No need for counseling in the Church

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Scheepers

Dean Scheepers

Counseling Psychology

Dr. Val Stephens

9 April 2003

No need for counseling in the Church

Before this paper is ripped out and graded F, an explanation of the title is in order. This paper will be refuting the title. Often in today’s church’s people come for help with a problem or concern and they are told that there is a purpose for what is happening and that we must just believe that God will work it all out in His time for His plan. Although one would never dispute the fact that God is in control, the church needs to realize that God sent people to help other people. There are many reasons why the church needs to approach counseling with more seriousness and why counseling is needed in the church. People in the community often come to the church when they are in a difficult time in their lives.

If people come to the church looking for help and advice and the phrase, “Just believe in God, He has a plan through all of this” is used to try and console someone or be the answer to all their problems. So why are so many people in the church down-trodden and trapped in the condemnation of emotional distress. It is deeply saddening that many go to churches and Christians expecting warmth, understanding and care only to depart feeling condemned because they just cannot jump to the top of Christian maturity that is required in merely accepting the truth of the word of God. As if it is not hard enough to have to cope with the situation at hand, now one has to cope with trying to feel inadequate in not being able to accept that truth as the answer to ones personal problems; and what makes it so hard to challenge these views is that they are based in truth. Christ is all sufficient but there are many reasons why we do not always realize this in our lives. It is not just about sinful refusal to believe. Explanations of our "failure" to shake off past baggage are not the same as excuses for staying in the past.

Of course, the answers to our deepest needs are to be found in the fulfilling relationship with our maker that is made possible through Christ. In his introductory books on Christian counseling Lawrence Crabb explores the nature of human beings and concludes that it is because we are created in the image of a personal and triune relating God, that our needs centre around relationships with Him and with each other. However, our minds, our relationships, attitudes, emotions and habits, are influenced by our upbringing, environment, experiences, learning, culture and personality. So the renewing of our minds that is required in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will”(NIV), needs to be an ongoing process of sifting out all the bad to find the good. Things that we learn from our parents about discipline, love and acceptance may be very worthwhile and entirely wholesome but they may also be unhelpful and damaging in some contexts. For example, being competitive and driven to succeed in work may achieve much in some situations in the world and in the church. When things change in our lives though, this approach may fail us and lead us into a sense of failure and worthlessness. We then need to move into a realization that our true value is based upon God's view of us and His love for us. A life times worth of thinking and rationalizing needs to be transformed, if the old habits of thought, attitudes and behaviors are to change. Sometimes a counseling relationship might be the place where a damaged and hurting person can explore unconditional love, trust and acceptance and achieve understanding of why they find such things difficult. A person may go to their church leader to find this and be devastated to receive a cold command to have more faith and believe the promises of God for your life. If we are to be serious about changing our habits of thought, behavior, attitude and emotion in line with what God wants, then we need to understand where we have come from in our lives. We need to understand the things we pick up from our parents, past abuses, unhelpful teaching and trauma so that we can then move on and make changes.

This is a preview of the whole essay

People are very complex beings and one big problem with Church counselors is that they tend to over simplify the problem at hand. Even though God does have all the answers and He does have a plan for our lives, it does not mean that that plan does not involve other people helping us. When we become Christians we do not lose our memories of past events. The problem is that much of what we have learned is harmful, erroneous or at least not always helpful. So having become a Christian does not change who you are. You have not become perfect. Ones mind and ones memory is still influenced and tarnished and it is through this that a person experiences the world and experiences God. Just as a broken leg is not mended merely by becoming a Christian, neither is a damaged mind mended all in one decision either. Theology, doctrine and ultimately a relationship with God through Christ may solve ones deepest needs and influence a person’s ultimate destination. But practical hard work, counseling, discipline, commitment, psychotherapy, practice, teaching, learning and experience will also have an impact on ones life. This is not meant to say that Christ has no part in counseling; neither does it say that the Scriptures have no authority, but it emphasizes the need for actual training in this area.

Christian counselors have a responsibility of helping those who come for help, within the spectrum of their ability. In Galatians 6:2 we are commanded to help others, “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”(NIV). Biblical principles need to be an inaugural part of counseling in this setting. Values and morals that are outlined in God’s word need to be the basis of solutions and suggestions provided to help overcome certain situations.

Dr. Gary Rupp said in a paper he wrote, “The counseling ministry, however, is not limited to believers. Non-believers are looking for real solutions to life’s demands also. For them, the counseling may become an entrance into spiritual awakening. No doubt some will wrestle and leave with little hope. Others will find God in the struggle and the wrestling gives way to celebration. And counseling becomes outreach and evangelism to the community”(Counseling in the Church). This is becoming more and more relevant in today’s society, with all the recent acts of terrorism and random acts of violence, the community as a whole is looking toward the church for answers. There is a continued security in the church and if the answers to all questions asked by the non-Christian community are spiritual in there entirety, then we will lose all effeteness in using that opportunity to counsel them and influence them to accept the ways of Christ. What good does pastoral counseling do to the church and the community? “Counseling can help save those areas of our lives that are shipwrecked in the storms of our daily living, broken on the hidden reef of anxiety, guilt and lack of integrity”(WHAT PASTORAL CARE CAN DO IN YOUR CHURCH).

There is one more common occurrence that happens in a church counseling environment. People are often made to feel extremely guilty when the admit a area of trouble in their lives to the counseling pastor. Though this might not be done intentionally, the damage is done. That person will never want to talk about anything personal or confidential again. The credibility is gone, are counselors not supposed to help someone feel better and work through problems instead of adding to the feeling of guilt and shame? “A counseling ministry in the church seeks to touch the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed with the good news of God’s grace”(Counseling in the Church). A large part of why counseling is done incorrectly in a church setting is that most people believe that if you are a pastor, that you are qualified to help with the problems at hand.

This is very far from the truth. There are very few people today who are pastors and are qualified or even able to counsel effectively. If someone who is not at least relatively knowledgeable about counseling affectively, more damage than good could be the outcome. The church needs to make this a priority, it needs to either have someone on staff who is a trained counselor or have the pastor taught in the ways of helping others in their time of mental anguish. They also need to be shown when to hand the responsibility over to someone more qualified when it goes further than their education allows them to go.

While doing this paper, which is the hardest one I have ever done, I have gained a new respect for the counselor in the church and the need there of. “President Bush, who credits his relationship with Jesus Christ for helping him quit drinking, has been singing the praises of faith-based ministries that help others with similar problems”(Christian Counseling)” This is a world wide recognized fact, not all people but all churches. Some take it more seriously than others and are reaping the benefits there of. I believe that God has all the answers and God does have a plan for every single one of us. I also believe that we need to remember this when trials and tough times come our way. Having said that I really believe that if we want help or advice we should be able to go to the church and speak to someone and get actual real life based advice and help. Not just, ‘Just Believe’. God uses others in His plan for my life. Let love be your basic motivation and strive to help people to become more like Christ if they are already Christians and to move into a deeper awareness and experience of God whether or not they are Christians at the outset or at the end of counseling. God makes us go through trials to grow and mature, but God also gave us ministers to help us in those times, we call them counselors. It’s just like the song ‘Lean on Me’, “So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on I just might have a problem that you'd understand We all need somebody to lean on.”

W.C. 1827

Works Consulted

Christian Counseling. 3 April 2003.

<http://christiantherapist.com/News/111902_01.htm>.

Crabb, L.J. Understanding People: deep longings for relationship. Marshall Pickering,

1987.

Crabb, L.J. Basic Principles of Biblical Counselling. Marshall Pickering, 1977.

Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Myers, D.G. & Jeeves, M.A. Psychology through the Eyes of Faith. Apollos, 1987.

Rupp, Gary. Counseling in the Church. 3 April 2003.

<http://www.rts.edu/quarterly/spring98/rupp.html>.

Sloat, D.E. The Dangers of Growing Up in a Christian Home. Thomas Nelson Publishers,