the researcher began with an emphasis on motivating

participants to find meaning and purpose in life. However, the data collected and

analyzed throughout the study found that the target group was already motivated but

lacked meaning and purpose in their lives. The participants desired practical tools in

order to help them find this.

６４

d. Five Weekly Group Session Evaluations

At the end of each group session, the six group participants completed an

anonymous survey evaluating the seminars that had taken place that day. Seven questions

were asked each week using a 5-point Likert scale. In addition, the participants were

invited to answer three questions, (questions 8-10), with narrative answers. Beside the

five weekly group session evaluations, the target group had an opportunity to share about

their experience at the last group reflection time, in a verbal presentation and in a written

form. This group session evaluation is based on the weekly evaluations and the group

reflection.

Question one asked, “Was the topic in this session clear?” The graph below tracks

the mean scores during the five-week period. The average mean score for the five weeks

was 4.77. Week one received the lowest scores (4.5) and Week five received a 5.0 score

(highest score possible). The participants expressed that they were busy trying to figure

out what this program was all about in the first session. Everyone came to the group with

different expectations. After the initial session, the group got a better grasp of the

Logotherapy key concepts. This helped the group understand the group session topics in

subsequent sessions. Overall, the high scores and the comments made concerning this

question showed that the group understood the topics clearly. The specific comments

on this questions suggested that the materials, especially hand-outs and the illustrations in

the sermons and group sessions, were very helpful for them to understand the topics and

had a great impact on them. Five out of six expressed that they made a note from some

impressive quotes or hand-outs from the sermon and the group sessions. They posted

them around their desks as reminders.

６５

Question 1 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 1

Question two asked, “Was the level of difficulty in this session appropriate?” The

graph below tracks the answers to this questions throughout the process. The average

mean score for the five weeks was 3.97. Week two received the lowest scores and week

one and five received relatively lower scores. The result accurately suggests that the

topics in the week two and five were difficult for the group members to process. The

specific comments for each topic will be analyzed in the later section.

From week one, the researcher learned that the participants had a hard time

reflecting about discussing matters that were unfamiliar. One made a joke that this project

seemed to require taking Philosophy as a prerequisite to this group session. Another one

expressed that since she has been busy with catching up her daily responsibilities, she had

not been thinking about life seriously for a long time. So, the researcher made a minor

modification to help the participants gain a better understanding of the sermon series and

group sessions. For example, group activity for week two was reflecting and sharing their

thoughts on the quotes from Dr. Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning. In order to

６６

help them have a better understanding of the context, a paragraph which contains the key

sentence was provided instead of just the sentence. While this activity was very helpful

and challenged the group to change their previous perspective on suffering in life, the

group expressed that it was very difficult to process the content.

Dealing with the topic of changing one’s attitudes toward life through finding

meaning and purpose in life was an arduous task. Reading Dr. Frankl’s Man’s Search for

Meaning was a little difficult for the group as well. They found that it required a

philosophical process to understand what the book was talking about. However, the result

suggests that the group members made progress in taking the challenge of changing their

attitudes toward life or at least looking at their past and present life from a different

perspective. The group members expressed that the group activities, personal reflection,

and guided journal were very helpful for them to digest the content and topics of the

group sessions. Altogether, prepared hand-outs, guided journals and personal reflection

enhanced their understanding of the challenging content and facing the challenge. The

overall feedback and written comments suggest that all group members agree that it was a

difficult process but worth the effort.

６７

Questions 2 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 2

Question three asked, “Was the content in this session relevant to you?” The

average mean score for the five weeks was 4.7. The first two weeks received the highest

scores (4.83), week three received the lowest scores (4.5), and the last two weeks

received the lower scores (4.67).

For this question, the analysis of the individual data is also meaningful and

interesting. After the last session, Participant #6 confessed in a text message that “the

content and the topic in each session was helpful and relevant to her personally, but I did

not want to admit it. I felt that it is necessary to let you know my honest answer since the

result will be included in your doctoral project and you deserve to hear it.” She also

expressed that she was constantly tempted to quit, especially after the session in week

two. She was tempted to quit because she felt she could or should not casually attend the

group sessions. She continued to participate in order to be able to move forward in the

process. She described the group sessions like a serial game in which she could not move

on to the next level unless she clears the present level. The high scores as well as the

specific comments associated with this question affirm that the group found the content

６８

in each session relevant to them and this project was sensitive to the needs of the group

members.

Question 3 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 3

Questions four asked, “After this session, do you feel that finding meaning and

purpose in life is important for your life?” The graph below traces the scores for this

question throughout the five-week process. The average group mean score was 4.47.

Starting from the lower scores (4.33) in week one, the result demonstrates the gradual

progress in this matter. This result shows that the group session helped them realize the

importance of finding meaning and purpose in life.

６９

Question 4 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 4

Question five asked, “Did this session motivate you to find meaning and purpose

in your life?” The group’s average mean score was 4.27. The first three weeks received

the same scores, 4.17, (the lowest score). Week four received the highest score, highest

score out of all the sessions at 4.5.

Week four was designed to be an enhanced session of the topic in week 2. Week

two challenged the group about their attitudes toward life, especially toward inevitable

suffering and pains in life. When the group heard “freedom of choice,” they showed a

strong reaction to resist it. After this group activity and discussion, four out of six

members expressed that they began to see that they have “freedom of choice.” On the

other hand, participants # 2 and # 6 expressed that it was hard for them to accept that they

have “freedom of choice.”

Week four specifically asked about their experience with the pains and suffering

in life and how they dealt with them. Furthermore, they were challenged to think about

７０

their future response to the inevitable pains. For the group activity, an interview in a

written document was distributed. The hand-out was an interview of the parents who lost

their dear daughter from the ship wreck in April, 2014. The ship wreck was a terrible

disaster which left strong shock and pain in the Korean society. The researcher was

careful to use the case to prevent the group from focusing on the tragedy itself but to

learn a lesson from it. The pain from the ship wreck would be still fresh to many

Koreans. As the case was strong, the impact on the group was also strong. It explains

why week four received the highest score for Question five. One of the main goals of this

project was to change the target group members’ attitudes toward life through finding

meaning and purpose in life. The scores and the specific comments show that each

session motivates them to find meaning and purpose in life. Based off the data, we found

they were motivated to change their attitudes towards life.

Question 5 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 5

７１

Question six asked, “Has this session provided helpful ideas and tools to you?”

The graph below traces the group’s answer to that question. The group’s average mean

score was 4.1. The first two weeks received the lowest scores, (3.7), and week five

received the highest score, (4.5). The target group expressed that they expected the

researcher to tell them, step by step, how to find meaning in life during the first meeting.

They were somewhat frustrated to hear that the researcher could not give them “a

prescription” for that. It was each person’s job to find the “prescription” for their own

lives. The scores reflected their expectation of practical tools or guide to follow. The

scores suggested that the group found the following group exercises to be the most

helpful: “Think about the five significant people who affected your underlying life-

beliefs and attitudinal values” in week three and “Think about your death and write a

eulogy for yourself” in week five. Although the group was challenged to reevaluate their

attitudes towards life and the materials helped them in each session, the group would

have preferred to have more practical and tangible tools and their scores on question 6

reflected this.

７２

Question 6 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 6

Question seven asked, “Did the presenter facilitate the safe environment for you

to share your personal story in the group?” The graph below traces the group’s answer to

this question throughout the five-weeks. The average group mean score was 4.5. Week

three received the highest score (4.8) and week one and four received the lowest score

(4.3). The scores suggest that the group believed the researcher was able to facilitate the

safe environment to share their personal stories in the group. It was observed that as the

participants got to know each other better, they felt safer to open themselves up in the

group. However, the researcher wonders if this question is completely fair. It could be

argued that while the researcher believed a good effort was made to facilitate a safe

environment for sharing, their own anxiety and insecurity to express themselves on

certain topics affected the scores.

７３

Question 7 for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

Figure 7

The researcher did not want to put pressure on the participants in the first session.

So, after teaching the key concepts of Logotherapy, a group discussion was initiated and

facilitated a space for group dialogue instead of asking the individuals the questions.

However, the group participants felt uncomfortable asking questions if they did not

understand. The researcher had to read their faces instead. Week three dealt with the

easiest topic to discuss, which is reflected in the score. Week four received the same

score with week one (4.3). The topic for week four was serious and the members of the

group were asked to talk about past personal pain and suffering. The topic for week five

was a serious one, also, thinking about their deaths. However, death was not something

that they personally had experienced, yet it was easier for them to express themselves on

this topic.

The researcher was aware of the group dynamics caused by the relations between

the participants. For instance, participant #2 approached the researcher and said, “I am

afraid that I am not ready to open up my serious personal stories in front of my friend,

participant #6. She knew my family and personal history, but she knows only on the

７４

surface.” As the group sessions got serious, participants #3 and #4 felt safe sharing while

participants #2 and #6 felt insecure. Participant #5 expressed that “It is the first time for

me to participate in a small group in church. I don’t know if I am doing right. Every other

participant is advanced in Christian faith and life than participant #6 and myself.”

Question eight asked participants to write about what they found most helpful

during the group sessions. The participants expressed that if no one initiates questions

about meaning and purpose in life, they would not think that discovering meaning and

purpose in life is this important. They appreciated the small group setting that reevaluated

their attitudes towards life and their lifestyles, and that helped create a confidential

environment. This helped them feel comfortable in sharing personal stories. The

participants were grateful for this group experience. Other notable mentions were the

materials prepared for the group sessions. Hand-outs, illustrations, and quotes were all

well organized to enhance the contents and the topic.

７５

Table 4.3 Question Eight for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

8. What did you find

most helpful during

the group sessions?

Week one:

1. The opportunity to evaluate my meaning and purpose in life

seriously once again.

2. The opportunity to think about my meaning and purpose in

life once again.

3. This session increased my interest in meaning and purpose in

life and it challenged me to think about them seriously.

4. I excitedly expect to get help for finding meaning and

purpose in life which I have been wondering about.

5. The opportunity to be engaged in a small group in church, to

get to know church fellows better and to think about life which

is a serious matter that I have avoided.

6. Comfortable atmosphere of participating in group activity

and the opportunity to reflect and think about my life. The topic

was difficult and strange to me. But I expect to get something

out of it.

Week Two:

1. Throughout this session, I became clearer about my meaning

and purpose in life.

2. Learning that I have a “freedom of choice” and the

importance of meaning and purpose in life.

3. The exercise with the quotes and the opportunity of applying

what Frankl says in his book to my own life.

4. The exercise with the quotes from Frankl, especially

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of

the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of

circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Inspired me.

5. This gave me a very unique opportunity to think about

something that I wanted to avoid. Participating in this group

session itself is very meaningful to me.

6. The quotes were very helpful to understand what the

researcher intended. The researcher explained the topic in an

easy way to follow. I have been avoiding to think about my life

because it was too serious, but this group session helped me

begin to think about it. I found out why I felt that my life was

meaningless. I began to hope for life even though it is a little

bit.

Week Three:

1. The exercise of finding 5 significant people. This helped me

recognize the significant things that I overlooked and I became

more appreciative of the people whom God brought to my life.

７６

2. I was able to recognize what beliefs and attitudes I cherish

for and the significant people who affected me in a positive

way.

3. The group exercise. Listening to others also reminded me of

something that I missed.

4. I thought I was all by myself on earth. But I learned that I

had people around me who affected me positively in the midst

of hardship. I became more appreciative of the significant

people and of my life.

5. The group exercise was a unique opportunity to appreciate

my life and the people who affected me in a positive way.

6. The opportunity to look back my life and to talk about it.

Week Four:

1. This gave me an opportunity once again to appreciate how

meaningful God is to me.

2. Throughout this group session, I began to have a positive

perspective to see my present pain and situation.

3. The hand-outs and the illustration, especially the interview of

the parents who lost their daughter from the ship wreck were

very helpful to me. I believe that they enhanced the group

session greatly.

4. Through journaling last week, I recognized my personal

experience with God. I learned the attitudes of how to face the

inevitable suffering.

5. No comment.

6. I learned about the attitude of overcoming the inevitable

pain.

Week Five:

1. This gave me an opportunity to seriously think about life.

This also helped me think about my future as well.

2. The group exercise of “If I could live life once again…” This

challenged me to seriously think about how to live life and my

attitude toward life.

3. The group exercise: Thinking about my death in this specific

way and writing a eulogy were very new experience to me, but

they had great impact on me.

4. Writing a eulogy for myself and the group exercise of “If I

could live life once again…” greatly impacted on me.

5. Thinking about my death challenged me to take my life

seriously.

6. I used to think that I can expect nothing from my life.

However, I began to have a little hope for my life and to think

about what life I wish for the future. Even though it is a small

step, it is a big progress to me.

７７

Question nine asked the participants to write about “What suggestion do you have

for enhancing future seminars?” The participants answered this question only in week

one and two. Most of the participants commented that the topic, “finding meaning and

purpose in life,” was a very heavy subject and no one seriously challenged them to

explore this idea before this group experience. They would appreciate specific

illustrations such as a case study and extra explanation to go through the personal

reflection. Improvement was made in providing paragraphs of the quotes instead of a

short quotes and adding more illustrations from daily living instead of using them from

Dr. Frankl’s books only.

Participant #2 asked the researcher to ask participant #5 questions to ensure she

was engaged in the group conversations. The researcher wanted to facilitate a safe

environment for sharing personal stories. She intended to use the first group session as an

introductory time for the subject, the structure of the group session as well as getting to

know each other. Therefore, she did not rush to get into the deep conversation or to

pressure participants to share in the first session. However, starting from week two, the

researcher carefully asked those who were relatively quiet about their opinions. The

researcher believes that this approach worked better even for participant #5.

７８

Table 4.4 Question Nine for Weekly Group Session Evaluations

9. What suggestion do you

have for enhancing future

seminars?

Week One:

1. No comment

2. I want my sister (participant #5) to be engaged in the

group activity more actively. Please ask participant #5

questions to ensure she was engaged in the group

conversations.

3. The topic itself was difficult to process. Specific

illustration would be appreciated.

4. No comment

5. No comment

6. The topic was difficult. I believe that not many

people like to think about it.

Week Two:

1. No comment

2. I needed more extra explanation to understand what

the quotes talk about.

3. No comment

4. No comment

5. No comment

6. I want to have more time to talk even after the group

session was over.

The researcher made it clear in the first session that she was available for

questions and for individual pastoral counseling along with the group sessions. The

participants approached her after the group sessions or reached her via phone. However,

participant #6 wrote, “I want to have more time to talk even after the group session,” in

week two. The researcher noticed that participant #6 tended to dominate the conversation

when she first met her on Christmas Day. Thus, the researcher suggested that, for the

sake of time, five minutes were given to each person to speak in the group. She probably

thought that she did not have enough time to express herself. The researcher was

available to participant #6 and initiated the conversation after group sessions. She learned

７９

that participant #6 was not ready to talk about her own story, but she wanted to give

advice to other participants.

The last question (10) asked the participants to offer any additional comments.

Only participant #2 wrote that she felt too burdened to open up herself in her

autobiography which was the last homework presented in the final group reflection time.

e. Curriculum Design

The curriculum for this project was designed to challenge the group participants’

thoughts and attitudes toward life in general and specifically on suffering. Week one

served as an introduction to the key concepts of Logotherapy, preparing the group for

engaging in their personal reflection, and group experience. Week two utilized the quotes

from Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, for group discussion. This exercise

challenged the group to think about “freedom of choice” in an inevitable suffering. It was

quite a challenge to most of the participants and some of them strongly expressed that

they did not agree that we human beings have “freedom of choice” in any circumstances.

The topic and the group exercise for week three was a lighter subject intentionally

chosen: listing five significant people who affected one’s beliefs and values. It was

intended to find out what values and beliefs they most cherish as well. Two things were

observed from the weekly group session evaluation. First, since the topic and the group

exercise for week three were lighter than others, the group participants relatively felt less

relevant, less challenging, and less significant to find meaning and purpose in life. The

group appreciated the topic and the exercise, though. The researcher intentionally

followed the strong challenge with an easier one. The goal was to facilitate a space where

the individuals could discuss the manner in a more light-hearted atmosphere. Upon

８０

further analysis, the researcher wonders if it would have been more effective to switch

the topics and exercises between weeks two and three. On the other hand, the participants

evaluated that the exercise of listing five significant people provided helpful ideas and

tools. The participants expected these kind of tools and ideas to help track their progress

in finding the meaning and purpose in life. Week four and week five dealt with subjects

that most people avoid if not challenged, grief and death. The participants also expressed

that it was difficult for them to process the topics.

f. Group Interview and the Final Reflection Paper

The group participants decided to write a final reflection paper and present it in

the final group session, instead of having an individual interview. The participants wrote

their experiences with the study, what the most helpful was, and what they have learned

from it in a chronological order. The final reflection paper offered an excellent source of

qualitative data concerning participants’ interactions and learning from the study. The

researcher categorized the contents of the final reflection paper and arranged them below.

Small Group Sessions Challenged the Participants

Every group participant expressed that thinking about the meaning and purpose in

life is not a usual practice. Three of the participants honestly confessed that when things

went wrong or when they faced problems, they used to blame others or their

circumstances. But, they admitted that they deserved the blame. Participant #3 expressed

that “I had not deeply thought about meaning and purpose in life before. I have learned

more about myself throughout this study and that meaning and purpose in life had been

uncertain to me. In result, I had not much appreciated my life. I realized that I was busy

to see the mote in my husband’s eyes and not in my eyes. Without knowing it, I became a

８１

self-centered and a self-righteous person.” Participant #4 stated that, “everything in my

life seemed to be meaningless and I used to blame my surroundings for everything that

went wrong. However, I realized that I was the one who gave up too early and did not do

much for my own life.”

The participants found it challenging to participate in the group sessions and

resisted the process from time to time as well. Participant #6 expressed that “I used to

wonder what the meaning of life would be, what was the reason to live, and how other

people are happy or pretend to be happy. I had a little hope or expectation to find out the

answers to those questions throughout the study. My interest was more in hearing from

others’ stories than dealing with my own problems. I rather regarded participating in the

small group sessions as a good social opportunity to see my friend and different people.

However, it did not allow me just to attend the sessions casually. I had to go through the

process. I had to face myself and problems in me. I had to admit and accept them as they

were. Otherwise I could not move on to the next sessions. It was like a game in which I

had to clear one level in order to move up to the next level. It was a very tough challenge

to attend the group sessions. In the second group session, I wanted to drop out, but since I

gave my words to participate in the study, I could not simply withdraw myself. In the

third week, I was getting more depressed and was frustrated at myself. My feelings used

to fluctuate between good mood and bad mood. I was emotionally and mentally tired as

time went by. I had to face myself as I was which I did not like and wanted to avoid. I

also had to accept and embrace myself. I was not familiar with the process of self-

reflection and finding out the answers for my own problems and questions. My usual way

was to avoid and to pick up some books which would tell me what to do or what others

８２

do in the similar situation. Looking at myself, I wanted to run away and avoid. I was

frustrated at myself and it made me feel gloomy.”

Integration of Sermons and Small Group Sessions

Listening to sermons touched the listeners. The participants expressed that the

integration of sermons and small group sessions were more effective and helpful to them.

Participants shared that the materials and the activities in the group session enhanced

what they heard from the sermon and helped the participants go through the process of

internalizing the message. Participant #6 stated that “The researcher mentioned King

Solomon who said, “Meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless. Everything is

meaningless.” in her preaching. That struck me because those words described exactly

how I have been feeling. It was comforting to know that even King Solomon felt the

same way I did. I did not know why I felt that life was vain and did not know what was

wrong. The same message was continued in the group session. I learned about existential

vacuum and why it happened.”

Quotes from Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning and different illustrations

from the Bible and the life experience impacted the participants. Participant #4 said, “the

quote, ‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human

freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s

own way,’ touched me greatly. I wish I could have heard these words earlier, but I am

happy to hear them even now.” Participant #3 expressed that the interview of the parents

who lost their child from the shipwreck was touching. She was challenged by their

attitudes toward the inevitable suffering. She also said, “I posted the quote, ‘So live as if

you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as

８３

wrongly as you are about to act now!’ on the wall as a reminder.” Participant #5

mentioned the Kimchi illustration was very real to her. She shared that “Since I am as

spiritual as most of the participants in this group, Kimchi illustration was easy to follow

and I know the process of making Kimchi.”

Small Group Experience and Reflection

No matter what their initial expectations were, the small group’s experiences and

reflections were helpful to the participants. The group exercises, hand-outs, and activities

provided opportunities for the participants to look back on the past and helped them

reflect on their lives. Every participant expressed that the process of reflection and

writing a journal was not easy to do, but it was helpful.

Participant #1 stated that “I realized that I took a lot of things and people for

granted that I should be thankful by looking back on my past.” Participant #2 expressed

that “The exercise of thinking about five significant people in my life helped me realized

that I have been encouraged, loved, and comforted by the good people around me when I

was struggling with problems and troubles. Overwhelmed by my circumstances and pain,

I could not afford to appreciate what I had. But I was reminded of the loving support that

I have received from the good people around me when I was in suffering. I am more

thankful to them. I also realized that God showed His mercy, care, love, and protection

through others’ care and support. I also want to be a tool of showing God’s care and love

to those who are in trouble and pain.” Throughout the process, the participants were able

to recognize that their lives had been meaningful and valuable, but they had not

appreciated them and focused on what they did not have.

８４

Listening to others’ personal stories and engaging in the interaction with other

group participants also turned out to be a very helpful experience. Participant #4 wrote

that “My problem and pain were too big for me to carry, so I thought I was not ready to

listen to others’ stories in the beginning. But as I participated and engaged in the small

group sessions, I was touched by their stories and learned from them a lot. I used to feel

that I was the most miserable person in the world and no one could really understand me

because they did not have the same experiences I have. But each of them carried their

own problems and pain. I experienced healing while I was engaging in the group

sessions.” After participant #4 presented her paper, participant #5 expressed that “I did

not know participant #4 had that painful background before. I am proud of you

participant #4 and want to give you a big hug.” Group participants shared that they got to

know one another better and felt more closeness after all. They were understood,

supported, and even challenged by one another. Participant #6 who was a non-Christian

expressed that “Even though it was only a little, I was encouraged to be brave to face and

accept myself by watching other members to do that.”

Autobiography

Writing an autobiography allowed the participants to reflect on themselves and to

find meaning in their lives. The specific comments from the participants proved that “A

life review is one of the ways by which one can find meaning in life and is commonly

designated as being therapeutic without therapy - it is an efficient method of evaluating,

integrating and accepting one’s own life.”

120

Here are the specific comments on writing

an autobiography from the participants: Participant #2 and #6 were not able to complete

120

Sunhee Cho, “Effects of Logo-autobiography Program on Meaning in Life and Mental Health

in the Wives of Alcoholics,” in Asian Nursing Research Vol. 2, no. 2 (June 2008), 130.

８５

writing their autobiographies on time. But after listening to other participants presenting

theirs, they were motivated and expressed that they wanted to try writing once again. In

the additional final session, participant #6 expressed that it was still difficult for her to

embrace her own life. Her autobiography also did not contain any significant information

but general statements. She expressed that “Presenting how I experienced this study was

much easier to me and I could write it. But writing an autobiography was totally

different. I felt very burdened by writing it and did not know what to begin, even though

the format was provided. I read an autobiography of Juyoung Chung, the late founder of

Hyundai during the week. But my life was not that great and I could not find something

to write about. After listening to other group participants’ autobiographies, I was moved

and expressed that I will write and want to present it in the group. But it was still difficult

to look back the past I had gone through.”

Participant #2 mentioned that “This gave me an opportunity to evaluate the way I

live my life. I was glad to be reminded that I had a great moment in my life and was able

to see how I became powerless over my life and just lived from day to day without

meaning and purpose.” Participant #3 stated that “After writing my autobiography and

reading it to myself, I was surprised to learn that I was writing my own story as if I was

telling other’s. I found my problem right there and the way how I lived my life.”

Participant #4 expressed that “While writing my autobiography, I had a chance to recall

somethings that I forgot for long time. There had been definitely painful time and I want

to erase some parts of my life. But I don’t want to be bound by the past. In the past, I was

a person who was overwhelmed by the problems and greatly affected by circumstances.

But I want to be mature and to live life proactively. It has been a healing process as well.

８６

After completing my autobiography, I gave a credit to myself that even though I did not

achieve something great in life, I did not go astray but became a grown-up who has a job

and built up my own life so far, in spite of all the difficulties. It was also comforting to

hear from the other participants saying that they were proud of me.”

Freedom to Choose

The small group session in the second week focused on “freedom to choose”.

When the group heard about freedom to choose, the participants expressed a strong

reaction to that, especially participants #4, #5, and #6 thought there was no way to find

meaning or purpose in living in the concentration camps. If they were to live in the

concentration camps, they said, “I will give up my life.” “I will try to find a way to

escape no matter how hard it would be.” and “I have no idea what to do, but I think I will

kill myself before long.” The researcher agreed that it might sound heartless to those who

were in the present pain and suffering. However, after a long discussion and interaction,

some of them came to a point that “freedom to choose” would help them overcome the

pain better and manage their lives better. Here are specific comments from the

participants: participant #2 mentioned that “I want to deny that I can choose my attitude

in any given set of circumstances when I first heard about it. If I were in the

concentration camp, I would waste days just hoping and praying that it would pass away

soon. But the way Viktor Frankl dealt with the horrible experiences in the camps greatly

impacted me. We knew how long he suffered in the Nazi concentration camps, but he

himself did not know when his suffering would end. Now, I agree with what Dostoevski

said, “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.” I am

motivated to discover meaning in my suffering.”

８７

Participant #3 said, “While I was listening to Viktor Frankl’s attitude toward

living in the Nazi camps, I was shocked. I was sad and angry at myself who definitely did

not have the attitude like Frankl’s in my own life.” Participant #4 expressed that “I still

think that a person is bound by limitations of heredity and environment. But I also believe

that my attitude can make a difference in life. It was not on me to choose what family I

was born in and what surroundings I grew up in the past. But what is the point if I just sit

and cry over what I cannot change and wasting my life with self-pity. I want to make my

own future from now on.” Participant #6 stated that “The word, ‘freedom of choice’

struck me and stirred my mind all the way through this study. I am still tempted to say

that it was not my fault to choose the circumstances that I am in and I had no option to

choose but surviving day by day without hoping too much. However, I cannot deny that

the choices that I have made built up my life. Whether I realized it or not, I have been

making a choice every day in my life. I also know that I should make responsible choices

in life. Honestly, I don’t want to be responsible with my life and I am still afraid of living

a responsible life.”

Thinking about One’s Own Death

In the fifth week, the participants had an opportunity to think about their own

death and to write a eulogy for themselves. This was a new but a very meaningful

experience to them. Participant #6 was not able to finish writing her eulogy on time. She

said, “I used to think that I will die when I reach to a certain age. I never thought about

writing a eulogy for myself or for others. It is very foreign to me. Maybe after listening to

other members’ eulogy, I would get some hint and would be able to write my own.”

Participant #5 wrote one sentence for her eulogy, “Ms. Kim is buried here. She cared for

８８

others, loved her family and pets, and did not want to be a burden on anyone.” These two

participants received more benefit from listening to others participants’ eulogies. They

were touched and gave supporting feedback and comments on other participants’

eulogies.

On the other hand, four other participants cried while they were presenting their

eulogies. Participant #1 shared her experiences with thinking about her death and writing

a eulogy for herself: “It was the first time for me to think seriously about my own death. I

was surprised that within the given 30 minutes, I was able to complete my thought and

the one-paragraph eulogy contains what I really wish for my life. I believe that the Holy

Spirit intervened while I was writing. This experience made me more serious with my

life. I want to live the rest of my life meaningfully and responsibly as I would be

remembered as a blessed person whom I described in my eulogy.” Participant #4 wrote

her eulogy imaging that she died today. She stated that “I used to wish to die young or

even to think of killing myself number of times. But while I was writing a eulogy for

myself, I realized that it would be a shame to die young. I began to love myself and to

want to be confident instead of worrying about how others look at me.”

g. Collaborative Sermon Review

Collaborative sermon review was an important learning tool for the preparation

and delivery of the sermon series for this project. Initial steps in this process began with a

meeting between Rev. Eunil Lee and the researcher to give him an opportunity to review

the survey instrument and clarify the goals of our collaboration. The process of review

consisted of Rev. Lee either attending the worship or watching the recorded video file

８９

when he could not present during the preaching and then scheduling to meet within the

week to review the sermon and instrument.

From this collaborative sermon review, the researcher was able to receive

quantitative and qualitative data related to 1) the appropriateness of scripture utilization

for the sermon, 2) the range of sermon complexity, 3) effectiveness of the sermon in

addressing issues of finding meaning and purpose in life, 4) the sermon balance of

scripture exposition and illustration, and 5) providing helpful guide for finding them.

Responses from Rev. Lee on the initial metric measuring the appropriate use of

scripture for the sermon were strongly agree. This measurement confirmed the careful

selection of scripture readings for this project and for the biblical understanding of

humanity which is a fundamental foundation of this project. The researcher was very

careful to select the scriptures for the sermon series and to use them appropriately and in

the proper context.

Sermon preparation for this project was challenging with respect to sermon

complexity. The key concepts of Logotherapy were not strange to the congregation. They

rather reminded the congregation of things that they missed or avoided in life. The

researcher tried not to bore the congregation with the same old story. The measurement

for sermon complexity was 20% a little simplistic, a 60% for neither too simplistic or too

complicated and a 20% for little bit complicated. The result for a little bit complicated

was in review of the second sermon and for a little bit simplistic was in review of the

fourth sermon of the series. Qualitative data on these sermons included the comments “it

was a little bit complicated to see finding values, living by the flesh and by the Spirit, and

Frankl’s experience presented in one sermon,” and “suffering is a topic for wider

９０

theological discussion such as why God allows suffering and so on. But this sermon

narrowed it down to focus on how to deal with suffering, our attitudes toward suffering.”

Rev. Lee thought that the sermon in the fourth week was a little bit simplistic. The

researcher understood the point he made. However, it should be also considered that this

project or Logotherapy discourages the “why” question, “why this suffering happened to

me?” but encourages the “how” question, “how I deal with this suffering?” The

researcher thinks that it would be better to remind the listeners of the premise,

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must

recognize that it is he who is asked.”

121

In discussion it was noted that the first sermon was attempting to share a little bit

too much information in one sermon. The target group would have some time to process

the information in the small group sessions, but it would be somewhat overwhelming for

the rest of the congregation. The researcher recognized her anxiety to accomplish too

much in one sermon and was afraid that this would cause the complexity in sermon. She

modified the remaining four sermons, but the result showed that when the researcher was

passionate to teach or challenge the congregation, the sermon became more complicated.

121

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 109.

９１

Sermon Complexity

Figure 8

The sermon for the third week was originally from Psalm 42 which required a

deeper devotional type of reflection, but the researcher decided to change the whole

message and used the scripture from Acts chapter two which the congregation is very

familiar. The original intention of changing the whole sermon was for better

communication with the non-Christian participant and the congregation. The event of the

Pentecost communicated finding meaning and purpose in life by the experiential values

in general and the message was easy to understand even by the non-Christian participant.

The researcher learned that lowering the level of complexity of the sermon allowed for

greater listener engagement.

The measurement for the effectiveness of the sermon in addressing issues of

finding meaning and purpose in life was strongly agree. Qualitative data on this part

showed that the sermons were effectively addressing issues of finding meaning and

purpose in life with the biblical foundation on it and the illustrations mostly from what

Frankl talks about in his books and from the life experience which motivated the

９２

congregation. This result is also related to the sermon balance of scripture exposition and

illustration. The evaluation on the balance of scripture exposition and illustration was

also strongly agree.

The final metric for collaborative sermon review evaluated the effectiveness of

the sermon in emphasizing on finding meaning and purpose in life, and providing helpful

guide for finding them. Responses ranged from 60% strongly agree to 40 % agree. The

result showed that the sermons encouraged the congregation to realize the importance of

finding meaning and purpose in life, but it did not provide practical ways to find them. In

reviewing the specific comments, the researcher learned that the sermon series was

successful to challenge the listeners to find meaning and purpose in life and she asked a

misleading question. Every sermon was dealing with the key concepts of Logotherapy.

Finding meaning and purpose in life was not the only thing spoken in the sermon. For

instance, the first sermon talked about human beings who are made with meaning and

purpose in life, the second sermon talked about a freedom of choice, the third sermon

dealt with one of the ways to find meaning and purpose in life, by experiential values, the

fourth sermon talked about our attitudes toward inevitable suffering, and attitudinal

values, and the last sermon talked about human dignity. The fair question would be

“Were you able to identify the key concepts of Logotherapy in the sermon and did they

affect your attitudes toward life?”

９３

Providing the Ways of Finding Meaning and Purpose in Life

Figure 9

Improvements were made in the sermon series by lowering the complexity of the

sermon, reducing the amount of information and focusing on the main points.

Participation in the collaborative review of sermons provided honest and thoughtful

insight that served to strengthen the researcher’s attention to detail in sermon preparation

and further increased her ability to communicate with the listeners. The collaborative

review served to improve the quality of sermon development and delivery for this project.

h. Mid-course modification

Unlike the initial plans, the group made a decision to add a non-Christian to the

group. This happened in the first place to fill up the minimum number of the group. Only

four Christian women from the membership of Church of the Lord on board geared up

for the group sessions before finalizing the recruitment. However, the group also could

not ignore the individual’s need that she has been dealing with depression, emptiness, and

even suicidal thoughts. It was an adventure for the group as well as for the researcher,

since we were not familiar with the person and her first impression to the group members

９４

was not very positive due to her overly talkative demeanor. The researcher worried that

adding this non-Christian to the group would affect the group dynamics in a negative

way. Besides, this project was initially designed for Christian women generally and

specifically for the membership of Church of the Lord.

However, the result showed that adding a non-Christian to the group produced

unexpected useful experience. It has been a very interesting study and beneficial

experience for the researcher, as well as for the group. Each group participant noticed the

manifested distinction between someone who found the “Ultimate meaning” in life and

one who does not. They unexpectedly had an opportunity to compare how their beliefs

affected their attitudes toward life as well.

Initial plans for this study was designed to consist of five group sessions and one

final group reflection. However, this project ended up having one more group session.

During the initial session and the first session, it was announced that writing their own

autobiographies was the last homework to do. Every participant showed their concern

that writing itself is a tough task and it would be more difficult to write an autobiography.

Two of the participants struggled with resistance for a couple of weeks and could not

finish writing them on time. Participant #6 was not even able to start writing. Three of the

group members were serious about personal reflection and writing an autobiography.

These participants were emotional when they presented their autobiographies and their

honesty in reflection and writing also touched the rest of the group. At the end of the final

group reflection which was supposed to be the last session, the two participants who

could not finish writing on time expressed that they wanted to finish writing their

autobiographies and another member showed her wish to rewrite. They wanted to present

９５

their autobiographies in the group. After shortly pondering if the group session should be

terminated according to the original schedule, the researcher offered to have an additional

session to interact with two more autobiographies. The participants’ experiences of

processing and presenting their written autobiographies and listening to others greatly

impacted the group. Thus, the group generously agreed to have an additional session on

February 21, 2016.

Since the group decided to meet one more time, the researcher carefully requested

the group if they were willing to write a final reflection paper. Since the group had a

chance to verbally express how they experienced the group, and it was audibly recorded,

the researcher emphasized that it was not mandatory. But she thought it would be

beneficial to the participants to record what they experienced in the group by writing, as

well as the researcher could secure additional qualitative data for the study. The

researcher offered some guidance how to write the final reflection. She intended it to be a

reminder of what they have learned and experienced in the group even when they read

them in the future.

The additional session turned out to be an additional blessing to the group. The

two participants appreciated their second chance and made good use of it. Every

participant wrote and presented their final reflection paper. The writing was structured in

chronological order. The hand-outs and journals helped them recall what they

experienced in the group and in their personal reflection. Group participants exchanged

their feedbacks and actively engaged with one another. Some expressed that other

participants’ presentation reminded them of what they already forgot and missed. They

were surprised that they were challenged and determined to change their attitudes toward

９６

life each week, but some of them were already forgotten. The group agreed that it was

important to record their experience in writing for a long term benefit.

９７

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

Changing Attitudes toward Life has taught the key concepts of Logotherapy,

encouraged participants to reflect on their attitudes toward life, and challenged

participants to improve their life through finding or rediscovering meaning and purpose

in life. Through a sermon series, group sessions, journaling, and reflection, the target

group participants have been encouraged to process what they have learned in order to

achieve lasting changes in their mind and life.

Changing Attitudes toward Life successfully achieved its goals. Even though there

were initial concerns about dealing with a serious topic and resistance of personal

changes in life, the target group participants were not absent a single day and sincerely

participated in all the requirements. Group participants recognized some changes in

themselves as well as in other members, regarding their attitudes toward life and the way

they looked at an inevitable suffering. This change has been a crucial indicator of the

success of this project.

This project was designed to be an educative pastoral group counseling project

which aimed for healing and wholeness. Every participant in the target group had been

dealing with inevitable suffering in a greater or less degree including the researcher.

Some expected this study to be an exit for their immediate suffering and also expected a

radical change in their mind and life. Some were satisfied with their changed mind to see

their lives as meaningful and purposeful while others wanted to have a ready-made

９８

practical solution which they could use for their pain. Everyone had a somewhat different

expectation and had a different degree of satisfaction. However, it was observed

throughout this study that each and every one in the target group experienced healing and

growth.

Changing attitudes toward life does not occurred by a one-time event. After being

challenged and going through the process of reflection, changes progressively occur.

Lasting and long term change will be dependent upon a continued intentional effort

focused toward living a responsible life. In fact, after this study was done, participants

continued to talk about becoming hopeful and they decided not to remain in self-pity but

to stand up for making their own future.

a. Findings

Confirmation of the Need of Young Women in their 30s through 40s in Korea

As mentioned in Ministry setting, many of the young generation seem to have lost

the will to live due to the projected dark future. This is also true of many of the Christian

young women in Korea. When it was asked, “How old were you when you were in a

crisis in life?” twelve out of eighteen answered that they were in 20s through 40s. Of

course, this result can only speak about the congregation of Church of the Lord.

However, it fairly shows that the life in the age of 20s through 40s is tougher than other

age groups. Helping the young people find meaning and purpose in life, and helping them

get through the inevitable pain and sufferings in life will open a great contact point even

with non-Christians.

９９

Small Group Process was More Effective than Simply Listening to Sermon

The control group only listened to the sermon series and the target group

participated in group sessions integrated with the sermon series. Yalom mentions “[t]he

task of therapy groups is to engage in meaningful communication with the other group

members, to reveal oneself, to give feedback, and to examine the hidden and unconscious

aspects of one’s feelings, behavior, and motivation.”

122

Although it was not a therapeutic

pastoral counseling group, changing the group participants’ attitudes toward life was

expected. It was learned that those who participated in the group sessions received more

benefits from this project than those who attended the sermon series only. It was also

observed that personal change occurred when the person spent time on self-reflection and

on what they learned.

Different Age Groups Showed Different Level of Interest

When this project was designed, the researcher guessed that the elderly would not

be interested in the topic of “Changing Attitudes toward Life.” The elderly expressed that

this would be recommendable for the young people. One elderly said, “I am satisfied with

my life.” Another said, “I have gone through the ups and downs of life. At this point of

my age, nothing bothers me as it did before.” On the other hand, some people attended

the Sunday afternoon service because they were interested in the topic. This also

represented that different age groups have different needs.

Teaching the Key Concepts of Logotherapy is Challenging in the Local Church

This was the first study of a topic utilizing a psychological theory in the history of

the church. Constant high attendance confirmed that the church members were interested

122

Irvin D. Yalom, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 228.

１００

in this new way in general and how to live a meaningful and purposeful life in particular.

They were willing to invest their time to learn the key concepts of Logotherapy as it

relates to the attitudes toward life. However, there were several challenges as this project

was implemented.

First, it was repeatedly mentioned that finding meaning and purpose in life was a

difficult topic. Group participants were required to be introspective about their meaning

and purpose in life and the process of reflection was also a tough task for them. The

initial response to this task of thinking about life seriously was being reluctant to do so,

because they thought it would give them a headache and they were too busy to think

about life seriously. It was observed that some were not familiar with reflection and did

not like the time consuming process. They expressed that thinking and talking about life

was more likely to be a subject in Philosophy class at college. They regarded it as

something that they would worry about least. It was the first challenge to motivate the

participants to take it seriously to find meaning and purpose in life.

Second, it was observed that some people felt uncomfortable with “psychology”

or “counseling.” The researcher believes that a good effort was made to communicate

that this was not a therapeutic but an educative pastoral counseling project. However,

psychology or counseling is immediately associated with a therapy or a problem to some

people. In the first Sunday with this study, one of the elderly left church just before the

worship started. Her family later talked to the researcher that the church member was

afraid that she would be asked to talk about her personal stories in church. This was a

little bit surprising to the researcher. Since Church of the Lord is small in number and

１０１

everyone fairly knew one another, the researcher expected that church members would

feel comfortable with one another.

Third, the target group had been wondering about and looking for an answer to

the meaning and the purpose of their lives. They expected to find it throughout this

project. In the first session, the researcher communicated what Dr. Frankl said in Man’s

Search for Meaning, “In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer

to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

123

The researcher also emphasized that she cannot give a prescription to their lives and they

are the ones who find the answers. It was a big challenge to them. Some expressed that if

the researcher tells them what to do from number one to five, they were willing to follow.

Lastly, live a responsible life was a tough task for some. They were able to talk of

several things when it was asked, “Imagine that you are in the Nazi concentration camp.

What would help you to find peace, meaning, or comfort in your suffering?” The

researcher asked them to apply the same thing in their lives. Some of them could not

accept that they could practice the same thing in their struggles and sufferings. It was

easy to talk about life in the third person, but it was difficult to embrace their own lives.

Self-examination and Reflection was a Difficult Task

As mentioned above, the participants felt burdened by self-examination and

reflection throughout the study. Several reasons were observed for that. First, they simply

did not know how to do it. They have been living life given to them without putting much

thoughts to it. Just living their given life was overwhelming and they could not afford to

learn or do self-examination or reflection. Instead of examining their life reasonably, they

123

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 109.

１０２

reacted to life emotionally. Second, some of the participants shared that they have been

avoiding reflection on life because they were afraid of facing their true selves and the

changes that it would require of them. Another person expressed that she avoided

reflecting on the meaning of life because she would be drawn to it without knowing the

answers to it.

Through this observation, the researcher learned that she identified the need of the

participants correctly, but misread how to meet their need. The researcher has a tendency

to overdo self-examination and reflection. She assumed that everyone was doing

reflection regularly and she was more cautious about it. However, it turned out to be that

many people avoid it for different reasons.

While the researcher was consulting with her project supervisor, Dr. Doug

Dickens, he mentioned that the researcher had a tendency to get things done right. This

comment led the researcher to think about Korean culture in general and eventually she

found out something about self-reflection.

124

Since Koreans culturally regard community

and relationships as very important, self-reflection means to ponder whether one’s

behavior and beliefs are right according to the social expectation. For a long time, the

teaching of Confucianism has been playing as a social norm in the Korean society.

Therefore, many Koreans cared about following the right rules or norms. Harmony with

others in community is traditionally considered to be a virtue. Likewise, the researcher

thought that the group participants were not familiar with setting up their own meaning or

purpose in life so that they asked for the researcher to show them what to follow. They

124

Even though this book does not specifically talk about self-reflection, Richard Nisbett’s book,

The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why (New York, NY:

Free Press, 2003) would be helpful to understand how Koreans think.

１０３

expressed that if the researcher provided them the ways of finding meaning and purpose

in life from step one to step five, they were willing to follow. This is exactly what Frankl

talks about the reason why many people in the twentieth century struggle with the

existential vacuum: “No instinct tells him what he has to do, and no tradition tells him

what he ought to do; sometimes he does not even know what he wishes to do. Instead, he

either wishes to do what other people do (conformism) or he does what other people wish

him to do (totalitarianism).”

125

The researcher is also a Korean who was born and raised in Korea. Therefore, the

researcher assumed that she knew the target group well and she would not have many

problems with communication with them. However, the researcher was frustrated with

the fact that even though she asked questions to spark up the process of self-reflection

and provided materials for useful insights, the participants did not seem to integrate what

they have learned from each group session and their own reflection time. It does not

mean that this project was not very helpful for the target group. The target group

demonstrated their understanding of the key concepts of Logotherapy along with the

biblical and theological foundations for the topics. The researcher wondered why she felt

dissatisfaction even though the qualitative and quantitative data demonstrated the success

of this project. The researcher found two things. One is that she had a high expectation on

this project. The other one is that the participants had been struggling with resistance to

accept themselves and to change their attitudes toward life. This process takes time. That

is why the participants came back to the researcher and shared what hit them later on. In

125

Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 106.

１０４

this regards, the researcher thought that the duration of this study, five or six weeks, was

not long enough to digest and to process what the target group had learned.

Effective Use of Different Materials in Christian Education and Pastoral Counseling

One of the benefits of this study is that it was not a traditional Bible study or

spiritualized devotional study. Rather it utilized different sources such as a psychology

and counseling theory, life related illustrations, and group activities which people outside

of church could participate in without much resistance.

One observation relative to the small group is that prepared materials such as

hand-outs and illustrations were helpful for the group participants. The researcher learned

the importance of preparation and the effectiveness of the creative ways to approach

ministry, especially to the young people. The researcher will continually utilize various

sources and materials for church education and pastoral counseling beside the Bible and

devotional materials.

Personal Discoveries

The past years of working on this project enriched the researcher’s personal

growth as a pastor, a pastoral counselor, and a person. First, many Christians in Korea

traditionally expect a pastor to be an authoritative leader. The target group participants

also expected the researcher to be an authoritative and a charismatic leader so that they

also expected to hear the answers to their questions and problems from her. In fact, the

researcher’s style of pastoring and pastoral counseling is to be considerate, but to let them

face the problem as it is and to exhort to make a change for it. In doing so, her leadership

style was more authoritative.

１０５

However, the researcher has tried to be a facilitator in this study. The participants

expected the researcher to tell them what to do, but she has been telling them it was their

job to find what to do. While listening to the participants’ stories, the researcher

recognized that they were buried themselves in their problems and struggles so that they

could not afford to stand back and look objectively at the situation. What the researcher

did as a pastor and a pastoral counselor in this study was to briefly restate what they have

said and to the point. That helped the participants to clearly see what the real problem

was and they were eventually able to find their own answers. It was a challenge to the

researcher. First, the researcher felt that she could be regarded as an incapable leader who

was not able to give the useful and helpful guide to the participants who asked for

guidance. Second, the researcher was tempted to intervene while the participants were

going through the process. However, because the researcher really wanted to help them

instead of rescuing them, she was able to be patient. The learning process for the

researcher has included significant reflection on her leadership style and to be patient as

the participants grow.

Since the researcher is pastoring in a church where her mother is a senior pastor,

she has been cautious about the dynamics and very careful with herself in church. The

researcher also belongs to the age group of 30s through 40s and there was a participant

older than the researcher. Her effectiveness as a pastor is related to her ability of

remaining differentiated as a pastor while remaining connected to the congregation.

Throughout this study, it was confirmed once again that the congregation recognized the

researcher as their pastor. The researcher realized that her over concern about her

personal relationship with the senior pastor consequently limited and reduced her

１０６

function and authority as a pastor by herself. This really affected the researcher as a

preacher. She enjoys the preparation for the sermon in her own time, but she feels

challenged when she preaches in church. The researcher recognized her under

functioning in church and realized that she placed herself as a teacher, rather than a

preacher. This explains the reason the researcher feels more comfortable to preach an

exegetical sermon. However, throughout the five-week sermon series, the researcher tried

different styles of preaching and she was happy to experience that the sermon was

effectively touching the congregation and impacted them to make a change in their

attitudes toward their lives. Preaching is the area that the researcher continually needs to

grow. Through a continuing process of self-examination, trying different styles or

creative styles of preaching, and monitoring sermons, the functioning role as preacher

will improve.

b. Future Opportunity for Growth and Contributions to Ministry Setting

The researcher has been a pastor and a counselor in ministry ever since she was

first involved in ministry seventeen years ago. However, she always has a desire to be

better equipped for ministry in a professional way. Such a desire led her to be in the

Doctor of Ministry program and to be trained in and complete the four units of Clinical

Pastoral Education. While this project was being implemented, the researcher saw that all

the training and education she received from seminaries, the D.Min program, and the

CPE was effective for ministry. They especially provided a system, tools and methods

which the researcher has been longing to utilize in ministry. This project has helped the

researcher to see an opportunity to develop creative tools and methods for ministry which

could include integration of the Bible and the materials outside church. The researcher

１０７

will continue to be interested in studying pastoral counseling tools and methods in order

to be better equipped as a pastoral counselor.

The researcher envisions that the curriculum design will be strengthened with

some modification and will be used in the future with different groups of people. The

model with minor adaptions could be used by pastors or laypersons in other churches or

ministry fields. In fact, Rev. Lee, a collaborative sermon reviewer, showed an interest in

implementing this project in his ministry. The researcher believes that this curriculum

could be used as a tool for church to be more attractive to a younger generation and for

reaching out to young people no matter what their faith.

１０８

APPENDIX 1

Bulletin Insert for Meaning and Purpose in Life Study

Meaning and Purpose in Life Study

Rev. Jihye Kim is working on her Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) at the Divinity

School of Gardner-Webb University in N.C. She invites you to voluntarily participate in

her study “Changing Attitudes toward Life: Using Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy in

Ministry with Christian Women in Church of the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-do, South

Korea.” This study is a component of her D.Min program. She needs your help in order

for this study to be successful. The purpose of the study is to help our church grow in

Spirit-centered wholeness in general and to help them address the inevitable pains and

suffering in life by finding meaning and changing their attitudes toward life. She needs

five to seven participants for the group sessions. Other members of the church will

participate in this study only by attending the sermon series during the regular Sunday

afternoon services and taking the surveys before and after the program begins.

You are eligible to participate in group sessions if you are:

A member of Church of the Lord who is 1) a female, 2) in ages of 30s through

40s, 3) willing to explore her own purpose/meaning in life, and 4) able to participate in

the group sessions.

This project will include a five-week sermon series and six weeks of group

sessions including the final reflection session for the group participants. The sermon

series will provide an opportunity for the entire church to evaluate their lives and reflect

on their meaning and purpose in life. The group sessions will be integrated with the

sermon series and provide various practical exercises based on Logotherapy to enhance

what they heard from the sermon.

The implementation of the sermon series and the group sessions will begin on

January 3, 2016 and end on January 31, 2016. After a week break, final group reflection

from the group participants will take place on February 14 with the administration of the

post course survey and opportunity to share their experience in the course. The detail

schedule and the topics are as follow:

１０９

Sermon and Group Sessions Schedule

Date

Sermon Title & Text Group Session Topic

Week

One

January 3,

2016

“What does it mean

to be human?”

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18

Search for Meaning

- Group Exercise: Realizing

Creative Values

Week

Two

January 10,

2016

“Finding meaning in life

through values”

Philippians 3:4b-9,

Galatians 5:19-23

Finding meaning in life

through values

- Reflection on the quotes from

“Man’s Search for meaning”

Week

Three

January 17,

2016

“Finding meaning for life

through experiential values”

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18,

Psalm 42:1-2

Values in what you take

from the world

-Group Exercise: Realizing

Experiential Values

Week

Four

January 24,

2016

“Finding meaning for life

through life’s hardships”

Acts 16:16-34

Attitudinal Values

- Group exercise focused on

one’s attitude toward the

inevitable suffering

Week

Five

January 31,

2016

Restoring Human Dignity

Mark 5:1-20,

Galatians 5:19-26

Restoring human dignity

- Group exercise: Assuming the

situation that you have only 24

hours left before your death.

Week

Six

February 14,

2016

Presenting the participant’s

autobiography.

Post-course survey.

The sermon series will take place during the Sunday afternoon services and the

group sessions will proceed right after the services in the Sunday school classroom. If

you think you might be willing to participate in this study, please see Pastor Kim after the

service. She will be standing outside to meet you and answer questions. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Pastor Jihye Kim

１１０

Letter to respondents who expressed interest in Meaning and Purpose in Life Study

Meaning and Purpose in Life Study

- Changing Attitudes toward Life: Using Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy in

Ministry with Christian Women in Church of the Lord, Anyang, Kyounggi-do,

South Korea

Dear Participant,

Thank you for your interest in participating in the above titled project. The purpose of the

study is to help our church grow in Spirit-centered wholeness in general and to help them

address the inevitable pains/suffering in life by finding meaning and changing their

attitudes toward life.

You are eligible to participate if you are:

A member of Church of the Lord who is 1) a female, 2) in ages of 30s through 40s, 3)

willing to explore her own purpose/meaning in life, and 4) able to participate in the group

sessions.

The project will include the combination of a five-week sermon series and six weeks of

group sessions including the final reflection group session. The sermon will take place in

the usual Sunday afternoon service and the group sessions will begin immediately after

the service after 15-minute break.

This study is a component of my Doctor of Ministry Program and I am thankful for your

willingness to attend. Your participation in this process will make this study successful.

Each participant will receive handouts for the purpose of journaling and doing homework

throughout the five week Meaning and Purpose in Life Study. During the final group

reflection, the participant will have an opportunity to share her own autobiography.

Please make a commitment to attend the Sunday afternoon services and the group

sessions faithfully during the five-week period. Each session will be part of the way to

find/evaluate meaning and purpose in life. Missing a session will not hinder participating

in the remaining sessions, but you will miss out a piece of the whole picture.

The goal of this study is to help the participant address the inevitable

pains/suffering in life by finding meaning and changing their attitudes toward life. The

detailed schedule and the topics will be as follows:

１１１

Sermon and Group Sessions Schedule

Date

Sermon Title & Text Group Session Topic

Week

One

January 3,

2016

“What does it mean

to be human?”

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18

Search for Meaning

- Group Exercise: Realizing

Creative Values

Week

Two

January 10,

2016

“Finding meaning in life

through values”

Philippians 3:4b-9,

Galatians 5:19-23

Finding meaning in life

through values

- Reflection on the quotes from

“Man’s Search for meaning”

Week

Three

January 17,

2016

“Finding meaning for life

through experiential values”

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18,

Psalm 42:1-2

Values in what you take

from the world

-Group Exercise: Realizing

Experiential Values

Week

Four

January 24,

2016

“Finding meaning for life

through life’s hardships”

Acts 16:16-34

Attitudinal Values

- Group exercise focused on

one’s attitude toward the

inevitable suffering

Week

Five

January 31,

2016

Restoring Human Dignity

Mark 5:1-20,

Galatians 5:19-26

Restoring human dignity

- Group exercise: Assuming the

situation that you have only 24

hours left before your death.

Week

Six

February 14,

2016

Presenting the participant’s

autobiography.

Post-course survey.

Any questions you have will be answered. There are no known risks from your

participation. In order to maintain your confidentiality, your name will not be revealed to

any other person nor in any reports that result from this project. The answered

information you give will be accessed only by the researcher, Pastor Jihye Kim and her

professor. I look forward to start this study with you and thank you for being a part of it.

Sincerely, Pastor Jihye Kim

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APPENDIX 2

SERMON SERIES

Sermon 1. “What does it mean to be human?”

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18

Introduction

We are going to start a five-week sermon series on finding meaning in life. It is a

part of a pastoral group counseling program utilizing Logotherapy as a tool. The

participants of the program will meet after the worship service for the group sessions.

First of all, I would like to remind you that this group counseling is not therapeutic but an

educative program.

I. Introduction to Viktor Frankl and his Logotherapy

Before getting into the point, I would like to take some time to introduce Dr.

Viktor Frankl and his Logotherapy. There are several ways of responding to one’s trouble

or suffering. Some may give up his/her life in order to get out of the difficult situation or

end the trouble. Some may do deviant behaviors in a society. However, there are also

people who make it an opportunity of getting good out of evil. Further, there are people

who overcome their pain and use their experience to help others. Dr. Viktor Frankl is one

of them.

Dr. Frankl is an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He experienced some of the

worst pain and suffering we would ever experience in life. During World War II, Frankl

was taken to four different Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz because he

was a Jew. Everything he possessed was taken from him. His wife, his parents and his

brother were killed in the camps. The manuscript of his theory, his life’s work was lost.

He had nothing left but his body and his mind. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning,

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Frankl recounts his experiences during his imprisonment in Auschwitz and three other

Nazi concentration camps.

The ordeal in the concentration camps led many of the prisoners to succumb to

hopelessness, despair and death. And yet, there were other people who did not. Frankl

questioned what made the difference between these two. What drives some people to

continue fighting for life while other people simply give up? Frankl realized that

survivors had some meaning, purpose or some hope in the future to propel them forward

such as a significant task before them or a return to their loved ones. He agreed with what

Nietzsche wrote that “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

126

Instead

of surrendering to hopelessness as many other fellow prisoners did, Frankl devoted his

efforts to helping his fellow prisoners find meaning and purpose in their lives. Although

many of them died anyway, their lives up to their deaths showed that the human spirit has

power and ability to rise above even the worst suffering and pain imaginable.

In his experience of the camps, Frankl also learned that there are two groups of

people in the world. He said, “A human being is not one thing among others; things

determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes - within

the limits of endowment and environment - he has made out of himself. In the

concentration camps, for example, in this living laboratory and on this testing ground, we

watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved

like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends

on decisions but not on conditions.”

127

126

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 76.

127

Ibid., 133-4.

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In fact, Frankl came out of the camps believing even more strongly than when he

went in that one of the distinguishing characteristics of human beings is that rather than

being determined by our environment as are the lower animals, we humans can act from

higher qualities of love, rationality, understanding, and compassion even when we see

little or none of it around us.

It was the greatness of the human spirit, which can make the decision to rise above pain

and suffering, and live for greater goals even when death seems inevitable. And that is

what saved Frankl himself. Frankl’s own experience of suffering gave him the foundation

on which to build great meaning for his own life and led him to found a new school of

psychiatry called Logotherapy.

Since we understand Frankl’s Logotherapy came out of his own experience, it

would be easier to understand what Logotherapy says. Logotherapy starts from

understanding of humanity. It sees the human being as a unique entity consisting of body,

mind, and spirit. According to Frankl, the body and mind are what we have and the spirit

is what we are. He sees a human being as a spiritual being. For Frankl, the most basic

motive force in the human being is a “will to meaning”. People have freedom under all

circumstances to activate the will to meaning and to find meaning. For example, people

will suffer and even die for their values and also endure unavoidable suffering by

changing their attitudes.

The point is not simply to come to an abstract meaning of one’s life, but a

concrete purpose that one actually lives out. Therefore, Frankl emphasizes one’s

responsibility. We have all the time to answer the questions life asks us. Logotherapy

teaches that it is not we who can ask life, “Why...?” Rather it is life, who is the

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questioner. We have to respond to Life’s questions. We answer to Life by listening for

discernment of the meaning of the moment by making responsible decisions within our

available area of freedom. Our choices will be based on our values and guidance received

from the voice of our conscience. Our life, where we stand today, is a consequence of our

choices made in the past, and our future will consequently be shaped by the choices we

make today.

In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl says this: "...everything can be taken from a

man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any

given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

128

II. What does it mean to be human according to the Bible?

Before talking about meaning or purpose in our lives, it is important to see what it

means to be human. When we read the creation account, we learn that a human being was

created in the image of God. What does this mean? Let’s take a look at Genesis 1:26-28

which says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have

dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock

and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God

created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he

created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill

the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over

every living creature that moves on the ground (NIV).’”

On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our

likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Thus, God formed man from the dust and gave him life by

128

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 66.

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sharing His own breath (Genesis 2:7). Accordingly, a human being is unique among all

God’s creations, having both a material body and spirit.

Being created by the image or likeness of God means that we were made to

resemble God. The image of God distinguishes man from other creatures, puts him for

the dominion God intended him to have over the earth (Genesis 1:28), and enables him to

commune with his Creator. Man was created as a relational being. This reflects God’s

triune nature and His love. We will talk about this more in another time. But in the

Garden of Eden, a person’s primary relationship was with God and God made the first

woman because “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

Since God created a person in His image, his/her purpose and meaning in life

cannot be fulfilled apart from God. In our materialistic culture, people pursue many

things, believing that they will find meaning in them. However, people have expressed

that while they achieved their goals of wealth, relationships, and pleasure, there was still

a feeling of emptiness. The writer of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, describes this feeling

when he says, “Meaningless! Meaningless! ... Utterly meaningless! Everything is

meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1:2).” He had wealth beyond measure and wisdom beyond

anyone who ever lived. He once said that he pursued anything his heart wanted. And yet,

he summed up that “life under the sun” is meaningless. Because God created us for

something beyond what we can experience in this world, in our hearts we are aware that

this world is not all that there is. At the end of his life, King Solomon concluded that the

only worthwhile life is one of honor and obedience to God (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

The better we get to know a person, the more acquainted we become with his/her

desires. The same is true in our relationship to God. The more we get to know our

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Creator and the more we love Him, the better we understand who we are and what our

purpose is. We were created to bring Him glory. God has unique plans and purposes for

each one of you. Whatever those plans are, we know that they will ultimately result in

His glory. If we are walking closely with the Lord and truly desiring His will for our

lives, God will place His desires in our hearts. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the

LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart” The key is wanting God’s will, not

our own. For those who live according to God’s will, He has made a way to not only

make eternal bliss possible, but also life on earth satisfying and meaningful.

Someone says, “Life is between B (Birth) and D (Death), which is C (Choice).”

Part of being made in God’s image is that Adam had the freedom to make choices. Adam

made a wrong choice to rebel against his Creator. In so doing, Adam marred the image of

God within himself, and he passed that damaged likeness on to all his descendants.

Today, we still bear the image of God, but we also bear the scars of sin. Mentally,

morally, socially, and physically, we show the effects of sin. The good news is that when

God redeems an individual, He begins to restore the original image of God, creating a

“new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).”

That redemption is only available by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our

Savior from the sin that separates us from God. Through Christ, we are made new

creations in the likeness of God. Church is the community of the restored and new

creations.

Conclusion

One day, God will destroy this present earth and heavens and usher in the eternal

state by creating a new heaven and a new earth. At that time, He will restore full

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fellowship with redeemed mankind and He will also fully restore the original image of

God in us. Until then, we should be accountable and responsible with our lives. We have

to choose the most responsible option and make the best choice not only for ourselves,

but also the people around us. Then happiness and meaning fulfillment will follow.

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Sermon 2. “Finding meaning in life through values”

Text: Philippians 3:4b-9, Galatians 5:19-23

Introduction

Have you ever felt that you were confused or lost, or simply wondered if your life

is meaningful? Where do you find meaning in your life? What means the most to you in

life? Philippians 3: 4-9 shows that the Apostle Paul had evidently wrestled with this

question and had evaluated the entire direction of his life before and after he met Jesus.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb: “If you want happiness for an hour? Take a

nap. If you want happiness for a day? Go fishing. If you want happiness for a year?

Inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime? Help someone else.” In short, it

says, “If you want to be happy, find something to do, someone to love, and something to

hope for.” Interestingly, Dr. Frankl also says something similar. He insists that there are

three ways of finding meaning in our life: creative values, experiential values and

attitudinal values. The Apostle Paul could be a good example of a person who found

meaning in life through values.

I. Finding meaning in life through creative values

First, there is a way to find meaning in life through creative values. Creative

values are what we give to the world using our talents and gifts in various ways. Let’s go

back to today’s passage. Now, Paul is in prison and is writing a letter to the church at

Philippi. He is teaching them how to handle the false teaching which denies the gospel of

grace.

Before he met Jesus, Paul, then known as Saul, was a zealous Pharisee who

intensely persecuted the Christians. He found meaning and value in doing so. On the road

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to Damascus, Paul was going to arrest Christians and put them in jail. Paul thought it was

the right thing to do and he found meaning in life by persecuting the Christians.

However, after he encountered Jesus, he found a new meaning in bringing the

truth of the gospel. He was continually teaching and preaching no matter what the

circumstances he was in and no matter what difficulties he faced for Jesus Christ. He

made missionary journeys three times and wrote letters to different churches when he

was confined in a prison cell. Paul’s creative values consist of fulfillment of his task or

call to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

II. Finding meaning in life through experiential values

Second, there is a way to find meaning in life through experiential values. That is

by experiencing something or someone we value. It is something that we receive from the

world through love, beauty, justice and so on.

Paul found a new meaning and value in life when he met Jesus Christ, when he

experienced God’s grace. “Paul had a firm commitment to the Jewish religion and his

wholehearted acceptance of the Pharisaic interpretation of that religion.” In verses 4-6,

Paul lists his background which he could be proud of and in which he could place

confidence. He had it all - Jewish descent, an excellent Jewish education, high social

standing, a reputation for keeping the Law, and a reputation for moral purity. However,

once he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his life was radically transformed. His values

were literally turned upside down and he came to consider that everything he thought was

so valuable became like dung to him when he compared it to the surpassing value of

knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. He focused on “knowing Christ” fervently with change of

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commitment, values and identity. Paul found meaning and experiential values through

encountering Jesus Christ.

III. Finding meaning in life through attitudinal values

Third, there is a way to find meaning in life through attitudinal values. Attitudinal

values are realized by the attitude we take when something bad happens to us. Frankl’s

most famous example is achieving meaning by the way of suffering. With meaning,

suffering can be endured with dignity. Even if we cannot change a situation or

circumstance, we can still choose our attitude toward a condition. This is often a self-

transcending way of finding meaning, especially in unavoidable suffering.

The moment Paul came to recognize the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the

Messiah, he committed himself without reservation to the Lord and served Him

faithfully. Paul undertook his mission as an apostle to the Gentiles and made three main

missionary journeys. Since his life turned into being a follower of Jesus Christ, he

constantly had to face and endure persecutions and hardships wherever he traveled. He

was stoned and left for dead, beaten with rods three times, whipped with 39 lashes five

times, attacked by an angry mob, many death threats and so on. However, he confesses

that “...for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in

difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).” As he

expresses in Philippians 3:9 and 10, “being found in Christ Jesus” and “knowing him my

Lord” became his new life goal and he found meaning in his suffering.

In Man's Search for Meaning, Dr. Frankl says this: "...everything can be taken

from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in

１２２

any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

129

Neither persecutions nor

hardships could stop Paul following his call to ministry. He chose to be content with

weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties because of God’s love and

grace upon him. He made a meaningful choice in the situations of suffering and

adversity. He found a meaning in his life through attitudinal values.

In the Bible it is clear that people have a choice. It is called to walk in the Spirit or

in the flesh. Jesus uses the illustration of somebody being humiliated. He is quoted in

Matthew 5:39 (NLT) as saying, “But I say, don’t resist an evil person! If you are slapped

on the right cheek, turn the other, too.” Some people would not turn the other cheek, but

would do something humiliating back. An-eye-for-an-eye kind of attitude. Whenever

Jesus suggests a pattern for reactions, they are always surprising and the opposite of

people’s immediate reaction. That means, there are options and choices.

Paul suggests two sets of values in Galatians 5:19-23, the one of vices and the

other of virtues, that have to do with “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit”

respectively. Let’s read the passage together. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:

sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,

jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,

orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not

inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is

no law.” We have a choice to make: either live by the flesh or by the Spirit.

129

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 66.

１２３

Logotherapy is composed of three basic principles. First, life has meaning in all

circumstances, even despondent ones. Second, the main motivational force of human

being is the desire to find meaning in life. Lastly, humanity has the freedom of choice,

even in situations of unchangeable affliction. Even if we don’t use what Dr. Frankl said,

we know that God created us in His image and likeness with meaning and purpose.

Sometimes we are clear what our life meaning is, but other times we are not sure what the

meaning of my life is and feel lost or confused. Even if clouds hide the moon, we know

that it does not mean there is no moon, but we just cannot see it.

Conclusion

We may have a moment to reflect our life and do profit and loss count with life

like what Paul did. The Bible does not tell us in detail about how Paul processed all the

feelings that he had to deal with after he met Jesus. What we read from Acts 9, “For three

days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything (9:9).” I guess that he was shocked at

the fact that what he thought meaningful and valuable was all in vain and wrong. He was

in a deep sorrow with guilt and regret. However, he did not allow guilt and regret to

destroy himself. Rather he overcame those feelings and wanted to be forgiven by Jesus so

that he was praying and fasting. When we are not so sure of what is meaningful to us, we

don’t need to fear or panic or despair. We just need to take time to examine our life and

find new meaning that is emerging for us just like Paul did. What we need to do is to take

off the old self and to find a new meaning in life.

The Apostle Paul is a good example for us to follow. Trust in God’s forgiveness

with the full assurance that the sins of our past are truly forgiven and will not be held

against us anymore. Start putting on the new self and living the new meaningful life that

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we found in Christ. I pray that this church continues to be a congregation with which we

can work, worship, encourage and be encouraged together in our journey.

１２５

Sermon 3. “Finding meaning for life through experiential values”

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18, Psalm 42:1-2

130

Introduction

When we read Genesis 1, we learn that we are made as relational beings. God has

created man to have relationships with God, with one another and with all of the rest of

God’s creation. Frankl mentions one of the ways to find meaning in life is through

experiential values, that is, by experiencing something or encountering someone we

value. Let’s look at each of these relationships in detail.

131

I. We find meaning for our lives when we are in right relationship with God.

We human beings are creatures who owe our existence to God and are primarily

responsible to God in all that we do. Every human being is created as a person, capable of

self-consciousness and self-determination. Therefore, a person is cable of responding to

God, of fellowship with God, and of loving God. When we feel lost, depressed, or

discouraged, we have hungers for God, because we find meaning for our lives when we

are in right relationship with God.

The author of Psalm 42 was in discouragement and depression when he expressed

his craving in verses 1 and 2. He says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul

pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and

meet with God? (NIV)” The author craves, longs for, and cries out for a closer

relationship with God. He compares himself to a tired, hunted, exhausted, and thirsty deer

that is panting for a refreshing water from a mountain brook. He used a word, “pant” in

130

The researcher decided not to use this sermon. The Scripture from Acts 2:1-13 was the passage

for the new sermon which was not included in this appendix.

131

For the insights into man’s three relationships and sermon preparation, I am indebted to

Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 75-82.

１２６

order to describe his condition. We do not exactly know what troubles him, but we do

know that he wants and needs to be closer to God and he will not rest until he has it.

Human beings are bound to God as fish are bound to water. When a fish seeks to

be free from the water, it loses both its freedom and its life. When we seek to be free

from God, we become slaves of sin and our lives will be filled with feelings of emptiness.

We find meaning for our lives when we are in right relationship with God. We should

long for God with this same intensity. When purpose or meaning is missing from our

lives and we are not satisfied with our lives, we should reevaluate our relationship with

God. When something in our life is out of place, when our relationships are hurting, it is

time to crave God since He is our Maker. When we are discouraged or depressed, when

life has let us down, it is time to seek God because He is the only one who can truly

satisfy. We find meaning for our lives when we are in right relationship with God.

II. We find meaning for our lives when we are in right relationship with ourselves

and with other persons.

Going back to Genesis, we are designed to live with others. In Genesis 2:18, God

says, “it is not good that man to be alone.” This is the first time that God sees something

in creation that is not good. We find great joys in life from loving relationships, just as

we find great sorrows from broken relationships. We are relational beings. We need our

neighbors to serve and to love. The very fact that we are told to love our neighbors as

ourselves implies that we need our neighbors. We are fully human when we love others.

We live in a fallen world which is a broken community caused by pride, fear,

jealousy, anger, and many other interpersonal evils. However, because of Jesus Christ

and what He has done for us, we, believers become “new creatures in Christ”. The church

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is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ who are united in the Spirit of God and Christ

who is the head of that body. Jesus gave us the Great Commandment which is to love

God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). As the church, God’s redeemed community

where the image of God is restored and where the continued renewal of the image of God

through the transforming power of the Spirit on a daily basis is pursued, we have a

mission to reflect the kind of community which God intends to have on earth; loving God

and our neighbors. Anthony Hoekema says in his Created in God’s Image, “Man’s

acceptance of and love for others is an essential aspect of his humanness.”

132

III. We find meaning for our lives when we are in right relationship with God’s

creation

Genesis 1:26-28 also describes that we are given a mandate to rule over nature as

God’s representative. Two words are used in Genesis 1:28 to describe this relationship of

man to nature: subdue and have dominion. It is important to note that the proper

relationship of a human being to nature is not simply that of ruling over it. From Genesis

1 to 2, we learn that Adam was given a specific task to perform, that is, to work and to

take care of the Garden of Eden in which he had been placed (v. 15). We are to serve and

preserve the earth as well as to rule over it. We must be concerned to be stewards of the

earth and of all that is in it, and to promote whatever will preserve its usefulness and

beauty to the glory of God.

All three of these relationships are equally important and we can neither exist nor

function properly without any one of them. In other words, when we are in right

132

Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,

1986), 78.

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relationship with God, with one another, and with all the God’s creation, we find

meaning for our life.

Before closing, I would like to share what I hope for this church. We all need to

be loved, accepted and belong to one another. We also want to experience love and

acceptance in a loving community. In this church, I hope to see a kind of a community

that resembles what God Himself experiences in Triune oneness, that is, perfect love,

delight, and intimacy.

Conclusion

I want us to continually become a community where we share our lives together

with others in a genuine and sincere way, where we find meaning from one another, and

where we become a meaning to one another. I pray that everyone of us participate in

making a community where we experience the renewal of the image of God within us

and where we can offer the world an alternative way of fully being human.

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Sermon 4. “Finding meaning for life through life’s hardships”

Acts 16:16-34

Introduction

In today’s text, Paul and Silas in Philippi suffer unfairly. When Paul and Silas

were on their way to the place of prayer, they met a demon-possessed slave girl and Paul

cured her. Her owners were angry and Acts 16:22-24 records that “the multitude rose up

together against them, the magistrates tore off their clothes,” they were beaten with rods

before being thrown into prison with their feet fastened in the stocks. Then what did they

do? It says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and

the prisoners were listening to them.” How can it happen? If someone is severely beaten

and jailed unjustly, the usual response will be despair, disappointment, depression, self-

pity, or resentment. But not these two. They were praying and praising God.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison so that not only

were all the doors opened but everyone’s chains were loosed. While most of us would

have regarded this supernatural event as God’s way of rescuing from suffering, Paul

viewed this in a different way. Paul trusted that everything he had just experienced had

been part of God’s plan. That is why he and Silas willingly chose to remain in their cell.

I. Hardships in our lives are inevitable.

Viktor Frankl suffered through the horror of years in concentration camps during

World War II. He literally lost everything except one thing, his freedom of choice.

Everyone has the inward power to choose what kind of response he/she would have. Paul

and Silas had determined to praise God.

It will never come true that outward circumstances are just right. We are not able

to control, customize, or change all outward circumstances, but we can practice the

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inward freedom to control our response in every circumstance. It is our choice. It is our

choice whether to let the inevitable suffering destroy or make us. It all depends on how

we look at the outward circumstances and in which direction we determine to look. Paul

and Silas were singing and praising God in their suffering because they exercised their

freedom of choice. Paul spoke out of experience when he said, “Rejoice evermore ... In

everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1

Thessalonians 5:16-18). We can choose joy!

This joy does not depend on outside circumstances. It is the deep peace that

comes from following God’s way wherever it may lead. Again Frankl agrees with

Nietzsche, “If one has a why to live, he can endure almost any how.”

133

Paul had a

“why” to live. He knew his calling and was on mission for Christ. The “why” was

primary and “how” of his life was secondary. Following the inward leading of the Holy

Spirit, the outward circumstances did not matter. Paul and Silas chose to be on mission

and had inward peace and joy.

During his four years of experience in the concentration camps, Frankl discovered

that “the only thing that aids a human being to endure suffering was the quest to find

meaning in every experience.” Frankl came to the conclusion that “meaning is the most

powerful motivating force within humanity.” He observed that it was “the way in which a

man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross

that gives him ample opportunity - even under the most difficult circumstances- to add a

deeper meaning to his life.” Though your suffering may appear random, the key to

endurance is to realize like Paul and Silas that it isn’t. They believed a sovereign God and

133

Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 76.

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trusted that there is always a purpose or a meaning behind all the activities He allows.

One of our most treasured Bible verses speaks so helpfully here. "We know that in

everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to

His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

II. Through our hardships/suffering God can use us to help comfort other persons

in their suffering (2 Cor. 1:3-6)

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner states in his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good

People, that "suffering ceases to be suffering when it finds a meaning."

134

Our suffering

ceases to be suffering and finds meaning when it helps others. Kushner states that the

suffering of his son from progeria ("rapid aging") was an inspiration to many others. Paul

knew that God would use his suffering to help others, and he was right! The jailer and his

household were saved.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our

tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort

with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” How many times has God used the

suffering of others to inspire us? We have been touched and uplifted by the suffering and

sacrifice of Mother Teresa, Nick Vujicic, Rev. Yangwon Son and many others. Isn’t it

true the best comforters are those who have been comforted? In a practical sense doesn’t

a person gain a certain level of credibility when they’re seeking to help you though a trial

they’ve already had to endure themselves? We can trust that even if it seems random and

134

Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (New York: Schocken Books,

1981), 141.

１３２

unfair, our present suffering possesses a future value and a redeeming purpose. Suffering

provides us a greater capacity to help sufferers.

Unexpectedly, I have been hospitalized several times for different reasons. It is

interesting to learn that no matter what their religions were, I had more open-hearted

conversations with patients as a fellow patient than as a visiting pastor. It could be true

that we might somehow inspire and help others by carrying our crosses. While suffering

may be an inescapable part of what it means to be human, God can use our suffering in

incredible ways!

III. In our hardships and difficulties we are comforted by God and God’s presence

to help us (Rom. 8:35-39; 2 Cor. 1:3-6)

When we are in our hardships and suffering, God comforts us and God’s presence

helps us. Jesus promised when He commanded His disciples to go into all the nations, to

make disciples and as they go, He will be with them. Paul could endure his suffering

because he knew that the Lord was with him. As we go for Christ, He always goes with

us. Paul could praise and pray in prison because he knew that God was always with him,

at work, bringing about His results.

Suffering ceases to be suffering and finds meaning when it reminds us of the

suffering of our Lord. I hope you realize in the moment of suffering that God has also

suffered. Jesus Christ was not immune to pain. He was not given a pass from the full

human experience. Jesus willingly laid aside His divinity to suffer, not only to make a

way for our salvation, but to earn the right to be relied on in the midst of our suffering.

Jesus is a credible comforter! Jesus Christ not only suffered for us. He suffers with us.

God suffers with His children when we reap the natural result and consequences of our

sinful ways. No one sorrows more deeply than God when the life of a precious child is

１３３

taken by a drunken driver. The cross shows us that God feels our pain, experiences our

sorrow, and knows our agony.

In his book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Timothy Keller wrote,

“Christianity teaches that, contra fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; contra Buddhism,

suffering is real; contra karma, suffering is often unfair; but contra secularism, suffering

is meaningful. There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep

into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.”

135

Conclusion

When we are going through hardships and difficulties in life, let’s look to God.

He gives us the freedom to choose, enables us to choose joy. He is always with us and

will use our suffering for His purposes. As the psalmist says, “You have made known to

me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at

your right hand.” (Psalms 16:11, NIV).

135

Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (New York: Dutton, 2013), 30.

１３４

Sermon 5. Restoring Human Dignity

Text: Mark 5:1-20, Gal. 5:19-26

Introduction

Our society has cheapened our humanness. At some point, we began to define

people by what they have instead of who they are. For advertisers we can be only

targeted consumers. For some, we are nothing more than statistics. Does a job really

define a person? If the person no longer works, is his/her worth or value lessened? We

are gradually moving toward being disconnected from one another. We are losing our

dignity.

Then, how do we know we have dignity? Do we determine that for ourselves? Or

do others decide how much dignity I have? Is it acquired through work/talents/capability

that I have? The point that I would like to make is that it is none of these, but it is given

to us by God. I am going to talk about how to recover dignity in order to discover

meaning in our lives.

I. We recover dignity when we understand that we are created in God’s image.

(Gen. 1:26-31)

We are losing our dignity because we have lost our identity with God. Genesis 1

tells us that it is not up to us to appraise the value of one’s life. Our worth and dignity are

intrinsic as a person who has been created in the image of God. Our dignity and worth are

directly related to our origin. We are created with the divine design and purpose, and

until we understand this, we will never attribute ourselves the worth which God has given

each of us. In the most unique way we are children of God from creation. Therefore, our

evaluation of self and others is directly proportionate to our estimation of God. Don’t be

fluctuated by other’s or even by yourselves’ evaluation of you. Our dignity and worth are

１３５

not determined by our appraisal of ourselves or by someone's appraisal of us. Our dignity

will never be regained until we understand that God created us in his own image.

II. We recover dignity when we let go of negative thoughts and behaviors that

diminish us.

In Mark 5, we see a miserable person, a demoniac man. This man had lived naked

among the dead in the tombs outside of the city. He lived a self-destructive lifestyle,

shameful life, not trusted or welcomed by community. He had created many problems for

the area so that they had tried to shackle him, but he was extraordinarily strong and broke

every chain they put him in. When he met Jesus, he is restored to wholeness. His

encounter with Jesus makes him fully human again, with a family, a home and a purpose

in life. He is no longer a wild animal that people around him thought needed to be tamed,

but a human being called to proclaim the dynamic effects of God’s mercy in his life. The

man’s tormented soul is now at rest. The man’s shame of his exposure and nakedness is

gone. He is dressed. He is in his right mind and is at peace. Jesus restored the man’s

sense of human dignity and a new sense of worth.

Robert Leslie describes the Gerasene demoniac as a person “who feels himself

possessed by a power outside of himself” and the biblical term “demon-possessed” as

“the sense of helplessness”.

136

We also experience those moments from time to time,

don’t we? Feeling helplessness or an overwhelming feeling of guilt and shame,

inappropriate anger, fear, anxiety, selfishness over which we feel we have no control.

Jesus cast the demons out and the man became a new person with dignity. We recover

dignity when we let go of those negative thoughts and behaviors that diminish us.

136

Robert Leslie, Jesus and Logotherapy, 102.

１３６

Our dignity is within us and discovered when we realize that God created and

cares for us, and has come to redeem us in Christ. The price of our redemption was the

life of Jesus Himself. As Peter says in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know what was paid to

set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by our ancestors. It was not

something that can be destroyed such as silver or gold; it was the costly sacrifice of

Christ. Through Him you believe in God and so your faith and hope are fixed in God.”

The death of Christ on your behalf invests you with new worth and personal dignity. In

Christ, you are a new person. God does not keep an account of your past, but gives you a

new purpose, a new direction, and a new mission in your life.

III. We recover dignity when we acknowledge our freedom and responsibility

After Jesus cast out the demons out of the man, the released man wanted to stay

with Jesus “who had helped him to accept himself and to see himself related in a more

meaningful way to life”

137

. However, Jesus commissioned him to go back home and

show his family and friends what Jesus could do for broken persons. Jesus knew so well

that the real test of life was in the resumption of daily tasks, at home among old friends.

By the grace of God, every believer has been delivered from the realm of slavery into the

position of freedom and sonship. However, these benefits of Christian freedom are not

something to be taken for granted. “They are rather realities to be owned and proved in

the daily spheres of obedience and testing.”

138

We should live a life with our

accountability to God and our responsibilities to one another.

139

137

Ibid., 110.

138

Ibid.

139

J. M. G. Barclay, Obeying the Truth: A Study of Paul’s Ethics in Galatians (Edinburgh: T & T

Clark, 1988), 167.

１３７

Human beings are always addressed as persons who can make decisions and who

are responsible for the decisions they make in the Bible. “From end to end it sets man

face to face with the supreme choice which determined all the other choices in his life;

from the law of Moses: “I have set before you life and death . . . therefore choose life”

(Duet. 30:19), to the words of Christ: “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). In

each of the personal dialogues, the Word of God speaks to mankind, making him/her a

person, a responsible being who must answer.

140

God does not deal with human beings

as if they were robots. We are held accountable for the decisions we make and for our

response to life.

141

We can find true life and liberty when we acknowledge our freedom

and responsibility.

Human beings are capable to make choices between alternatives. We have a

capacity that implies responsibility for those choices. These choices or decisions may be

either good or bad, either God-glorifying or God-defying. True freedom means the ability

of humans, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to think, say, and do what is pleasing to God

and in harmony with his revealed will.

In Galatians 5:19-26, Paul sets out two catalogue lists; the one of vices and the

other of virtues, which have to do with the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. To

live according to the flesh is “to trust in one’s self as being able to procure life by the use

of the earthly and through one’s own strength and accomplishment.”

142

The point is that

we must walk by the Spirit. We cannot produce the virtues and Christlikeness in us apart

140

Paul Tournier, The Meaning of Persons, trans. Edwin Hudson (New York: Buccaneer Books

Inc., 1997), 210.

141

Hoekema, 229.

142

Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press,

2007), 239.

１３８

from the Spirit’s work. Only when we become a new self by the work of the Spirit, will

we have “the power to naturally, holistically, and gradually bear fruit.”

143

The Holy

Spirit has made us free from sin and given us new life in regeneration.

Conclusion

What keeps you from being the person God wants you to be? Nothing is too

strong or too far away. Jesus overcomes fears, incapabilities, strongholds so that you can

share who He is and what He has done for you. God’s desire is to make Himself known

to His creation so that we see that He is good, faithful and we can choose Him. He wants

to use you to do that. What is preventing that from happening?

143

Tony Merida, “Walk by the Spirit (5:16-26)” in Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in

Galatians, Edited by David Platt, Tony Merida, and Danny Akin (Nashville, Tennessee: Holman

Reference, 2014), 115.

１３９

APPENDIX 3

GROUP SESSIONS

Group Session 1: Search for meaning

I. Feedback from the sermon

: What did you hear from the sermon? Time for reflecting the sermon.

2. If we believe we can find health through finding meaning, we need to be able to ask

and answer the following big questions in life:

144

Who am I - identity?

Why am I here - purpose?

Where am I going - direction?

What’s it all about - meaning?

- Are you able to answer those questions? Which question is most difficult to answer?

3. Existential frustration vs Existential vacuum

145

Existential frustration Existential vacuum

The feeling of meaninglessness. The feeling of inner emptiness

Consequences Consequences

Lack of motivation.

Distress

Boredom

Anxiety

Never contented

Excessive dependency on others

Irresponsibility

Lack of goals

Depression

Addiction

Aggression

Attraction to cults

Copying what other people do

Trying to live up to other people’s

expectations.

Abyss experience

144

Arno Steen Andreasen, Logotherapy and Spirituality Training Manual p. 15.

145

Ibid., 42-3.

１４０

The report also showed that people were not motivated for change when they

experienced constant frustrations. Their experiences told them that this was what they

could expect of life. When they didn’t have any power over today, they lost hope in

tomorrow.

One of the Logotherapeutic assumptions is that people have a “will to meaning.”

This means that everybody will feel frustrated when they perceive their situation as

meaningless.

Frankl would state that the frustration in itself is healthy. It is a pointer to help

people clarify their priorities, attitudes and goals in life. If this feeling is ignored it leads

towards existential vacuum and the tragic triad (guilt, suffering, and death). This is one of

the reasons why Logotherapy is so focused on helping clients find the meaning of the

moment. Meaning helps them to deal with the tension that otherwise often is numbed by

unhealthy habits.

4. Wrap-up

１４１

Group Session 2: Finding meaning in Life through Values

1. Feedback from the sermon.

(1) Can you freely share how you relate to the sermon today?

(2) Have you ever wrestled with the thought if your life is meaningful?

2. Discussion: Progress/difficulties with homework

3. Group Exercise: Discussion/Sharing with quotes from “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

: These quotes have been taken from Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning which

was first published in 1959 as Frankl’s personal account of his struggle for survival in

Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.

# Activity:

1. Five pre-chosen quotes are cut up and distributed to the participants randomly.

2. Each participant shares how she thinks about the quote.

3. Once all participants present their quotes and their thoughts, they will share which

quote speaks most strongly to them.

# Quotes:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to

choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.” “Our greatest freedom

is the freedom to choose our attitude.”

“A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is

ultimately self-determining. What he becomes - within the limits of endowment and

environment- he has made out of himself. In the concentration camps, for example, in

this living laboratory and on this testing ground, we watched and witnessed some of our

１４２

comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both potentialities

within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions.”

“Human potential at its best is to transform a tragedy into a personal triumph, to turn

one's predicament into a human achievement.”

One evening, when we were already resting on the floor of our hut, dead tired, soup

bowls in hand, a fellow prisoner rushed in and asked us to run out to the assembly

grounds and see the wonderful sunset. Standing outside we saw sinister clouds glowing in

the west and the whole sky alive with clouds of ever-changing shapes and colors, from

steel blue to blood red. The desolate grey mud huts provided a sharp contrast, while the

puddles on the muddy ground reflected the glowing sky. Then, after minutes of moving

silence, one prisoner said to another, “How beautiful the world could be...”

１４３

Group Session 3: Experiential Values

- Significant Persons Who Shaped Your Beliefs/Attitudes

146

1. Feedback: Participants talk about what they heard from the sermon.

2. Discussion: Progress/difficulties with homework

3. Group Exercise:

Basic beliefs and attitudes regularly and powerfully affect your daily behavior.

You may have beliefs so dear that you would suffer for them, or attitudes you hope you

would communicate even if you were near death. You might want other persons to

associate these beliefs and attitudes with you even after you are gone. In this chapter the

perspective of the exercises shifts to focus on your underlying life-beliefs and attitudinal

values.

These values are among our most important values but they tend to be buried the

deepest. We seldom attend to these values unless we have been confronted with the

possibility of our death, such as narrowly missing death or hearing we face a terminal

illness. Yet these values do affect our daily lives even when we pay little attention to

them.

We are going to do one exercise.

SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE

In the left-hand column, name five persons who have had a significant, positive

effect upon your life. These may be persons who were close to you, or less close

acquaintances, or even people who you knew only indirectly such as someone you read

about or saw a movie about. In the right-hand column, list up to three aspects or qualities

you most appreciate about that person. That is, list what you learned from that person,

146

R.R.Hutzell and Mary D. Eggert, A Workbook to Increase Your Meaningful and Purposeful

Goals (MPGs), (2009 PDF Edition), 19. http://www.viktorfrankl.org/source/hutzell_workbook_2009.pdf

accessed on January 13, 2015.

１４４

attitudes you admired in that person, qualities you got from that person, or other values

that person may have reflected.

Persons Values

----------------------------- --------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

----------------------------- --------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

----------------------------- --------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

----------------------------- --------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

----------------------------- --------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

4. Wrap- up

１４５

Group Session 4: Attitudinal Values

- How Your Beliefs/Attitudes Affected Your Crisis?

1. Feedback: Participants talk about what they heard from the sermon.

2. Discussion: Progress/difficulties with homework

3. Group Exercise:

There are situations where we do not have the opportunity to develop our creative

skills or have meaningful encounters with others, such as when we are suffering from

illness or an incurable disease. Whatever our limitations no one can take away from us

our attitude to life. This might be the only area we can develop at these times. Viktor

Frankl had experiences of that extreme reality while being in the concentration camps.

We have seen the horror of the shipwreck which happened last year (April 2014).

Hundreds of people, most of them high school students, were drowned and several of

them are still missing. Five people died after saving others in the ship. The families will

never get their children/loved ones back. They have been dealing with the inevitable

suffering, overwhelming situation.

# Questions for sharing:

1. Think about the inevitable suffering that you had in the past.

2. Talk about how you dealt with/overcame the suffering.

3. What is the most difficult problem/suffering that you experience these days?

What causes the problem? For instance, it could be relationships, your character, worries,

guilt, etc.

１４６

4. What will be your attitude toward the inevitable suffering? (I will present the

“Kimchi Illustration”)

147

Kimchi Illustration

Before I faced difficulties in life, I would like to compare myself to fresh and

green vegetables, but after going through the tough time, I feel like I become Kimchi. As

you know, in the process of making Kimchi, the vegetable needs to be seasoned with salt,

garlic, chili powder and some other ingredients. Being seasoned with those salty, spicy

and smelly ingredients causes pain. The vegetable should absorb ingredients and should

be fermented. In the transition period between fresh Kimchi and well-fermented Kimchi,

the taste of Kimchi is terrible. No one likes to eat Kimchi during that period. Even though

the ingredients are the best ones, it needs to take time to be fermented. When all the

ingredients are in harmony with each other and fermented, we can enjoy Kimchi for

every meal.

I know that I am still in process and God is working on my character and life.

Even if I have resources such as educatio85n, ability, talents and so on, I still need to

process to be mature. Maybe I am too salty, spicy, or tasteless now. However, I believe

that God is working on me day by day and I have a hope that He will use me with what

He has done and His investment in my life. While I am waiting for His timing, I want to

be humbler, more equipped, and mature.

4. Wrap- up: I am going to read the interview with the bereaved parents who lost their

daughter because of the shipwreck.

147

I originally thought about the “Kimchi Illustration” when I had gone through personal

suffering. I shared this thought when I graduated from my seminary in 2002.

１４７

Group Session 5: Restoring Human Dignity

1. Feedback: Participants talk about what they heard from the sermon.

2. Discussion: Progress/difficulties with homework

3. Group Exercise: Think about your death and answer the following questions.

(1) Distribute a sheet of blank paper to the participants and have them to write a

eulogy. They will have 30 minutes to think and write. Let’s suppose that you are dead.

Who would be the first person to hear the news? Who would be the first person to visit

you? Who would come to the funeral and what would they say when they came? Who

would write a eulogy for you? How would they remember you and your life, character,

dream, achievement, etc.?

(2) What would you like to be remembered for when you die?

(3) If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?

Each participant will have an opportunity to share what they answer. The group

will give supportive feedback to each other.

4. Wrap-up

Homework: Write an Autobiography

１４８

APPENDIX 4

Journal Entries

Week One: Can you write about the ultimate meaning and the meaning of the moment

that you found for yourself?

Week Two: Take time to think about your past experiences.

(1) Make a list of the things that you have successfully done.

(2) What was the thing that you feel most rewarding or fulfilling?

(3) Among the things/jobs that you have not tried or accomplished, what would you like

to try most?

Week Three: Take time to think about the moments when you felt God’s love and grace

or some things that remind you of God’s love and grace.

(1) Write your experience or the moment that you experienced or realized that God

means a lot to you.

(2) Write the moment that you desperately needed God.

Week Four: Imagine that you are in the Nazi concentration camp. What would help you

to find peace, meaning, or comfort in your suffering?

Week Five: Write your own autobiography with the guidance/instructions found on the

handout Writing your Autobiography.

１４９

APPENDIX 5

Autobiography

If you were to write your autobiography, what would you call the book and why?

Often when you write about yourself you end up inward-looking, absorbed in self,

recalling only low points, injustices which you feel you have experienced. But in

Logotherapy we look not only at low points in our lives but also at the highs and the

potential of meaning of each event.

Elisabeth Lukas has developed a model where the focus is on past and future events.

Besides looking at former events and future dreams, each writer will reflect on three

questions. The importance is on hidden meanings, the thoughts and emotions in each

situation. This will lead to action and self-transcendence. There might be hurt, but how

can that be used for good.

Lukas suggests writing nine sections on two pages placed side by side. The first page

contains information in chronological order. The second page is the page of reflecting,

answering the same three questions.

The question is not if the childhood was pleasurable or not, but if we can find meaning in

that part of our lives. There might be people to forgive, acts to apologize for, attitudes to

change.

Lukas compares a person’s life trauma to a rock in the bottom of the ocean. In ebb tide, it

is seen, at high tide, it is not seen. But the rock is not produced by an ebb. During an ebb

in the natural course of life, the rocks and traumas are exposed. If life is full enough with

meanings, trauma is submerged, if there is no meaning in life, the person will have a lot

of symptoms. Health comes by filling up our lives with values and meaning.

１５０

The autobiography contains the following nine sections:

1. Parents

Past 2. My early childhood

3. My school years

4. My adulthood (past)

5. My present

Future 6. My near future

7. My distant future

8. My dying

9. My traces in this world

Autobiography

The Chronological story: How do I feel about it?

What do I think about it?

What stand do I take?

How do I deal with it?

Do I accept it?

Is there something yet to be done?

１５１

APPENDIX 6

Means of Measurement

Confidential Information about You

All responses to survey questions are confidential. No attempt will be made to determine

your identity. Demographic answers are for statistical purposes only. 

Please circle the answer that best describes you or write the words:

1. What is your age? years old.

2. Are you ① Male or ② Female?

3. What is your marital status?

① Single ② Married ③ Divorced/Separated ④ Widowed

4. What is the highest level of formal education that you have completed?

① Elementary ② Middle School ③ High School ④ Bachelor’s degree

⑤ Master’s degree or Doctoral degree

5. Are you employed? ① yes or ② no

What is your occupation?

- If you are uncomfortable telling your occupation, just say “yes” or “no”

6. What age did you become a Christian?

7. How long have you been a member of the Church of the Lord?

Months/Years

8. Have you ever experienced a significant life crisis? ① yes or ② no

If yes, please identify it:

① personal ② religious ③ work ④ family ⑤ other

9. How old were you when you experienced the crisis? years old.

- Were you a Christian at the time of the crisis? ① yes or ② no

10. Was your Christian faith a significant factor in the decisions or choices you made and

how you endure the crisis?

① yes or ② no

- If yes, how?

１５２

Purpose in Life Test (PIL)

Please complete each item by marking a single response which would be most true to

you.

1. I am usually:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

completely exuberant,

bored enthusiastic

1. Life to me seems:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

completely routine always

exciting

3. In life I have:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

no goals or very clear goals

aims at all and aims

3. My personal existence is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

utterly very purposeful

meaningless and meaningful

without purpose

5. Every day is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

exactly constantly

the same new and different

6. If I could choose, I would:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

prefer never like nine more

to have been lives just like

born this one

7. After retiring, I would:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

loaf do some of the

completely exciting things

the rest of my life I have always

wanted to do

１５３

8. In achieving life goals, I have:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

made no progressed to

progress complete

whatsoever fulfillment

9. My life is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

empty, filled running over

only with with exciting

despair good things

10. If I should die today, I would feel that my life has been:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

completely very

worthless worthwhile

11. In thinking of my life, I:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

often wonder always see a

why I exist reason for my

being here

12. As I view the world in relation to my life, the world:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

completely fits meaningfully

confuses me with my life

13. I am a:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

very very

irresponsible responsible

person person

14. Concerning man’s freedom to make his own choices, I believe man is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

completely absolutely free

bound by to make all life

limitations of choices

heredity and

environment

１５４

15.With regard to death, I am:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

unprepared prepared and

and unafraid

frightened

16. With regard to suicide, I have:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

thought of it never given it

seriously as a second thought

a way out

17. I regard my ability to find a meaning, purpose, or mission in life as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

practically very great

none

18. My life is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

out of my in my hands and

hands and I am in control

controlled by of it

external factors

19.Facing my daily tasks is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

a painful a source of

and boring pleasure and

experience satisfaction

20. I have discovered:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

no mission clear-cut goals

or purpose in and a satisfying

life life purpose

１５５

Seeking of Noetic Goals Test (SONG)

The SONG test measures the strength of motivation to find meaning in life and

was developed by James C. Crumbaugh. The test can be used in conjunction with the

“Purpose in Life” Test and indicates the client’s motivation for therapy.

For each of the following statements, circle the number that most nearly

represents your true feeling.

Add up the twenty circled numbers.

1. I think about the ultimate meaning of life: