Book Recommendation: Gospel Conversations: How to Care Like Christ

Dr. Robert Kellemen, Chair of the Biblical Counseling and Discipleship Department at Crossroads Bible College, is the author of Gospel Conversations: How to Care Like Christ. Published by Zondervan, Gospel Conversations is part of the Equipping Biblical Counselors Series, and is the follow up to Kellemen's previous book, also from Zondervan, Gospel Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives (you can read my recommendation of that book HERE).

As part of the Equipping Series, Gospel Conversations is concerned with providing biblical counselors with the skills they need to use the gospel in the context of soul care for teaching others how to resist temptation and respond to suffering with love for God and one another (p.15). Kellemen wrote that "Gospel Conversations provides an intensive, relational, hands-on equipping manual" designed to develop in the counselor "twenty-one biblical counseling relational skills" to care like Christ (p.15).

Kellemen succeeds in meeting his stated purposes for Gospel Conversations by providing twelve in-depth chapters and helpful appendices that unpack the one thing he asks his reader to not forget throughout the book:

We learn to become competent biblical counselors by giving and receiving biblical counseling in the context of real and raw community (p.17).

In keeping with the spirit of Kellemen's other works, Gospel Conversations is not merely a theoretical treatment of the critically important task of providing biblical soul care. It is a hands-on, practical teaching tool designed to equip the body of Christ for "face-to-face gospel ministry where we speak the truth in love to one another" (p.17). With extensive follow up questions designed for small group or individual application, Gospel Conversations has the biblical counselor's growth and maturity in full view.

The strength of Gospel Conversations is of course found in its gospel-centeredness, but the reader also benefits greatly from Kellemen's writing style and experience as a teacher. The book is accessible to most readers, yet appropriate for any setting in which training for biblical counseling is occurring. The net result, then, of a thorough reading of Gospel Conversations is a biblical counselor who is better prepared to care like Christ.

"Christ's vision for the church involves the whole body sharing Scripture and soul in gospel conversations where we help one another to become more like Christ as we endure suffering as overcomers and battle and defeat sin as more than conquerors." Dr. Robert Kellemen (p.354)

To purchase a copy of Gospel Conversations, visit Dr. Kellemen's ministry website HERE.

A Theory for Counseling Biblically

On occasion, someone will either ask in counseling or approach me in some other setting to ask about my personal theory of counseling. They won't ask in those exact words, but at bottom, this is the question their asking. 

Sometimes, people ask this question or others like it simply because they have a curiosity, other times it's because they can't believe that the Bible actually provides for the church a model for counseling. They can't believe that, as Dr. David Powlison has said, "Christianity is a psychology."

In an effort to further communicate to those who have such an interest, I'm placing within this blog post a link to an academic paper I wrote for one of my master's level courses just prior to graduating from SEBTS this past May. Far shorter than a book (or even a booklet), but longer than a blog post, I'm publishing it here in order to answer the questions of some and (hopefully) provoke dialogue in others. 

Truly, it may not be of much interest to those who are seeking counseling for themselves, but for those who are searching for a trusted, biblical counseling resource for people within their care (i.e. pastors), it may be of some value.

As with any document of this nature, I would call it a "living document," because in the spirit of the Reformation, none of us have arrived. Not theologically. Not philosophically. Not even scientifically. 

We are "always reforming" (semper reformada), but so far as the essentials of the faith are concerned, those things that make biblical counseling biblical, I dare say you shouldn't expect much change any time soon. 

Just this morning, I learned that the ACBC is planning to adopt its revised Standards of Doctrine later this year, at its annual conference. I've read this revised statement, and believe my theory for counseling (what we employ here at Baylight Counseling) stands in agreement with both ACBC's Standards, and the BCC's Confession of Faith (counselors at Baylight either are or will be ACBC certified; Baylight is a partner of the BCC).

It is to God's glory, and our joy that we have His unchanging, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient word for the purpose of bearing one another's burdens in the pursuit of discipleship and counseling.

Speaking the Truth in Love: A Personal Theory for Counseling Biblically

SDG

Book Review: Scripture and Counseling: Introduction

The following is part one of a chapter-by-chapter review of "Scripture and Counseling: God's Word for Life in a Broken World." The book is the latest publication from the Biblical Counseling Coalition and Zondervan Publishing. Dr. Bob Kellemen is the General Editor, and Dr. Jeff Forrey is the Managing Editor. 

My intent for this review is to create a series that interacts with each of the book's chapters, and their main ideas. I've chosen this format because of the importance of each chapter. 

Scripture and Counseling is a book that draws upon the knowledge and expertise of twenty leaders from within the biblical counseling movement. It seeks to help the reader regain confidence in God's Word as sufficient to address life's issues. The book is a critical addition to the greater body of work concerning biblical counseling, and one that every counselor, pastor, and small group leader should possess.

Scripture and Counseling: Introduction: The Preacher, The Counselor, and The Congregation

by Kevin DeYoung and Pat Quinn

As the Founder and Executive Director of a still-new biblical counseling ministry, in an area relatively unfamiliar with biblical counseling, one of the most important tasks I've faced in introducing pastors to the ministry is sharing with them the ways in which biblical counseling complements their pre-existing pulpit and teaching ministries. 

In the Introduction to Scripture and Counseling, authors Kevin DeYoung  and Pat Quinn have provided not just another superfluous opening act to an otherwise good book, but a chapter that answers questions like how counseling and pulpit ministry coalesce in a local church, and, perhaps most importantly, what is the basis for counseling and pulpit ministry being joined together.

In the Introduction, DeYoung and Quinn provide the reader with four pillars upon which the partnership of pulpit and counseling rest. Concerning God's Word, those pillars are the necessity, authority, sufficiency, and relevance of Scripture. Each of these are explained in brief, and connections made between the office of preacher and counselor. 

In making their argument for the local church embracing biblical counseling ministry, DeYoung and Quinn show that, contrary to the common view that separates what the pastor does on Sunday, from what the counselor does on Monday, the work of these two disciple-making ministries are intricately linked because of their shared reliance upon Scripture, that is, where Scripture is in fact the basis for ministry.

In the opening paragraph, DeYoung and Quinn write that, "The ministry of the preacher and the ministry of the counselor are not different kinds of ministry, but rather the same ministry given in different ways in different settings. Both are fundamentally, thoroughly, and unapologetically Word ministries."

To this point, and within their explanation of the necessity of Scripture for preaching and biblical counseling, DeYoung and Quinn show that, "The care of souls requires revelation from the Maker of souls. We preach and we counsel from the Scriptures not simply because they help us see a few good insights, but because they are the spectacles through which we must see everything."

DeYoung and Quinn then share specific case examples of how their ministries have complemented one another in the local church where they serve, beginning with the preaching of DeYoung, followed by the one-another ministry of Quinn's counsel. 

DeYoung and Quinn write that their unique ministries have been mutually supportive because of a "shared commitment" to the pillars of Scripture for "helping people work through suffering and sin issues in a way that glorifies God and brings spiritual growth."

From my perspective, as someone who's reaching out to local pastors in a community not accustomed to church-based, clinically-informed biblical counseling, the Introduction to Scripture and Counseling serves as an excellent opportunity to encourage pastors and church leaders to consider how biblical counseling promises to enhance disciple-making, promote lasting life transformation within the congregation, and enhance existing pulpit ministry.

DeYoung and Quinn rightly point out, "We do not need to be afraid to preach and counsel from the Word of God into the deepest places of the human heart." And, through their Introduction to Scripture and Counseling, we also learn that the church can embrace preaching and counseling as complementary ministries of the Word, each emanating from confidence in the necessity, authority, sufficiency, and relevance of Scripture.

Kevin DeYoung is the Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church, serving alongside Pat Quinn, who is the Pastor of Counseling Ministries.

Book Review: Gospel Centered Counseling

The biblical counseling movement is drawing more attention these days than ever before, and deservedly so. As the American church leans into a post-Christian culture, where the church as we’ve known it for generations has lost influence, what we’re witnessing simultaneously are skyrocketing complaints, and diagnoses of problematic behaviors, and emotions. The promise of biblical counseling for those struggling with life dominating concerns is nothing less than the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, mediated through a loving, accountable, personal ministry of the word.

One of the most recent contributions to the growing dialogue that began with Jay Adams’ “Competent to Counsel” in 1970, is Dr. Bob Kellemen’s newest book, “Gospel Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives” (GCC). GCC is part of Kellemen’s “Equipping Biblical Counselors Series,” which is designed to provide counselors, pastors, and spiritual friends with the needed theological, and counseling related tools to further promote lasting, Gospel-centered life change.

Kellemen’s stated goal for GCC, and the forthcoming “Gospel Conversations,” is to, “further equip you for the gospel-centered process of seeing lives changed through the changeless truth of Christ’s gospel of grace” (p.21). He accomplishes this goal by presenting the reader with answers to what he calls “Eight Ultimate Life Questions.” These questions are (p.19):

1. The Word: Where do we find wisdom for life in a broken world?
2. The Trinity/Community: What comes into mind when we think about God?
3. Creation: Whose are we?
4. Fall: What’s the root source of our problem?
5. Redemption: how does Christ bring us peace with God?
6. Church: Where can we find a place to belong and become?
7. Consummation: How does our future destiny with Christ make a difference?
8. Sanctification: Why are we here?

Answering these questions, of course, is a monumental task that lies at the heart of all Christian ministry. Reflecting upon them we can see an outline of major biblical themes that Kellemen uses to help his audience answer the question, “What would a model of biblical counseling and discipleship look like that was built solely upon Christ’s gospel of grace?” With painstaking detail, Kellemen builds his answer to this question while always keeping the sufficiency of Scripture and progressive sanctification in full view.

GCC itself is divided into sixteen spiritually rich chapters that provide what Kellemen calls “Soul Physicians and Biblical Cardiologists” with the tools necessary to formulate a vision for holistic, biblical soul care. One of the common myths about biblical counseling is that the movement elevates personal sin as the root cause of all human suffering, thereby denying the reality of human suffering at the hands of others, or by what might be called natural causes. Kellemen argues against this by writing that, “God calls biblical counselors to join the sanctification journey with saints who struggle with suffering and sin” (p.254).

Throughout GCC, Kellemen provides the counselor with word-pictures that help the reader capture the biblical heartbeat of one-another ministry. In this way, Kellemen does not bore his audience with dry, academic counseling theory, but with language that captures the attention. Equally helpful for the new or intermediate counselor are the various case studies in which the principles set forth in the book are put on display in would-be conversations that guide the reader into thoughtful, imaginative application of the material being learned. These portions may be helpful in the classroom, as GCC is implemented in training.

One of the most helpful designs of the book that every counselor-in-training would do well to make use of are the various abbreviations that Kellemen provides to help divide and understand the human heart, and the way it relates to God and others. Kellemen provides these division-abbreviations, along with a helpful graphic in chapters six and seven. These divisions will help the counselor picture where they are in a counseling session, what parts of the heart their questions are targeting, and where the counselee’s answers are coming from. This information will be invaluable in moving toward a natural counseling style. What may be mechanical up front will eventually become intuitive, and when that happens, the biblical counselor will surely be a mighty conduit of God’s grace in the lives of sufferers and sinners.

The trajectory of GCC, like that of the Gospel upon which it’s built, is toward a progressive sanctification. Kellemen writes that, “Sanctification is the art of applying our justification, reconciliation, regeneration, and redemption” (p.255). In this way, the reader is continuously presented with a biblically holistic view of what the Gospel does in the life of a redeemed person, and where the counselor must desire to lead their counselee. But, GCC will not only equip the counselor for the task, it will challenge and inspire the counselor to apply these great truths in their own lives, where biblical counseling must rightly begin.

I’m happy to commend GCC to any, and all biblical counselors, counselors-in-training, pastors, small group leaders, and anyone interested in learning how the Gospel of Jesus Christ moves in and through the human heart, reconciling man to God, and man to his neighbor. In the pages of this book, we’re given the gift of experiencing the rhythms of biblical heart change. The scaffolding that the counselor needs to climb toward Kellemen’s stated goal is provided. This is a tremendous grace of God in the church today, and one no spiritual friend should be without.

Kellemen convincingly writes in the conclusion to GCC, “As biblical counselors we need to add relational maturity and relational compassion so that we speak and live gospel truth in loving wisdom” (p.293). To the benefit of us all, and the church, Kellemen has achieved this.

5 Reasons Why Your Church Should Embrace Biblical Counseling

Here are five reasons why every local church ought to be embracing biblical counseling ministry:

1. The underlying foundations of secular psychology, to which the church has turned for healing of mental health syndromes, are often bathed in humanism, materialism, Darwinian evolution, and other anti-Gospel world views. 
2. Contrary to popular belief, the biblical counseling movement recognizes the differences between sin and suffering, as well as the venues out of which mental disorders may arise (volitional, environmental, or biological).
3. Biblical counseling embraces that people have a body and a soul, and that some emotional problems do indeed have an organic component, and may therefore require medical intervention.
4. As biblical counseling is deeply rooted in Christian discipleship, it is evangelistic in nature, and concerned with leading the counselee into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, rather than with mere behavior modification or symptom alleviation.
5. Biblical counseling holds that counseling ministry belongs in and to the church, therefore it seeks to equip and mobilize the church to fulfill the command to "bear one another's burdens," a role that has been lost on the church with the advent of secular psychotherapy.

Would you add any reasons of your own to this list? If so, what would they be?

In the following CCEF ARTICLE by Dr. David Powlison, he identifies five reasons why counseling belongs in the church. It's an excellent article, and I encourage you to check it out.

Scripture: Genesis 2:7; Romans 15:14; Galatians 6:2

Mental Health Counseling and the Church

If John the Baptist walked into your church next Sunday morning, would he be welcomed, or would his apparent lack of mental stability frighten the body, and cause noses to be turned up toward the sky?

I open with this question not to offer commentary on John’s mental health, but to press in on our ability and willingness to understand and minister to those who dress in animal skins, eat bugs for dinner, and reside in less than desirable conditions.

By all accounts, John the Baptist would fit today’s description of an emotionally disturbed person (EDP). With a ruddy complexion, and an appearance that would make some good Christians uncomfortable, his entrance into a packed sanctuary would leave just a few clutching their children tightly, and secretly praying, “Oh, dear Lord, don’t let him sit by me.”

But, this example is too easy. It’s too much of a cliché. While there’s always a group of us in the body who secretly desire John to sit elsewhere, there’s also a group of us who revel in the opportunity to show how spiritual we are—sitting with John, it turns out, is sometimes our way of proclaiming our fast to the masses (Matt. 6:16).

Here’s a challenge: If we invite John to sit with us in church on Sunday, but wouldn’t think of inviting him to dinner on Monday, what does this really say about the direction we’re moving in as God’s people, in relation to those with apparent mental health disorders?

In a broad sense, the church in America is still too distant, but growing closer to those with these and similar concerns. Some generations ago, as modernity took control of society’s understanding of man’s condition, it gave up the proper place of counseling within the church almost entirely to the field of secular psychology.

The end of this is that, today, if you want to get well, you go see your psychiatrist, begin a regimen of psychotropic drugs, and only then, if you still desire a little entertainment, you talk to a naive pastor about God. Considering that the field of psychology is founded upon the work of men who denied the very existence of God and man’s need of the Gospel, this reality shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Things are changing though.

Thanks to the good work of some of God’s most gifted men and women in our own time, folks like David Powlison, Brad Hambrick, Ed Welch, and Elyse Fitzpatrick, the body/soul connection is being re-established in the middle of a culture bent on the denial of Christ. Once again, the word of God is being elevated to its proper place in our anthropology—and that place is not in subjection to man’s theories about the causes of behavior and the appropriate remedies.

We call this movement Biblical Counseling.

Not to be confused with the field of Christian Counseling, Biblical Counseling is re-discovering for the church at large the many and diverse ways that the Bible speaks with precision to our sin and suffering. Once again, sense is being made of the condition of man. Where modernity distorted truth, and left us gasping for answers it promised but never delivered, God still speaks.

In past generations, Christians were told to move away from those who suffered from various mental health maladies. Conditions like depression, anxiety, fear, worry, anger, bitterness, and even more complex mood disorders, it was said, can only be understood by learned men in white coats. With increasing intensity, the church was informed that it had little or nothing to offer those who needed help.

The experts couldn’t have been farther from the truth (2 Tim. 3:16).

Today, armed with the inerrant, infallible, and authoritative word of God, a growing consensus within the church is seeing to it that we’re once again moving toward those with mental health concerns, instead of drifting away. As long as we have the word of God, we will have a word from God to deliver to those who are struggling. And none of this precludes or denies the good work and contributions of modern science.  

With confidence, the church is being empowered to help the weak, admonish the unruly, and encourage the faint hearted (1 Thess. 5:14). Here is the work of ministry as it was intended in the beginning, moving toward those in need, and extending the hope of healing and restoration to the hopeless.

We do this for John, because Christ did it for us (Romans 5:8).

A Resolution on Mental Health Concerns

Baylight Counseling is not affiliated with or supported by any particular Christian denomination. Further, Baylight is designed to serve the Christian community at large, and welcomes those of various denominational or theological backgrounds.

That said, I have received much of my training in biblical counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and have pastored within the Southern Baptist Convention.

As a biblical counselor, I take great encouragement in the support given to the biblical counseling process and movement by way of the SBC seminaries embracing and providing degrees in this form of ministry.

Further, I'm encouraged by the resolution passed by the SBC in June 2013 concerning the right and duty of the church of Jesus Christ to be fully engaged in counseling. I affirm the words contained in this resolution, and offer it here for your review:

ON MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS AND THE HEART OF GOD
June 2013

WHEREAS, God made all things perfectly good in design for His glory and the good of humanity (Genesis 1–2); and

WHEREAS, Adam and Eve rebelled against Him, choosing their own way and the way of the Evil One, and consequently ushered sin and disorder into our world and the whole human race (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12–21; 8:22); and

WHEREAS, As a consequence of this Fall, humanity is subjected to many kinds of mental health problems including autism spectrum disorders; intellectual disability; mental health conditions like schizophrenia, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, and eating disorders; and diseases of the aged such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; and 

WHEREAS, God did not abandon fallen humanity but loved the world (John 3:16–17) and launched a plan of redemption—a restoration that is incomplete in this age but will be perfected in heaven (1 Peter 1:3–9); and

WHEREAS, Those with mental health concerns, like all people, are crowned with honor and dignity, being made in the image and likeness of God (Psalm 8:4–6; James 3:9); and

WHEREAS, Those with mental health concerns are disproportionately represented among the homeless and in our correctional systems, indicating a tragic neglect of these persons who are made in God’s image; and

WHEREAS, Those who are struggling with mental health concerns often feel isolated, stigmatized, and rejected, sometimes resorting to self-destructive behaviors, including suicide; and 

WHEREAS, Suicide is a tragedy, leaving heartache, pain, and unanswered questions in its wake; and 

WHEREAS, Recent events in our nation and among God’s people have underscored the tragedy of mental health concerns and their devastating toll within our families, our churches, and our culture; and

WHEREAS, Jesus Christ spent time with and healed some of the most marginalized members of the culture of His day; and

WHEREAS, God has appointed His people to be the main representatives of His heart and values to the world; and 

WHEREAS, God has called us to share the Gospel of Christ with all people, including those suffering various mental health concerns; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas, on June 11–12, 2013, affirm that those with mental health concerns are of immeasurable value to God; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the mission Jesus described as His own in Luke 4:18-19 should also be the mission of His church, namely to proclaim liberty to those who are oppressed by means of godly biblical counsel; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commit to affirm, support, and share God’s love and redemption with those with mental health concerns; and be it further 

RESOLVED, That we oppose all stigmatization and prejudice against those who are suffering from mental health concerns; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support the wise use of medical intervention for mental health concerns when appropriate; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support research and treatment of mental health concerns when undertaken in a manner consistent with a biblical worldview; and be it further

RESOLVED, That families who have lost a member to suicide deserve great care, concern, and compassion from Christians and their churches, including the assurance that those in Christ cannot be separated from the eternal love of God that is in Christ Jesus; and be it finally 

RESOLVED, That we call on all Southern Baptists and our churches to look for and create opportunities to love and minister to, and develop methods and resources to care for, those who struggle with mental health concerns and their families.

One of the great myths of biblical counseling is that those trained in its practice employ a "take two verses and call me in the morning" approach. This is a gross misunderstanding not only of clinically-informed biblical counseling, but of the very real and present help afforded believers who struggle with problematic emotions and relationships in the pages of Scripture.

Hopefully, this resolution will help instill a growing confidence in those considering biblical counseling for themselves or those they care about, that this model for soul care is both trustworthy, and effective. With an eye toward our physical brokenness and need of the medical communities assistance, we can indeed turn to the One who is both Designer and Redeemer of human souls (Prov. 14:26).

In a World of Pain and Suffering, Our Churches Must Be Counseling Churches

All ministry is counseling ministry.

In a recent, informal poll that I conducted all by myself, 2 out of three pastors that I spoke with disagreed with the preceding statement. I offered no explanation as to what the statement meant, nor did I receive feedback as to why the pastors disagreed with me. All I know is that they apparently saw some percentage of Christian ministry as not related to counseling.

Respectfully, I disagree with their assessment, and I want to persuade them, and all believers, pastors and non-pastors alike, that all of Christian ministry is in fact some form of counsel, and that all of our churches, particularly here in America, must become congregations that counsel.

To be a church that has a counseling ministry is one thing. To be a church that counsels is something quite different.

The field of mental health is receiving much needed attention in the land of Evangelical Christianity these days, and rightfully so. Although the attention isn't always marked by educated, and informed dialogue, the days of mental and emotional health issues being relegated to quiet meetings in the pastor's office are slowly giving way to openness and transparency.

As I build Baylight Counseling here in the Tampa Bay area, a para-church resource for clinically-informed, biblical counseling, I am slowly piecing together a number of loose observations that speak to a number of issues. Some of my thoughts are critical of what I'm seeing in churches generally, but I'm reminded that we stand at what may be a tipping point in changing a church culture that has been sold variously on two lies: 

1. There are no organic diseases of the brain that affect cognition and behavior, therefore good Christians do not take medication, but read their Bibles and pray, or
2. The Bible has little to say about obvious mental health issues, therefore only secular trained "experts" can help those in need.

I wrote about these two issues in my last post, which you can access HERE.

These two chronically advanced, malignant thoughts are kept alive through misinformation, false assumptions, and a general lack of education. These conditions permeate the church at large. But, it's OK. We don't need to rage against the machine, as much as we need to begin the process of reclaiming this most important piece of disciple-making that in truth, has always belonged to and in the church: counseling.

Long ago, at least by the early 20th century, as liberal theology and modern science gained an ear in the culture, the church was bullied (and it acquiesced) into believing that human thought processes and behavior were biologically rooted. The Bible, which was said to be a mere collection of man-made stories that weren't meant to be taken "literally," was therefore a poor source of information for providing counseling and therapy to those plagued by problematic behavior and emotions.

Slowly, but surely, the church cow-toed to these allegations, hung her head in shame, and bowed out of one of the most important pieces of work she was originally called to perform: to dispense the full counsel of God to a world of pain and suffering.

The tragedy in this fact is that suffering is a universal, human language. All humans suffer in a myriad of ways. We suffer from our own sin, and we suffer from bodies that break down and die. Furthermore, we all suffer to varying degrees from the effects of sin committed by the people around us. Sometimes we're the intended victim, and other times we're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No matter what truths the details bear witness to, suffering is a universal human language on this side of glory. 

If this is true, and I believe it is, then what are the implications for our churches? What are the opportunities given to the church by God in the midst of suffering that provide incredible opportunities to introduce (or reintroduce) people to their Creator, who alone holds the keys to a transformed life?

This discussion is much bigger than any one blog post can bear, but I do want to submit one idea that I'm certain must be of interest to pastors and believers who desire to see the lost come to know Christ, and that's this: In our post-Christian culture, learning how to listen to, understand, and subsequently minister to the emotional, mental, and spiritual suffering of the people around us, regardless of the cause, is vital, if we're going to fulfill the Great Commission.

Rob Green and Steve Viars, in their chapter from the newly released book, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling, wrote the following:

Churches may talk about evangelism, but counseling offers a tremendous opportunity for folks to do evangelism rather than talk about doing evangelism. When an unbeliever seeks biblical counseling, it's an opportunity to present Christ as the answer to their needs. Instead of us going to them and giving them a message they don't want, our non-Christian counselees come wanting an explanation for the challenges they are facing in their lives. They are coming on our turf and wanting our answers because no one else has been able to provide satisfactory answers to their deepest questions. (p.231)

As social justice issues have gained traction in recent years, even or especially within the Evangelical church, I'm proposing that the work of building credible, trust-worhty, clinically-informed, biblical counseling ministries into the fabric of our churches become a front-burner topic.

According to the US Government, the field of counseling is expected to grow by a whopping 20-30% over the next decade, and with millions upon millions of Americans now taking psychotropic medications for a host of issues, why would the church not seize this God-given opportunity to minister to the hurting and broken people among us?

If I were pastoring a church today, I wouldn't wait one more second to begin a dialogue about this issue with my leadership team. The need within the culture is glaring, and its presence and effect within our churches is undeniable. To our glorious benefit, we live in a time when, by God's grace, the resources to efficiently and effectively train teams of lay counselors is in place.

The only questions that remain to be answered are whether or not we'll continue to be satisfied by the status quo, exchanging potentially nuclear-powered disciple-making resources for more concerts and short-term, feel-good programming, or will the church get serious about infiltrating the culture with the hope of Jesus Christ, at the point of the culture's pain?

If we don't actually believe that the Bible is sufficient for all of life, which by the way is not to deny the proper place of good medical science, then we'll do nothing. We'll keep sending Christ's sheep to the disciples of Freud and Darwin, who are perfectly willing to shield their eyes from a view of the cross, while we do whatever it is we've been doing.

Counseling is the business of the church, and in a world of mental and emotional pain and suffering, our churches must become places of refuge and hope for the hurting.

Note: If you or your church would like to investigate this opportunity further, please contact me at Baylight Counseling for an appointment (727-433-0682). It would be my pleasure to serve you, and to help craft a way forward for you or your church to build its own counseling ministry, and in so doing, make disciples of Christ by fulfilling the Great Commission.

Rising Awareness of Mental Health Issues Among Evangelicals

On April 5, 2013, the evangelical church in America, known for its generally strong belief in and commitment to Biblical inerrancy and sufficiency, was rocked from its slumber on mental health issues when the son of beloved pastor Rick Warren tragically committed suicide.

Matthew Warren, 27, had struggled for years with issues such as a borderline personality disorder and depression. According to his parents, Rick and Kaye, they had engaged these battles for years with Matthew, loving on him, and ensuring that he had access to quality mental health care and counseling.

Still, the day they had long feared would come, finally arrived. Their son had taken his own life. 

In the aftermath, they were left not only with the task of prayerfully mending their broken family, but, they were compelled to see to it that Matthew's death would become a point of constructive dialogue for Christians in America. 

The evangelical church in America, with exceptions of course, has proven its commitment to "rightly dividing the word of God," but it has had difficulty rightly dividing the issues that surround mental health and mental illness.

LifeWay, a research and publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, recently issued a report in which it said that 48% of evangelicals in America believe that "Bible study and prayer alone can heal people with serious mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia." In the same report, respondents also indicated a majority belief that the church in America should, "do more to prevent suicide."

While I applaud LifeWay for taking up this issue, and for investigating the general mood of evangelicals in America, I have some thoughts concerning the report that I'd like to add:

1. The report, in my estimation, reflects a continued lack of understanding of the issues surrounding mental health and mental illness. For example, according to the report, well over half of evangelicals believe that bible study and prayer alone can bring healing to those who suffer from mental health issues, while a majority also believe that the church should do more to prevent suicides that are presumably linked to mental illness. Is this to say that a majority of evangelicals in America believe that those afflicted with mental illness must simply pray harder, and study longer?
2. The most loaded question in the report, in my opinion, is the one that addresses Bible study and prayer as the hope for those struggling with mental health issues. I didn't like the wording or the presentation of the question, because it takes an incredibly complex issue and reduces it to a dangerously simple question. Evangelicals, rightly committed to the word of God, but not always well versed in mental health issues, are almost certainly going to affirm that Bible study and prayer alone can heal mental illness. This is not a surprising outcome, and furthermore, not an incorrect belief, in and of itself. What the question seems to convey, but does not clarify, is whether the respondents believed that only prayer and bible study should be applied where mental illness is present. In other words, one can believe that prayer and Bible study alone can heal mental illness, while not believing that these are the only two options which ought to be applied.
3. The LifeWay report repeatedly uses the term "mental illness," and, for the purposes of the survey, groups depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia into one category that it describes as "serious conditions." This, in my opinion, is an over-simplification of the named conditions, particularly where depression is the issue. For example, a person may suffer from what appears to be depression with underlying biological causes, or they may suffer from a depression which was brought about by circumstantial factors, where there is no reason to suspect a biological cause. Furthermore, the depression may or may not be "serious" in terms of the level of suffering. Therefore, to group depression into the same category as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, two conditions which are indeed serious, and which are believed to be organically driven issues, is too loose of an approach, and feeds into the ongoing unfamiliarity with the issues.
4. Evangelicals in America have been sold, in my opinion, on two grievous errors which originate in two distinct camps: a) the anti-organic Christian camp, which denies the organic component of mental health issues, because it fails to grasp the relationship between body and soul, and b) the secular approach to mental health which finds its roots in a Darwinian theory of evolution, and a "disease-only" model of psychology which seeks, therefore, to excise the reality of sin, its effects, and the corresponding need for a Savior.

The points above are not exhaustive, but serve as brief examples of the issues that the church faces in America. The LifeWay report and its respondents are right to identify the need for a broader, more comprehensive response to mental health and mental illness issues. Regardless of the identifiable causes of problematic emotions and behaviors in people, it is undeniable that the church ought to be a place of refuge and unsurpassed hope for both the sinner and the sufferer, as it learns to better embrace the realities of the brokenness of our bodies, and the hope that the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers to those in despair.

I am convinced that counseling rightly belongs to and in the church, but my conviction goes well beyond the woefully insufficient "take two verses and call me in the morning" approach. 

For biblical encouragement in all of this, I look to passages such as 1 Timothy 5:23, where Paul instructs Timothy, concerning some physical ailments, to not drink only water, but to also drink "a little wine" in seeking relief. In raising this point, I'm not inviting a debate on alcohol. I am, however, acknowledging that Paul did not tell Timothy to simply attend another Bible study, and pray harder in seeking a cure for what ailed him. Instead, Paul acknowledged a physical ailment, and identified a potential source of physical relief. Why would the church today refuse to extend a similar form of relief to sufferers of true mental illness, where appropriate?

The good news for us today is that there is a movement within the evangelical church, otherwise known as the "biblical counseling movement," which is, with increasing precision, seeking to better understand the connection between body and soul, true mental illness versus problematic emotions and behaviors brought about by sin, and the appropriate forms of relief and treatment. At its best, it's neither given to naivety, nor given to a Freudian worldview.

Within this counseling model, is a growing source of hope for those locked into seemingly inescapable patterns of sin, or seasons of intense suffering brought about by a host of causes for which they had little to no control. Regardless of the position, the Gospel is held out as the ultimate source of compassionate hope and healing, whether there is a need for medical intervention, or not.

For these and other reasons, I'm grateful for the courage of the Warren family in confronting the church with the realities we face. I'm grateful for organizations such as LifeWay, which are refusing to ignore this once frowned upon topic. And, I'm grateful for the grace of God in the biblical counseling movement, which is increasingly lifting from the pages of Scripture a truly biblical approach to counseling, psychotherapy, and mental health issues.

For too long, the church has submitted herself to the secular sciences in near humiliation, behaving as a bride who is ashamed of her husband, when all along, He held the keys to hope for not only the age to come, but also the age in which we presently live.

While we have not yet arrived, there are indications of a movement in the right direction. And, that movement may begin with a rising awareness not only of the need, but of the hope found in the Good News, properly joined together with a more accurate understanding of the body and soul.

For the sake of our testimony, the glory of God, and the souls of the people for which we are called to provide care, let's pray that we can finally start to get this right.