Becoming “normatively formed”: A contribution to supervision from Gregory the Great

This article extends on Inskipp and Proctor’s seminal account of professional supervision to suggest that in the context of pastoral supervision (that is, the supervision of those who offer forms of pastoral care), the supervisee will expect to engage in a degree of 'normative formation'. To this end, the work of the sixth-century author Gregory the Great is examined, with Gregory's insights alerting us to mixed motives, forms of self-deception and various routes into moral failure. Gregory envisions the integration of our self with our pastoral practice, our leadership role, and (for Christians) our inhabitation of Jesus Christ.