Are you NANC?
This is one of the more common questions that I get asked when interacting with people who are familiar with the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC). It is a fair and reasonable question to ask if you are in the Christian counseling field.
My temptation is to answer the question with a yes and a no.
I am NANC certified and a Fellow in the organization. Being a Fellow means I can equip counselor candidates who are seeking NANC certification.
I do love NANC. I believe in what they are doing. It is satisfying to read their history and to see how they are elevating the doctrine of sanctification within the local church. They serve the local church in objective and valuable ways.
The other part of me wants to say that I am not NANC. And what I mean by that statement is that NANC should not be considered the essential, best or only way to assist someone who wants to learn how to do soul care. NANC is not the way, but merely a way to assist people in discipleship.
ask the best questions first
Before there was NANC there was the local church. Should NANC cease to exist, the local church will still be there. The local church is not part of NANC, but NANC is part of the local church. In this case, the tail does not wag the dog. NANC, on its best day, is merely one answer to the question, “How can we equip Christians to become better disciplers?”
Asking whether or not you are NANC certified should not be the first or most important question you ask when it comes to counseling. The better questions to ask should be:
- Are you a Christian?
- Do you love God’s Word?
- Do you want to be obedient to God?
- Do you love people?
- Would you love to see people change?
- Would you like to be part of their process of change?
- Do you love the local church?
- Do you understand the local church is the best context for people to change?
- Are you doing all you can do to equip yourself in the area of soul care?
- Are you seeking to come alongside others in the local church to help them change?
The answer to all of these questions should be “Yes.” At the end of the day it does not matter if you are NANC certified.
What matters is whether you love God and man and are seeking to equip yourself so you can point others towards God’s solutions for their problems. If NANC can help you do that, then it is beneficial.
a few little warnings: traps not to fall into
- Two tier thinking: I’m NANC. You’re not.
- NANC is the only way to go.
- NANC is for a select few and if you are not NANC certified, then you are NOT able to help people.
- Pursuing NANC as the primary means and context to bring about change in a person’s life, rather than the local church.
NANC, at its best, is a ministry called alongside (Para-Church) the local church to assist the local church by equipping it members in better soul-care practices.
It is not God’s first or only method in this noble pursuit of discipleship.
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
Checkout some of our training videos on our YouTube Channel
I pray regularly that if I’m pursuing NANC certification or a degree in biblical counseling for prideful reasons God will let me know and correct the problem. Like other ministry opportunities, desiring to help people become more like Christ is a good thing that can become a “god” thing, which is a bad thing (to borrow a line from Mark Driscoll).
Paul has helped a lot of people become more like Christ, and he wasn’t NANC certified. The church survived 1900+ years without psychologists or NANC certified counselors.
I really appreciated this post very much–There are a lot of folks doing God-centered, Messiah exalting Biblical counseling and I think that at the end of the day, making sure that we are honoring Y’shua (Jesus) as Lord has to be the main thing. It is too easy to make doing for God more important than it should be. I am praying about taking further Biblical counseling training, and know that God will make it clear to me what to do and where to do it. I so appreciate these posts and all I’m learning. Thanks for serving us in this way!