Dr. Wayne Mack was a profoundly influential determine within the trendy biblical counseling motion. His work within the space of biblical counseling appeared indefatigable; his trustworthy labor within the Lord spanned many a long time. Along with serving in native church contexts, Dr. Mack additionally served in varied parachurch ministry contexts:
- Within the Nineteen Seventies, Mack was a founding board member of the Nationwide Affiliation of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC), now the Affiliation of Licensed Biblical Counselors (ACBC).
- In 1992, Mack deliberate and supervised the event of the Grasp of Arts in Biblical Counseling program at The Grasp’s College.
- In 2005, Mack introduced biblical counseling to South Africa. He was instrumental in establishing ACBC Africa, and through his time in South Africa, he skilled tons of of individuals in biblical counseling.
Along with serving in these establishments, Mack additionally wrote quite a few books and articles and produced many audio and video assets. My expertise of Dr. Mack was very private—he was the one who launched me to biblical counseling. As a younger pupil at theological faculty, I used to be launched to Wayne Mack in 2010. I accomplished the coaching he delivered in South Africa earlier than shifting on to review additional on the Grasp’s College in California. As we mirror on his life and provides thanks for his constant, sacrificial service to the Lord Jesus, there are two issues that stand out in my reminiscence of Dr Mack:
Firstly, his deep information of God’s Phrase was encouraging and an instance to observe. Each time a pupil requested a query, Dr. Mack was in a position to again up his reply with a verse from the Bible, or not less than deduced from a biblical reality. Furthermore, his private information of Scripture appeared to correlate together with his detailed counseling assignments and worksheets. His counseling strategy was thorough! He wished God’s Phrase to deliver complete renewal and alter to numerous areas of life. Psalm 19 tells us that God’s Phrases are extra valuable than gold and sweeter than honey—Dr. Mack understood that personally. He not solely defended the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, but it surely was one thing that formed his life personally and formed his counseling ministry virtually.
Secondly, because of the in depth assignments linked to it, I’ll at all times bear in mind The Pilgrim’s Progress! Due to Dr. Mack, I’ve come to have a deep appreciation for this outstanding ebook. Unsurprisingly, it’s a ebook that clearly demonstrates one in all Mack’s lifelong convictions: that biblical counseling is a theological self-discipline wanted for the traditional Christian life. The assistance all of us want for the traditional and troublesome Christian life might be present in God’s Phrase and amongst God’s folks.
Dr. Mack recognized himself as standing shoulder to shoulder with different pioneers within the biblical counseling motion, and he was definitely united with them within the foundational commitments. But he additionally appeared to have his personal emphases. For instance, I used to be enormously helped by his ‘8 I’s’ methodology, which supplied a transparent construction a novice counselor may use. Particularly, I appreciated how the ‘8 I’s’ mannequin emphasizes compassion within the counseling relationship. One other emphasis was his use of scaling, which helped counselees doing homework assignments to rank themselves in gentle of God’s Phrase. This sensible strategy had a means of encouraging concrete obedience. On my bookshelf, I’ve totally different homework manuals with varied varieties and worksheets, all designed to encourage godliness. This mix of compassion and practicality appeared a selected power of his, and one thing I’ve been formed by. It was additionally an instance of what trustworthy praxis improvement may appear to be within the area of biblical counselling—one thing that future generations of biblical counselors can take into accout as extra assets are developed.
Dr. Wayne Mack was an encouraging instance of deep belief in God’s Phrase and tireless service in the reason for Christ. We give because of God for him and his household. Might his instance encourage us to serve the Lord with consistency and faithfulness.
