Continued from Part One

And now here we come: the third generation of counselors. This next generation is standing on the shoulders of these great men and their systems. This third generation is giving the counseling world a more refined motive as well as a more biblical context for change.

The Bible’s Primary Motive for Change

And what is the Bible’s primary motive for change?

It’s the Gospel!

There has been, over the past 10 years, a renewed and necessary emphasis in the Gospel as it pertains to sanctification. Imagine that! Gospel-centered counseling literature is something you did not read a lot about 10 to 15 years ago. But that is changing.

We are relearning how the Gospel should have supreme effect on our counseling. This is not a new way to counsel. It is the Bible way. Paul would declare with clarity that he didn’t want to know anything else, but the Gospel. (See 1 Corinthians 2:20) There are plenty more texts that would support the argument for Gospel-motivated change.

Notice Paul’s Gospel connection in Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. In this text Paul is connecting our motive to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving to the Gospel.

Read also Matthew 18:23-35 for another Gospel connection regarding the reason we do what we do.

The Bible’s Primary Context for Change

The second point the third generation counselor is bringing into focus is the primary context for sanctification to take place. That is the local church. In our haste and zeal for this renewed interest in counseling we have in some ways overrun our boundary markers. What I mean is that just because “anyone can be a counselor” should not mean that “anyone can counsel” effectively.

Counseling has, in some sectors, taken on a life of its own within the local church and in some cases it can be at odds with the leadership and normal body life of the local church. It can’t be the tail wagging the dog.

For example, I supervised a man once upon a time who had this zealous desire to be a counselor. However, at the end of the day he was not a good one. He had limited people skills. He didn’t understand the intricacies of counseling. He was harsh, too simplistic and jagged around the edges and the people he tried to serve were not served.

He was a mechanic and a mechanic was the best possible way for him to serve the body of Christ. However, he went to counseling conferences, where he was told he could counsel, he could get equipped to counsel and he should be counseling because the bible tells us so. (A hyperbolic stretching of Romans 15:14.)

Quite frankly, I would not want my children going to some conference where they were told they could be a movie star and they come home and forsake their God-given gifting for a pipe dream without the counsel of the one who is responsible for them (their dad.).

And I think we counselors can do a disservice to our friends when we tell them they can be counselors or should be counselors when it would be better for them to spend Saturday afternoon under the hood of a car with a rebellious teen teaching him a trade in the context of building a relationship.

Let’s not call it counseling. Let’s call it biblical friendship. Or let’s call it discipleship. But to call it counseling can create an unnecessary problem for our friends. Let’s release them from the burden of becoming a counselor and introduce them to the local church where they can be a friend in the context of community.

I am not anti-counseling, but I am pro discipleship. In my opinion the pastors should be setting the trajectory for the sanctification process in the lives of their people rather than folks like me. Therefore, there is a significant emphasis in my training to encourage the folks I’m serving to support, submit, follow and of all things be a “joy to pastor.” (Heb. 13:17)

I don’t know the people that come to me for counselor training like their shepherds. I also don’t sit in on Elder meetings and I’m not hearing the heart of the leadership and the direction they are taking and how they are hearing from God and what God is telling them and how they want to lead the folks God is holding them accountable to. I want to tread carefully when I’m “mess’in with somebody else’s sheep.”

Therefore, my program focuses on the main thing regarding change (Gospel) and the main place for change to take place (Local Church), whether we’re talking about the counselee or the counselor. I don’t consider myself better than those who have gone before me in any way, shape or form. But I can stand on the shoulders of the great ones and I praise God for that.

And I am truly grateful for this renewed emphasis on the Gospel for our sanctification and the local church as the primary context for that to take place.

Other articles in this series

• Case Study: Counselees and the Local Church
• Case Study: Are You NANC Certified?
• Should I Be NANC Certified?
• To Certify or Not to Certify: That is the Question for Counselors
• Counseling Solutions Training Program to Equip Counselors
• Desire and Burden Do Not Make a Biblical Counselor
• Inherent Liabilities with Biblical Counseling
• Counseling Today: Standing on Jay’s Shoulders, Pt. 1
• Counseling Today: Standing on Jay’s Shoulders, Pt. 2
• Can’t the Local Church Do This?
• Two Ways to Become a Better Counselor
• My Top Choices for Counselor Training
• Do I Need a License to Be a Christian Counselor