Mailbag: Are the spiritual gifts of the Spirit given to the New Testament church (especially to her elders) sufficient to meet the counseling needs of God’s people? I’m wondering if more elders need to acknowledge their God-given sufficiency to counsel (or disciple) those given to their charge and more fully devote themselves to this aspect of their pastoral labors.

Hello [Friend]

The short answer is YES; the gifts are sufficient to her Elders as well as the entire local church. 

• Romans 15:14 tells us that we all can instruct one another. 
• Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages us to stir one another up to good works as well. 
• Galatians 6:1 encourages us to serve one another through difficulty. 
• Matthew 18:15ff gives us a template for walking folks through difficulty. 

There are many other texts given to the church that would teach us our role in “counseling.” My preferred word however is “discipleship.” It’s a broader term for counseling and applies to all Christians. And the Elders would lead the charge in counseling as well as instructing the members in counseling.

Ephesians 4:11ff teaches us that the Pastors were given to the church to “equip the saints.” And equipping would most certainly imply teaching them how to disciple. I have to assume that if you are teaching how to disciple others then you know how to disciple.

Unfortunately one of the reasons I’m in business is because of a “discipleship breakdown” in the local church. I’m a para-church (para=alongside of) organization. I have never totally cared for the fact that I’m filling a void in the local church, from outside the local church. But I get it. I do understand why, which seems to be the point of your question.

One of the things I do in my counseling is encourage my clients to bring someone from their church to sit in on the counseling sessions. This is usually, but not always, a leader (hopefully an Elder) so I can not only serve my client through some situational difficulty, but also equip the Elder in how to counsel. I’ve done this through the years and it has served several local churches in catching a vision for a more comprehensive view of discipleship within the local church.

Also, my Distance Education Counselor Training Program has a similar high view of the local church and I suggest Elder involvement with the folks I’m equipping through this training program.

And to bore you a bit more, I am in the process of writing a book on bringing discipleship back into the local church. (It’s as though I’m trying to market myself out of a career.)

Thanks for your question. It’s a good one and it’s one I’m thinking through everyday of my life. My goal is to seek how to minimize what I do and maximize what God has ordained as the primary place for sanctification, the local church.