Update on the Biblical Counseling Coalition (Guest Post by Pastor Rob Green)

Last week I posted about the meeting of the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

Today, we have a guest post about the BCC by Pastor Rob Green of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana. Read his original post at the Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry blog.

On December 5-6 a group of people interested in seeing a biblical counseling coalition met in Chicago in order to discuss the vision, goals, and next steps. I was given the privilege of attending and here are the “take-aways” from the weekend meeting.

# 1: There is a genuine desire to work together

I think it is fair to say that everyone in the room wants to see the groups that do biblical counseling work together so that the cause of Christ is advanced. There was a genuine commitment to the importance of the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and coming return of Jesus for all of challenges we face. The more time we spend talking about our agreements the more we will see a desire to work together for something great.

# 2: There is a genuine desire to speak to one another rather than about one another

I will never forget an assignment I was given in my Ph.D. program. I had to describe and critique one scholar’s understanding of how the NT authors use the OT. Here was the catch…we had to send our paper to our given scholar and give them an opportunity to comment on our work. That changed the way I wrote. It changed the amount of effort I gave to understanding his position and representing him fairly. After all, I wanted my given scholar to say that I represented him fairly. I think this same attitude will be found in the BCC as well. We may not all agree about every point, but the way we discuss those differences will be different. We will speak to one another rather than about one another.

# 3: There is a genuine desire to influence others

Several explained that sometimes biblical counseling has a bad name whether that is due to a bad experience or to a stereotype that may or may not be accurate. One thing that the biblical counseling coalition is seeking to do is to win back a voice in the ears of those who have written the whole idea off. It may be that God would use a new organization to help overcome some of the fears and hurts of the past and we would all seek to help people through a robust and comprehensive approach of using Scripture.

There were, of course, other things that happened in those two days. However, I think it is fair to say that the BCC is on the move. By God’s grace it will be a vehicle used to help people who are hurting to find rest, joy, and peace in a growing relationship with God and His people. You could continue to pray that goals and desires like the ones mentioned here would be used by God to help us all grow in the maturity of the faith.

Join the Conversation

Of Rob’s three “take-aways,” which one impacts you the most? How?

Tags: Biblical Counseling Coalition, Faith Biblical Counseling, Guest Blog, Rob Green

How to Steward Life Checkpoints

Note: The following is a second guest post from my good friend and co-worker in biblical counseling, Pastor Rob Green. Check out the original post here. And bookmark Pastor Rob’s excellent blog Counseling with Confidence and Compassion.

From time to time the Lord provides a checkpoint in life. Consider with me some of the many that could be mentioned:

1. The death of a close friend or family member.

2. The reception of some very unwelcome news (e.g. job loss, health diagnosis).

3. When a birthday comes and they begin to think that they have already lived most of their time on earth.

4. When a child gets married, goes to college, or enters a new phase of school (e.g. Jr. High, Sr. High, etc).

5. When they realize that their dreams of the high paying job with all the perks that go with it will not come true.

These checkpoints, like spots on a map, remind us that life on this earth is not all there is. Our destination is ultimately Christlikeness with Him in Heaven. These checkpoints confront us with the reality that fewer things matter and they remind us that the few things that do matter, matter more. So, how do you and I steward opportunities like this and help our counselees do the same?

Certainly we can agree that these opportunities should not be wasted, right? So, how is it that these opportunities can be used for the Glory of God and the progress of the gospel? What follows is far from comprehensive, but Lord willing it will be a help to many of you, like me, who got a few checkpoints this year.

# 1: Rather Than Sulk in Self-pity, Commit to “Redeeming the Time”

Psalm 90:12 instructs us to number or days so we may present a heart of wisdom while Ephesians 5:15 says that we must make the most of your time because the days are evil. Sometimes when people are confronted with these checkpoints they run, hide, and go into a shell. The problem with that approach is that is the exact opposite of what we should do.

All human life is short – we are here today and gone tomorrow. So our time, whatever amount we have, must be lived with purpose and meaning. Every believer is a representative of God. Therefore, help your counselees to use the checkpoint to move forward – to be more committed, to be more focused, to be more passionate about the things of the Lord. Neighbors need to hear the gospel, children need to be taught truth, friends need to be discipled and encouraged, and the Lord should be magnified in your speech and actions. Don’t sulk in self pity.

# 2: Rather Than become Bitter and Angry, Confess Your Heart to the Lord and Commit to Trust Him

For those that get shocking checkpoints – the lost job, the cancer diagnosis, the tragedy in the family – be careful. In Ephesians 4:32 we are told to put off all anger and all bitterness. It is easy to get upset at the Lord during these checkpoints. But I want to encourage us to follow the pattern in the Psalms or in Habakkuk where shocking news or challenging circumstances are followed by running to the Lord. Rather than run away from him in anger or bitterness, the biblical authors ran to the Lord and then chose to trust Him (read the prayer in Habakkuk 3). We do not always understand the ways of the Lord and the reasons He chooses to do what He does. However, we can trust in a God who is good and in a God who loves us and in a God who will use whatever trouble may come to bring Him glory and make us like Christ.

# 3: Rather Than Believe You Are Getting the “Raw End of the Deal,” Believe That God Has Already Been Better to You Than You Deserve

These checkpoints in life encourage some folks to believe that they were somehow and in some way mistreated by the Lord. They got the raw end of the deal. If only they were faster, stronger, more coordinated, quicker, smarter, better looking, then their dreams could have come true. But as it is God has not given them those things. That is where Ephesians 1-3 come in. God has poured out on you every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. God’s grace reached down to you and plucked you from the pit. God sent His Spirit to be a seal on His promises. If we get nothing other than the gospel we have gotten far more than we deserve. The checkpoints may remind us that there are some pleasures of life that we might never experience, but they also should push us to remember that a glorious eternity is yet in store.

# 4: Rather Than View This Life as Having the “Best,” Remember That in the Life to Come You Will Be Like Jesus for You Will See Him as He Is

We, like our counselees, can also be tempted to think that our best days and our best memories are in the here and now. If only we had the perfect vacation, if only we had the chance to see ________ (Paris, Tokyo, the Grand Canyon), if only we could see our kids grown up, then our life would be fulfilled. We need to help our counselees remember that the best will come when our current bodies are replaced with heavenly ones, when our sin is forever removed and we are like our savior Jesus, and where we will enjoy the light of His radiance rather than our current sun. We may ask the Lord to grant us the privilege of raising children, walking our daughters down the aisle, or meeting a grandchild, but we are mistaken if we believe these things are the “best.” Checkpoints point us forward to a future with our savior.

# 5: Remember That Sometimes the Lord Asks You to Remember Him When You Have Blessings Overflowing and He Asks You to Trust Him When You Despair Even of Life

While all the checkpoints bring challenges there are others that bring fear. If given the choice many of us would rather drop dead from a heart attack then go through the suffering of a disease that slowly kills us. For some believers, the thought of dying of cancer is far easier to handle than the thought of living with it. Dying at least represents “being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” The living with cancer means surgery, doctor visits, chemo, radiation, sickness, pain, and hardship. Allow these thoughts to linger and you will despair of life. Paul reminds us that there was a time in his own life where he despaired of his existence. Life was so hard and so bad that death seemed not only imminent but better. Yet in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul reminds us all that this hardship had a purpose – to trust in God! None of us particularly enjoys the thought of trusting God in the midst of great suffering – we would rather trust God in the midst of blessing! Sometimes, however, God calls us to suffer and with the call to suffering comes the call to trust Him and to demonstrate His great power amidst our great weakness.

There are, of course, many other things that can be said. But Lord willing I hope that this may help us deal with our own checkpoints and help others deal with theirs.

Join the Conversation

How have you stewarded your own “checkpoints”?

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Faith Biblical Counseling, Guest Post, Rob Green

Union with Christ and the Real Power for Change

Note: The following is a guest post from my good friend and co-worker in biblical counseling, Pastor Rob Green. Check out the original post here. And bookmark Pastor Rob’s excellent blog Counseling with Confidence and Compassion.

Have you ever acted like a personal trainer in your counseling?

You know what that looks like; it is “3 truths for this,” “2 principles for that,” and “5 ways for accomplishing this…” In other words, the Bible becomes simply a set of principles to follow. When this happens, you slip into thinking that if only your counselees could do two more “sets” then they will finally get over the hump and the change with be lasting? There are two fundamental problems with this approach.

First, the Bible is not simply a set of principles. Does the Scripture include principles? Of course, but those principles are set in the context of relationship. The blessings of living as a follower of Christ include knowing the whole story and having the indwelling Holy Spirit. One of the testimonies of the Scriptures is that principles (or law, if you will) are never enough. The commands found in Scripture must be carried out in the midst of relationship or else nothing of Spiritual value and significance will be accomplished.

Second, it can appear to counselees that obedience to a set of principles is the primary task of the believer in Christ. This again is not exactly right. The real issue, testified by the story line of Scripture, is that we are God’s image bearers being made into the perfect image bearer – Jesus. In practice, Jesus summarized our task in Matthew 22:37-40 saying that we are to love the Lord our God with everything we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Thus, the point of counseling is to help our counselees love the Lord more than ever before. Part of our task is helping them be more impressed with Jesus, who in great love gave Himself for the counselee, than to simply obey a set of principles. Must they obey? Yes, but that obedience comes in response to understanding who God is and all that God has done in Christ.

So, if counselors are supposed to emphasize union with Christ as the real power for change, then how do we get that done? Here are three ideas, certainly not the only ideas, to help you make Union with Christ more important in your counseling.

Idea # 1: During the Session, Emphasize Christ

The counseling session is a give-and-take; it is a dialogue, humanly speaking, between you and another person. While we would confess the presence and dependence of God in the session, it is helpful if we make it obvious. Lead in prayer in a way that expresses dependency on the risen Savior for anything of value to be accomplished during your meeting. Ask questions and give responses in such a way that Christ is the motivation for what we do and He is the one who should get preeminence in all that happens in our lives. Set Scripture passages you want to discuss within the story line of the Bible. At some level, the text you are talking about has some relationship to Christ…so tell your counselee what that connection might be. In other words, we are advocating a conversation between two people that is surrounded by an emphasis on Christ. In that way, it is even possible to speak of a trialogue. There is you, your counselee, and Christ through the pages of the Scripture.

Idea # 2: Assign Homework that Encourages Them to Focus on Christ

We want homework to be practical. We want our counselees to know exactly what to do when they leave. However, it is possible to write homework that never directs the counselee to think about or focus on Christ. Homework can appear to simply tell them to do this or to do that without encouraging them to be this or be that. Thus, it can appear to a counselee that the time away from counseling is somehow fundamentally different than the time in counseling. Instead, homework should again bring Christ front and center. This will put your counselees in the best possible position to be thinking of Jesus while they live out their week. Not only is this more pleasing to God (as if that weren’t enough!), but it also prepares them for life without you.

Idea # 3: Remind Them that Abiding in the Vine is the Pathway to Growth in Christ Long after Counseling Concludes

In John 15 the disciples were plainly told “without me you can do nothing.” The whole concept of fruit bearing in John 15 has to do with abiding in the vine. Without the source of nourishment from the vine, no branch can produce fruit. In counseling, sometimes the counselees act as if you, the counselor, are the vine. You tell them what to do, you hold them accountable, you fuss at them when they fail, and you praise them when they succeed. How can we honestly call that success? Our counselees need to be reminded over and over again that fruit bearing in their lives comes from their relationship to Jesus, not us. While we want to be an instrument in Jesus’ hand, our counselees should never confuse the “instrument” with the “Jesus.” When your counselee is more concerned about what Jesus thinks than what you or anyone else thinks, that person is in the process of making change permanent.

Genuine change that glorifies God is rooted theologically in the fact that every believer is in union with Christ (see Romans 6-8). Let us, as counselors, seek to emphasize that truth and ensure that if our counselees hear nothing else – they will at least hear that Jesus is king and in him is the power for change.

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Faith Biblical Counseling, Guest Post, Rob Green

Finding Hope for Depression: Lessons from Elijah

Note: The following is a “Guest Blog” by my friend and co-worker, Pastor Chris Boucher.

John Piper’s interpretive poem summarizing the book of Job captures the affectionate sovereignty of God in light of human suffering. Piper offers hope to fellow sojourners experiencing the variegated shades of suffering that depression can bring. He closes the second section, “That I Should Bear This Pain, Not You” by writing:

Sometimes the spark of faith is slight

And does not make the darkness bright.

But keep it lit and you will find:

Far better this than being blind.

One little flame when all is night,

Proves there is such a thing as Light.

Remember now the place and price

Where Jesus promised paradise.

One answered prayer when all is gone,

Will give you hope to wait for dawn.

Depression can feel isolating, painful, empty—like someone reached into your soul and yanked your energy right out of your body. Many Christians may feel alone in their suffering, believing true believers should not experience depression. However, sadness has visited more than one biblical character. In the sense that one may feel alone, it may be of some encouragement to know that the very first child of humanity suffered dejection. It is not unique to our present age, though it may be an increasingly unwelcomed visitor. However, only four chapters into the Bible, one encounters the first person struggling with depression. God surveys the emotional landscape and finds Cain, angry and downcast. Fast-forwarding several books we find another individual battling depression, Elijah the Tishbite.

Elijah actually enters the scriptural scenery rather abruptly. Nothing of his genealogical record is known other than he was a Tishbite and we do know that he suffered from depression.

Filling in a few other blanks about Elijah’s story will prove useful in allowing God to teach us how someone today can have greater victory when facing the darkness of depression. He lived as a ninth-century prophet of Israel. “My God is Jah,” the meaning of his name is significant to his prophetic calling. “Jah” is an abbreviated form of “Yahweh,” God’s covenant name revealed to Moses from the burning bush. Declaring Yahweh as the true God of Israel proved his life’s calling.

Ahab, the king of Israel, under the influence of his wife Jezebel, instills Baal worship in Israel. Ahab and Jezebel become Elijah’s nemesis. Simply pronouncing Elijah would remind Jezebel who was the true King of Israel. She wanted him dead and Baal worship established in Israel. God calls the prophet to speak against Ahab and Jezebel’s idolatry insisting the nation repent and return to Yahweh the true God of Israel.

1 Kings 17:1-6: Yahweh Provides For Elijah from the Kerith and the Raven

The battle commences as the LORD commissions Elijah to declare to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” Elijah is now on the run at the Lord’s command and hides at the brook Kerith. Though the text is silent regarding his emotional state, he is on the run, alone, hiding, and is the enemy of King Ahab and Jezebel. However, on the side of encouragement, it is a testimony to God’s humor and provision that feeds Elijah by using a scavenger bird. This is an unexpected means of God’s provision.

Principle: God provides for His people in His own way. As we face depression and care for those facing depression be open to the Lord’s leading.

1 Kings 17:8-16: Yahweh Provides For Elijah from the Widow of Zarephath

Elijah’s faith is furthered challenged as he discovered that the LORD’s provision, the widow at Zarephath, is essentially out of food. Elijah must continue to trust in the Lord for his provision. Elijah’s faith becomes his continued provision as well as the provision of the widow and her son…at least for a while. If circumstances were not challenging enough, the widow’s son becomes sick and dies. Her guilty conscience finds blame in Elijah for coming to her house to bring God’s judgment. The enemy has a hay-day with the suffering. He quickly enters the scene bringing accusation and judgment. She blames Elijah and he blames God. But God hears Elijah’s plea and restores the life of the widow’s son. What amazing goodness!

Principle: Even Those suffering must be armed for spiritual battle. “You have depression because you deserve it.” “You must have sinned.” “You must not trust Jesus.” These can all be lies from the enemy and we are particularly prone to believe such lies when we are suffering.

1 Kings 18-19: From a Grand Showdown to a Silent Whisper

After three years, God sends Elijah to Ahab and all Israel to make Himself known. After a showdown with prophets of Baal, the LORD shows Himself strong by consuming completely by fire the altar and all the trimmings. It then rains after, in bizarre fashion, Elijah prayed seven times. Spirit filled Elijah outruns Ahab’s chariot to Jezreel where Jezebel finds out that all her prophets have been murdered. This sends fear to the core of Elijah causing him to run for his life a hundred miles away. It is in this final incident that those suffering from depression find their greatest encouragement.

There is no mistaking Elijah’s emotional state at this point. He is afraid, feeling completely alone, depressed and suicidal. There are several amazing elements to this story that are beneficial to help battle depression.

Principle: There is no “reasonable” explanation for Elijah’s depression. There are certainly flaws in his thinking (being alone and the only one left), but logically speaking after this incident he should have been celebrating. This is very encouraging for many who suffer depression “illogically.”

Principle: God does not rebuke Elijah; ironically, He nourishes and sustains him to continue to run another 40 days.

Principle: God demonstrates tender care and an eagerness to hear Elijah’s complaint.

 Principle: At Elijah’s lowest point, God personally came and spoke gently. God cared for Elijah throughout these three events. Once with a raven, then a widow, but when Elijah was really down, God came in the silence. God was not in the “power” manifestation of chapter 19. It is almost as if God is saying, “I am not angry with you Elijah. I see where you are. I am here with you. I am gentle and meek, a place you can find rest for your soul.” What incredible gentleness.

Principle: God returned Elijah to work. God wanted the prophet to return to what God designed him to do. It would be easy to stay at the cave and entertain further ideation from the enemy. God’s care is thorough.

Join the Conversation

Of the principles presented in this post, which minister most to you?

Tags: Chris Boucher, Depression, Elijah, Guest Blog

June 14th, 2009

The following is a post from Society of Christian Psychologists’ Director, Dr. Eric Johnson (Southern Seminary). This is his third post providing thoughts for us from his recent interaction at an Association of Biblical Counselors conference. You can find the original post at: http://tinyurl.com/nfhs9e.

Though a Christian psychologist, I have been giving a lot of thought to biblical counseling over the past year, related to my renewed commitment to teach in a biblical counseling graduate program, and more recently, my positive experiences at the 2009 conference of the Association of Biblical Counselors. Biblical counseling has made a number of significant contributions to contemporary thought about counseling and the care of souls. Let’s consider some of the most important.

1) The Bible is God’s inspired text, and it contains the most important counseling information in the universe, given to promote true human well-being through the gospel of repentance and faith in Christ.

2) All humans belong to God and he is the most important person involved in the healing of the soul: he is the ultimate environment within which all humans live and move and have their being. Therefore, all Christian counselors need to consciously involve God in their soul-healing efforts, through prayer and the use of gospel resources.

3) Sin is the primary soul-problem that afflicts humanity, because it is universal, and it is the source of our alienation from God, and therefore is at the core of all human alienation from ourselves and one another. It is therefore worse in principle than depression, anxiety, and even schizophrenia.

4) It is God’s design that the church, the body of Christ, be the social institution that is primarily charged with the care of souls. This calling was largely lost over the past 100 years, and biblical counseling has been attempting to put this back, front and center, on the church’s agenda.

5) Modern psychology is not neutral regarding matters of faith, and it is grounded on a worldview that is fundamentally resistant to God’s design for the healing of the soul, and it has become the chief religious competitor to Christianity in the West over the past 100 years. We must therefore interpret modern psychology critically and be careful about what we accept into our thought and practice, so that we do not compromise the genius of God’s soul-care agenda.

6) Before secular cognitive-behavioral therapy came to dominate the field, and when talk therapy reigned (whether psychodynamic or humanistic), the use of homework was advocated by Jay Adams, underscoring the fact that the 167 hours of everyday life between weekly sessions needs to be the real focus of counseling.

7) Though made for a right relationship with God, humans now are idolaters, and many of our psychological problems can be wisely diagnosed as a function of this ultimate falsification of our relational being. In this insight is a theocentric psychodynamic model. No human willingly lives for a mere idol, certainly not Westerners. Yet Scripture teaches that we are self-deceived about this most important of matters. So an important goal of biblical counseling is to help people recognize the ways in which idolatry has been operating at an unconscious level and so fundamentally compromising our ability to live well.

This is a profound and rich storehouse of Christian counseling insight. Integrationists like Gary Collins and most recently Mark McMinn (2008) have acknowledged their indebtedness to biblical counseling, moving them to take more seriously Scripture and Christian thinking in their own theory and practice.

Yet, a survey of integration literature forces one to conclude that the considerable contributions of biblical counseling have been overall largely ignored in the broader Christian counseling community. On the contrary, when biblical counseling has been noted, the focus is almost invariably on its critical approach to modern psychology or its weaknesses. Every movement has weaknesses; we have to do better than that. We need to learn from biblical counseling some of the most important features of a Christian counseling model worthy of the name.