Rightfully, there’s been a lot dialogue on what makes biblical counseling biblical, however what makes biblical counseling counseling? Answering that query helps counselors know what expertise to sharpen and helps a church differentiate counseling from ministries like discipleship, recommendation, or shepherding.[1] This text goals to spotlight what the counseling side of biblical counseling entails.
Whether or not you’re a pastor, counselor, or a lay member, doing counseling means:
1. You foster an atmosphere the place somebody could be keen to speak about their struggles.
Being a pastor, counselor, or fellow church member doesn’t entitle you to the deep points of somebody’s story—that particular person nonetheless must know you might have the center and ability to deal with such delicate points. Proverbs 20:5 teaches that it takes an individual of perception and understanding to attract out the deep issues of the center. The remaining factors provide concepts on what goes into such perception and understanding.
2. You keep away from leaping too shortly to instructing, encouraging, correcting, or equipping folks earlier than understanding their context.
Simply as a pastor wouldn’t bounce to interpretation or software when exegeting a passage earlier than understanding its context, a counselor could be unwise to ignore context, too. It might be the equal of a shoot first, purpose later method somewhat than purpose first, shoot later. Counseling takes somebody’s context under consideration earlier than shelling out biblical views or pondering by way of motion steps.
This implies you’re taking time to grasp why folks do what they do somewhat than make assumptions about their coronary heart. And you’re taking time to assist folks perceive how their previous or current impacts them spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and virtually. To do that properly requires discernment to know while you perceive sufficient context, self-discipline to abstain from talking earlier than listening (Prov. 18:13), and willingness to enter somebody’s world, irrespective of how uncomfortable it could be to take action, simply as Christ did when He entered our world.
3. You stroll with folks by way of the a number of complexities of their tales.
On common, counseling offers with extra complicated issues than discipleship or advice-giving. A few of strolling by way of complexity entails:
- Seeing patterns that drive a number of points to get at root causes
- Appreciating nuance in why somebody struggles with one thing (as in comparison with making each battle about idolatry)
- Considering the depth and longevity of somebody’s struggles when assessing their progress
- Understanding what life is like for somebody with a bodily or psychological situation and serving to them contemplate how they pursue Christ in gentle of these
4. You assist folks assume by way of new habits primarily based on what could be difficult but life like for them.
A superb private coach considers somebody’s harm historical past, physique weight, and basic health stage earlier than figuring out how a lot weight that particular person ought to elevate. Think about the coach telling an out-of-shape, middle-aged particular person who’s had a number of shoulder surgical procedures to elevate the identical quantity of weight that she or he does!
A typical mistake in any interpersonal ministry is recommending extra change than an individual is as much as or not difficult them sufficient. Typically recommendation could be about how you’ll do one thing as a result of it’s labored for you. Or it may be about what labored for the final particular person you met with, forgetting the context of the particular person you’re at present speaking to. By taking somebody’s context under consideration, counseling finds simply the precise stability between difficult and life like when crafting motion steps.
5. You monitor progress and make changes as vital.
Change typically comes incrementally somewhat than in leaps and bounds, that means progress must be monitored. But monitoring progress could be part of counseling that appears so unspiritual when in comparison with different sides, equivalent to listening to somebody, providing biblical views for a specific battle, or discussing implications of biblical reality. However monitoring progress helps steer all these parts into one thing tangible that spurs progress. This requires:
- Defining progress in a multi-faceted way- seeing progress as somebody’s coronary heart, thoughts, and actions turning into extra Christ-like as an alternative of a singular deal with habits, extra bible data, or feeling higher
- Specializing in 1-2 adjustments or habits to work on earlier than transferring on to different points
- Following as much as verify on progress and handle obstacles by contemplating whether or not:
- Too many adjustments have been prescribed without delay
- Lack of progress is because of needing extra biblical instructing, equipping, encouraging, or light correction
- The adjustments or habits prescribed have been too simple or too unrealistic
6. You steer away from doing counseling in isolation.
Licensed counselors have a board they report back to, by which their counselees can file complaints. They’re additionally required to obtain supervision and confidential enter on their instances. Likewise, counseling in a church or parachurch setting shouldn’t occur in isolation. Our counselees are protected understanding they will communicate to a gaggle of elders or a board of administrators if one thing inappropriate occurs in counseling or if counseling is ineffective. Counselors additionally want knowledge from others. A willingness to obtain steering additional helps the counselee and cultivates and demonstrates humility.
Conclusion
In the event you’re a pastor or lay church member, I hope you’ve been inspired that you simply may need extra counseling expertise than you assume! Or maybe you’ve been challenged to see you would possibly not be doing counseling such as you thought you have been and have to develop in a specific space. In the event you’re a seasoned counselor, I hope this has provided concepts on easy methods to talk with others about what the counseling side of biblical counseling entails and the way it differs from related ministries.
Questions for Reflection
- What else would you add to the factors above of what makes a specific ministry counseling?
- What do you must work on? If there’s rather a lot, attempt including only one side into your conversations and go from there.
[1] This, in flip, helps a church steward the giftings of its members and provide readability for what ministry somebody ought to pursue for a specific matter.
