Answers for Biblical Counseling
THE NEED FOR A SALVATION BASED THERAPY
IN THE CHURCH
The numbers of dysfunctional and emotionally hurting
people in our society and churches are rapidly increasing.
Some churches seem to be in denial of these facts and have even
challenged the need for counseling within the church at all.
Many other churches have taken the approach that if preaching,
repentance and spiritual warfare are not enough, it is the person’s fault
because the person lacks faith or is not willing to be helped.
We, as pastors, have to admit that many times we have given
shallow and simplistic advice for complex problems that we did not fully
understand, with meager results.
The Growing Number of Hurting People in Our Society
The statistics of tragedy, dysfunction and emotional trauma within
our society began to increase significantly around 1950 and reached epidemic
proportions in the 1980’s. The
trend has continued since that time.
Currently, over one-half of our marriages are ending in divorce (Kreider,
2002, p. 18). One-half of those
who are married are reported to have had at least one affair (Wright, 1996,
p. 281). One-third of the women in
America have been sexually abused and one-sixth have suffered incest
(Martin, 1987, p. 147). Domestic
violence occurs repeatedly in at least 25% of our homes (Paymar, 1993, p.
ix) and at least once in two-thirds of marriages (Lindsey, McBride, Platt,
1996, p. 7). Approximately 20% of
men abuse alcohol, 10% are dependent on it and 6% use illicit drugs (Grant,
1994, SAMHSA, 2001).
We Have Been Burying Our Heads in the Sand
For many Christians the statistics that I have cited concerning
the problems within the church seem almost unbelievable.
This is because the modern church has a long history of attempting
to deny, hide, or refer rather than admit these problems and effectively
deal with them. We have attempted
superficial solutions by giving shallow advice and commanding repentance.
Although most pastors have a good general understanding of Bible
principles, they lack a deeper understanding of how to address most of the
more difficult psychological, addiction, and abuse problems.
The survey of pastors cited above went on to say that pastors as a
whole lack sufficient training to meet these challenges effectively (Martin,
p. 15). As an example, pastors in
most fundamental churches have a notoriously bad record of sending battered
women back into abusive relationships without help (Alsdurf, 1989, p.
20-24). With the lack of
comprehensive biblical answers, it is not surprising that the most usual
response of a pastor facing problems like abuse or addictions is to refer
them to an “expert” outside of the church.
The Large Disparity of What is
Considered Christian Counseling
In spite of the great numbers of people who are in
desperate need of help, the Christian counseling community itself is
embroiled in an ongoing controversy concerning what Christian counseling
should be, and to what extent it should be based on the Bible.
Biblical counseling has been limited to a few basic approaches
that are many times ineffective when applied to complicated psychological
problems. In fact, it is almost
impossible to even define what Christian counseling is, since it spans the
range from Christians who call themselves counselors to counselors who call
themselves Christians (in order to attract clients.)
Many Christians, especially those who come from the fundamentalist and evangelical denominations, would rather seek help from a “Christian counselor.” Unfortunately, even when seeking a Christian counselor, many times they become frustrated or disillusioned because of the large disparity in what is considered “Christian counseling” today. In actual application, Christian counselors may include
1. Christians, without any counseling training who try to help by applying biblical concepts.
2. Christian 12-Step Programs and other types of support and self-help groups.
3. Pastors, who give their best advice, based on their experience and seminary education.
4. Christians who have a “deliverance ministry.”
5. Christian Marriage and Family Therapists.
6. Christian Social Workers.
7. Ph.D. Clinical Psychologists (who attempt to integrate Christian principles and secular counseling knowledge).
8. Christian professional counselors.
9. Secular counselors who call themselves Christians.
It is even more difficult to determine which of those
who advertise themselves as “Christian counselors” are actually using
counseling theory based on the Bible rather than secular theory and
techniques. Let me demonstrate
this from my own experience.
Churches today are caught between the growing epidemic of
difficult psychological problems for which they do not have clear biblical
answers, a secular psychological community that cannot assist from a
biblical point of view, and a confusing array of what is called “Christian
counseling.” Most pastors have
attempted to resolve this situation by referring their members to counselors
that others have recommended or with whom they have personally developed a
relationship, or, at least, to a counseling center associated with a church
of a similar doctrine.
Unfortunately, not even this approach is without its problems.
In many cases, even Christian counselors, working out of church
counseling centers, have been primarily educated in secular training
programs in order to be licensed by the state.
Some churches only recruit counselors based on their secular
accreditation. Because these
counselors usually have had little or no actual Christian counseling
training, they continue to use primarily secular theories and techniques.
In fact, most of the Christian counselors I know have been trained
as Marriage and Family Therapists and primarily use secular Marriage and
Family Therapy techniques.
The Church Has “Admitted” it Does Not Have the Answers
In spite of the mixed results, the church of our day continues to
refer its more difficult problems outside the church and, in doing so, to a
large degree has abdicated the psychological battlefield to the secular
community. In a world filled with
more and more hurting people, we have chosen to “admit” that we do not have
the answers to these more difficult problems.
It is as if we have forgotten that part of Jesus’ commission was
to “heal the brokenhearted and to set the captive free.”
The mission of the church is not only to bring sinners to Christ,
but also to assist those who have been saved to become completely whole and
to be conformed to the image of Christ.
In addition, we have missed one of the greatest possibilities in our society to demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the answer for the world in which we live. What greater opportunity could we ask for than that hurting people come to us, looking for the answers to the problems in their lives? The Bible puts it this way:
When [men] are cast down, then thou shalt say, [There
is] lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
(Job 22:29)
Few Agree on What Christian Counseling Should Be
Because we have not had a clear biblical picture of what Christian
counseling should be or detailed biblical answers for many of the harder
psychological problems, the entire area of Christian counseling has been
caught up in controversy for many years.
The basic underlying question is how much should Christian
counseling be based directly on the Bible and how much should it be based on
secular research and counseling methods.
In the Spring, 1996, issue of Christian Counseling Today,
Dr. Worthington addressed this ongoing controversy, Christian psychology,
including marital therapy, has been under attack for years by critics such
as Jay Adams and the Bobgans.
Attacks have centered around whether the assumptions of psychology are
compatible with Christianity, whether psychology is scripturally correct
(since it uses concepts, such as self-esteem, not found in scriptures), and
whether science as a way of knowing is incompatible with revelation as a way
of knowing. (pp. 9-10)
There are numerous schools of thought on the subject of Christian
counseling in our churches.
Positions are as varied as the many flavors of Christian churches and
denominations. Based on my
experience, I recognize five distinct general categories or positions on
these issues.
The first position is associated with churches that believe counseling does
not have a place in the church at all.
Among some of the most strict, fundamental churches, the feeling
seems to be that when a person is saved and becomes a "new creature,"
(according to 2nd
Corinthians 5:17), all his problems should rapidly be resolved.
They admit that in actual experience, they see quicker results for
some than others. In any case, the
solution is to simply repent, stop sinning and rededicate your life.
Any suggestion that these problems might have roots in the past is
looked upon as trying to excuse wrong behavior or avoid responsibility for
sin. The advice given by a pastor
or elder should be enough to resolve any and every situation.
“Spiritual warfare” is seen as the answer for the more difficult
problems. If repenting, praying,
laying on of hands, basic biblical principles, and deliverance sessions are
not enough, then the problem must lie in the individual's unwillingness or
lack of faith. Problems are
usually seen as simplistic, short term, isolated, and individualistic.
Psychology is seen as something to be avoided at all costs, since
its basis is in humanism, many of its theories are anti-biblical and some of
its techniques are reminiscent of the new age movement.
A strong fear, not unjustified, is that "counseling" could provide
an inroad for humanism into the church.
The second position is also taken by fundamentalist and
evangelical churches and is many times referred to as "biblical" counseling.
These churches would agree with many of the viewpoints already
discussed, but they see counseling as the application of the Bible to life's
situations. Sometimes counseling
training seminars, which try to apply Bible principles to the lives of
people, are given for pastors and laymen.
Lay counseling programs are many times established in larger
churches. The most important
principle is that everything must be derived from the Bible.
Usually secular psychology is not acceptable in any form.
They would generally quote Colossians 2:8:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic
principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (NIV)
Frequently, problems are seen as individual and simplistic.
Unfortunately, this has often resulted in a shallow understanding
of many of life's more difficult problems.
The third position is that the basic theories of Christian
counseling are yet to be developed, based on a combination of biblical
knowledge and a psychological (though not secular) understanding of the
human soul. They are attempting to
go beyond a secular understanding of psychology to develop a more uniquely
Christian approach to counseling.
Secular psychological theories are only accepted to the extent that they are
perceived to agree with the Bible.
Many of these theories are general in nature or problem specific, and
fail to give quality answers to long-standing psychological problems.
They are usually based out of a particular Bible college, school,
or counseling center and, up to this point, have had a somewhat limited
following.
The fourth category attempts to integrate secular counseling
theory and techniques with Christian principles.
It usually takes the form of Christian counseling within
explicitly Christian counseling centers, Christian clinics or hospitals.
In these settings, Christian counseling is based on the Bible as
much as possible, but also uses experientially developed research and
psychological knowledge, which does not contradict the Bible.
Many of these counselors have degrees from secular universities
and are licensed or registered in their states.
Especially in Christian clinics or hospitals, Christian counseling
is merged with secular medical and psychological practices.
The emphasis is on providing effective help through a thorough
understanding of the problem and applying whatever techniques are most
effective. The justification is
that all real truth is "God's truth," so that whatever is true and does not
contradict the Bible is using God's revealed truth no matter which way it
was revealed. They believe that
psychology has discovered many relevant facts about the soul that can be
used to help people.
The fifth category is the position taken by many of the more main
line and liberal denominations.
Christian and psychological principles are liberally mixed and biblical
authority is not necessarily seen as the primary source of truth.
Many of these denominations teach courses on psychology and
pastoral counseling as part of their required seminary education for
pastors. Much of what has been
termed pastoral counseling also suffers from a shallow understanding of the
more difficult problems, and in many cases is limited to the giving of
advice based on the pastor’s experience.
We Need More Effective Biblically Based Therapy to
Resolve this Controversy
At the core of this controversy is a dilemma. We are caught between two alternatives. At one end is a shallow level of biblical counseling which attempts to apply basic biblical principles to difficult life-dominating problems. This is the reductionistic approach. The other alternative is to lean more to secular theories or at least to research methods in order to more adequately address these problems. At the very heart of this issue is the lack of solid biblical theory and deeper biblical answers for these intricate problems.
The real question here is a doctrinal one: How much are we to rely on the Bible for the direction and the healing of our lives? This is the real issue between fundamentalist and liberal churches. To the extent that a person believes that the Bible is God's totally inspired, complete, and infallible revelation, the more he will usually want to have Christian counseling based on the Bible. Broger (1994) states the most conservative point of view when he suggests that, "These man-made solutions to problems of mind, heart, and spirit are as unacceptable to God as are man's futile speculations and substitutes for salvation and the unalterable truths of God's Word." (Lesson 1, page 7) He backs this position with several verses:
1 Co 3:19 For the wisdom
of this world is foolishness with God.
For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they
are vain.
The opposite point of view agrees that God does reject man's wisdom and considers it vain or useless, but that does not necessarily mean He rejects knowledge, part of which, in reality, is God's knowledge or truth. Peter states that everything we need is available through "the knowledge of Him,”
2 Pe 1:3
According as his divine power hath given
unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
The Apostle Paul suggests that one of the ways we learn this “knowledge of Him” is through our observation of His creation:
According to this point of view, Christian counseling
should be based as much as possible on the Bible, but God does not reject
knowledge discovered through research (the study of the things that were
made). In addition, spiritual
revelation is clearly supported by the Bible.
However, we must be careful to determine, in each circumstance,
what is really God's truth. This
can be a difficult challenge.
Let me clarify the use of these three types of
knowledge by an analogy: Your car
is having a problem and needs to be fixed.
You have three sources of help available:
1. A friend who is a
backyard mechanic. He has no
contact with the manufacturer and has never gone to a factory-authorized
school to learn to work on cars, but has been working on them for some time.
He has not necessarily even read the shop manual.
Some of his ideas about cars may be misguided, but through trial
and error and his own experience, he has had some success at fixing cars.
2. A mechanic with
training from a technical school.
He thoroughly knows the maintenance manual.
He may not have as much experience fixing cars as the backyard
mechanic; but by following the steps in the manual, he is successful most of
the time.
3. A factory trained mechanic.
He knows the engineer who designed the car.
He understands the maintenance manual, but many times relies more
on the engineer, who designed the car, when he cannot figure out a problem.
All three have some idea of what to do and all have their
particular strengths, but not one of them can handle all automobile problems
better than the others can. Which
mechanic would you choose?
Of course, the analogy is simple.
The backyard mechanic is the psychologist who has learned much of
what he knows through research and experience, but you cannot trust his
theories. We should remember that
psychology is simply:
1. The science of the human mind in any of its aspects, operations, powers, or functions.
2. The systematic investigation of mental phenomena, especially those associated with consciousness, behavior, and the problems of adjustment to the environment.
3. The aggregate of the emotions, traits, and behavior patterns regarded as characteristics of the individual… or group…. (Funk & Wagnalls, 1963)
The technical school trained mechanic is the counselor who not only knows the Bible, but also has had some experience applying it effectively to people's lives. He understands the principles of the Bible, what the Bible says about most problems, and how to apply it in many cases. His strong point is a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible. His weak point is usually a lack of full understanding of multifaceted psychological problems. We can strongly rely on his biblical knowledge as far as it goes, but we must be careful to remember that he is limited by his depth of understanding the Bible, his correctness in interpreting the Scripture, his knowledge of the problem, and his ability to apply these correctly to a particular problem. I remember "biblical" advice that I gave as a new pastor, which was inappropriate because I lacked an in-depth understanding of the presenting problem.
The factory-trained mechanic is the spiritually sensitive pastor,
who can hear from the Holy Spirit and knows how to get help from the design
engineer (God). His strong points
are his spiritual application of the power of the Holy Spirit, the Chief
Counselor, through spiritual gifts and prayer.
His weak points are usually a lack of in-depth understanding of
psychological problems, the lack of absolute reliability in knowing for sure
which insights are from God or himself, and not having the time to provide
long-term therapy to deal with the more difficult cases.
Here again, he must be careful not to think that every insight he
has is unequivocally "God's complete truth."
We Need to Rely Primarily on the Bible for Our Answers
Even if we accept that we need a combination of all
three—practical experience and research, Bible knowledge and spiritual
revelation—the real question still remains concerning how much our Christian
counseling should rely on each type of knowledge.
The answer, I believe, is that we need to rely on each to the
extent that it is reliable. I
believe that for most Christians, the Bible is clearly seen to be the most
reliable of the three. Therefore,
Christian counseling should rely as much as possible on the Bible, secondly
on spiritual revelation, and, thirdly, on secular research, theories and
techniques (that agree with the Bible) as is necessary to bring complete
psychological healing to the client.
We Need a Therapy that is Based on the Biblical
Process of Salvation by Faith
Ideally, if the Bible is God's most complete and reliable revelation, then it should provide the foundation for all that is done within the church. If God’s process of making people whole in the Bible is salvation by faith, then it should provide the basis for the counseling process in the church. I believe that if deeper biblical answers, based on the process of salvation by faith, were readily available for the tough psychological problems in the church, what has been called biblical or pastoral counseling and what has been called Christian counseling would become more congruent. In addition, I believe that if Christian counseling was primarily based on the process of salvation by faith, it would be more readily accepted into the church, and more churches would be willing to incorporate it within their church programs.
THE PRINCIPLES OF FAITH THERAPY
As I will
develop in detail later in this book, the biblical process of salvation or
wholeness is based on faith in God and His promises to meet our needs.
We start out in life motivated totally by our own self-interests and getting
our needs met. When we believe in Christ, we begin a process of
learning to trust God to meet all our needs. Only as we believe that
our needs have been, are, and shall always be met by God, are we set free
from the bondage of trying to meet selfishly our basic needs for love,
security, worth and significance. As our faith grows and we experience
the love of God, our self-bias or selfishness is replaced by love for
others. Finally, it is this love that replaces self-interest as the
primary motivation of our lives. This is the ultimate sign of both
spiritual and psychological wholeness.
Because salvation by faith is God’s chosen method to bring healing and
wholeness to people, then it only makes sense that whatever is done in the
realm of Christian counseling must fit within God’s plan of salvation.
As we will see, all other Christian counseling modalities can be integrated
into this process, as a means for removing the blockages to what God is
attempting to do in our lives. In addition, we must learn how to
identify and discover the root causes that underlie the hindrances to the
process of salvation by faith and resolve them through the application of
faith. Underlying each blockage is always an unmet need, which the
client has attempted to meet in some fashion through the flesh. When
these problems are primarily the result of need deficits, I refer to them as
deeply rooted problems since the root of the problem resides in the core
psychological needs of the person himself. Therefore, the primary
component of a deeply rooted problem is a lack of faith that God will meet
that need.
What is Faith Therapy?
Faith Therapy is a biblically derived
and integrated method for psychological healing and spiritual growth based
on the process of salvation by faith.
Biblical models, principles and methods are used
to identify the root cause of a problem, remove any hindrance to
spiritual growth and develop the faith necessary to overcome the problem.
The tenants of Faith Therapy were derived directly from the Bible,
as God provided greater insights over a period of years.
It began with an attempt to understand how the process of
salvation or wholeness was achieved by faith in God.
As this revelation began to unfold through the story of Abraham,
the father of faith, it led to a widening understanding of additional
models, principles and methods that effectively dealt with more and more of
these deeply rooted psychological problems.
Faith Therapy is biblically integrated, because it has been derived directly
from the Bible and embraces all aspects and doctrines of the Bible as a
whole. It attempts to integrate
all the principles of the Bible into a coherent, holistic approach for
healing the entire person, including mind, will, emotions and spirit.
In dealing with complex problems, it uses a narrative approach
because it relies heavily on a biblical world-view and a study of numerous
biblical narrative stories, using a types and shadows interpretation of the
Bible. These narratives provide
the advanced biblical principles and psychological truth that serve as
strategies for therapy or healing.
Faith Therapy focuses on dealing with the root cause, which is a lack of
faith, not just the symptoms of the problem.
It also addresses the overall growth of psychological and
spiritual wholeness over the life span of the client.
It suggests that the overall orchestration of the process of
healing is the job of the Holy Spirit and that the counselor is enlisted for
a limited time to address specific blockages in the process of salvation.
What Makes Faith Therapy
Unique?
Faith Therapy is unique in that it is based solely on the process
of biblical salvation by faith.
After determining the root problem and helping the client to realize that he
cannot resolve it without God, the most fundamental step in the healing
process is leading the client to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Once Christ has been accepted, the Holy Spirit orchestrates the
process of salvation or wholeness.
The Christian counselor’s job is to help the client remove any roadblocks
to this process and assist him to grow in Christian maturity once the
roadblocks are removed. In
addition to bringing relief to the presenting problem, faith therapy views
all problems as symptoms of deeper life issues, which are rooted in a lack
of faith in God to meet the client’s most basic needs.
Bible principles and models are used for the overall direction of
therapy to overcome the original presenting problem, since relying on God’s
Word builds faith in God—the ultimate answer.
These models focus directly on areas where faith is needed to
overcome a particular psychological or spiritual vulnerability.
In this process, numerous methods, ministries and counseling
modalities are applied: preaching,
teaching, intercession, prayer, worship, discipleship, confrontation,
deliverance, compassion, insight therapy, faith healing, the gifts of the
Spirit, prophetic ministry, Theophostic healing of emotions, mentoring,
support groups, supportive relationships and many others.
Faith Therapy is best applied within a dynamic body of believers
in a local Church, where faith is taught and put into practice on a daily
basis.
On What Psychological Model is
Faith Therapy Based?
As I have already stated a number of times, Faith Therapy has been
derived directly from the Bible.
Therefore, this question really becomes, “What is the basic
psychological model on which the Bible is based?” As I
will discuss in more detail later in this book, according to the Bible the
basis of most psychological problems is sin or “missing the mark.”
In fact, it was the sin of Adam and Eve that is responsible for
all sickness and pain in the world.
If we accept the fact that, as a minimum, sin is the basis of at least
all psychological problems that result from our free choices, then what is
the basis of sin? It is based on
our free choice to try to direct our own lives in order to meet our needs
without God. Each of us is driven
to meet our most fundamental psychological needs of the self: for love,
security, worth and significance.
Attempting to meet these needs of the self, in our own strength, is called
self-centeredness or selfishness, and it lies at the core of our sin nature.
These needs provide the motivation for everything that we do or
attempt to do in the flesh. The
flesh wars against the Spirit for the control of the soul in order to
fulfill the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life
(1 John 2:16). What I have just
described constitutes what I call the “basic need model” and it provides the
psychological basis for Faith Therapy.
What Are the Primary Areas of Application?
Faith Therapy provides for the integration of Christian counseling
within the framework of the process of salvation by faith and for the direct
application of faith to resolve deeply rooted psychological and spiritual
problems. This direct application
of faith is especially effective in treating fears, anxiety, insecurity and
stress. It specifically leads the
client to accept Christ as Savior and Lord, and addresses problems that
arise out of selfish attempts to meet the core psychological needs of love,
security, worth, and significance through the flesh.
However, through the application of counseling models and the
development of counseling plans based on biblical principles, it is
effective in addressing all spiritual and psychological problems.
How is Faith Therapy Integrated with Other Counseling
Modalities?
Faith Therapy plays a pivotal role in integrating all Christian counseling modalities within a single overall framework, through an understanding of the process of salvation by faith. It fills the gap with faith, between the unmet needs of the person and the person’s unsuccessful attempts to meet those needs in their own strength.
FAITH THERAPY IN THE CHURCH
As I have already discussed, there is a
wide diversity of opinions as to the role of counseling in the church.
Therefore, before proceeding with further discussion, let me
first establish from the Bible that counseling belongs and is needed in
today’s church.
Christian Counseling Belongs in the Church
The Bible is clear that counseling was to be an important part of Jesus' earthly ministry and anointing,
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace.
11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
The biblical basis for establishing
Christian counseling in the church is found, in part, in Jesus' declaration
of His own mission on earth.
Lu 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, 19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord.
Unfortunately, in most churches there are many people who have accepted
Christ, but just do not seem to be able to receive an emotional healing by
faith, overcome their past or acquire God's abundant life. They seem
to have invisible obstacles that they just cannot overcome. They are
stuck in the process of salvation; or at least, they need assistance in
knowing what to do to become whole. Since the Greek word for
salvation, sozo, also means to be made completely whole, this should
not be the case. Although not all of these obstacles are
psychological, the majority are, and in order to carry out the mission that
Christ has now passed on to His church, we are going to have to learn how to
deal effectively with these problems.
If counseling was to be part of Jesus' ministry and He is the head of the
church, then where does counseling fit into the New Testament church?
Since the goal of counseling is to assist in bringing individuals into
complete wholeness, I believe that counseling must be accomplished by those
within the leadership and ministry of the church. Ephesians Chapter 4
makes it clear that the leadership of the local church is God's means of
bringing Christians into "the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ."
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
I see counseling as a specialized and specifically anointed ministry within
these callings, filling the role of a shepherd who helps very sick sheep or
of a spiritual "veterinarian." Ideally, counseling should be a fully
integrated function of the leadership of each church, possibly through
pastor-counselors or elders who specialize in counseling. In smaller
churches, if elders or trained counselors are not available, this ministry
may have to take the form of a pastor who has learned to counsel, or a lay
counselor who helps with long-term problems through individual counseling or
support groups.
A second biblical reason for including Christian counseling within the
church is that Christ directed His church to go into all the world with the
gospel (Mark 16:15) and “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NLT).
Since counseling will draw significant numbers of people to the church in
order to get their needs met, it can become a very effective method of
evangelism in our society. People with problems naturally seek the
answers for those problems by turning to support groups and counselors.
When those support groups and counseling methods are salvation-based, the
counseling process naturally leads to addressing the subject of the client’s
salvation. Although it is never appropriate to attempt to coerce the
client into accepting Christ, the majority of those who are not already
saved will accept Him once they understand that Jesus is indeed the answer
to their problems. When the counseling is conducted within the church
setting, it is natural for those who are not already established in churches
to want to attend where they have found the answers that have improved their
lives. Consequently, both reaching out to our society in an
appropriate way and making disciples is facilitated through the integration
of Christian counseling within the church.
The Structure of Christian Counseling in the Church
When we attempt to determine how Christian
counseling should be structured in the church, I believe that under the
direction of the Holy Spirit, it must provide the most effective structure
or means that helps the largest number of hurting people within the
resources of the church. For most churches, this means a combination
of approaches: Pastoral counseling, some professional or lay
counseling and a support group or care ministry.
I believe that almost any attempt to begin a counseling ministry in the
church will eventually result in this same basic structure. This
structure will be shaped by the needs of the hurting people coming and the
limited resources of the church. Counselors attempting to practice in
a church will eventually realize that they can only help a small number of
people on an individual basis. Support groups effectively minister to
large numbers of people at little or no cost. Certain types of
problems, such as addictions and codependency, are most effectively dealt
with in groups. In addition, support groups provide the unconditional
acceptance, nurturing and long-term care that is required by many clients
after therapy has been completed.
I do not believe that because Christian counseling and especially Faith Therapy primarily belong in the church that this excludes a role for the Christian counselor who practices outside the church in private practice, a separate counseling center, or Christian clinic or hospital. Most churches cannot afford to have a professional counselor, counseling center, clinic, day hospital or hospital to deal with the more specialized or extreme problems. Most of these centers include comprehensive programs that cannot be easily supported in a church environment. Just as the general practitioner medical doctor refers to a specialist for difficult cases, I believe this is one of the functions of the Christian counselor in the church: to refer clients beyond his general expertise to specialized Christian counseling centers, clinics, or hospitals. Reciprocally, these Christian centers, clinics, and hospitals need to provide as much technical support to church counselors, support groups, and local churches as possible, since a coordinated healing process is essential.
In reality, there is a natural dividing line between Christian counselors in
the church and Christian counselors who have also had secularly approved
training. Most states do not license, register or regulate Christian,
biblical, or pastoral counseling. They usually do license, register
and regulate Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists,
Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Drug and Alcohol Counselors.
In almost all cases, Christian counseling training programs, especially if
they are faith based and not regionally accredited, are not accepted for
licensure in any of these secular specialties. Some Christian
counselors have chosen to obtain a secular degree in order to be licensed.
Others are not willing to spend the time or money to learn secular
counseling theory and methods that do not agree with the Bible in order to
obtain licensure. Unlicensed counselors are not usually accepted as
insurance providers and, therefore, find it hard to establish a financially
successful independent practice. This natural dividing line between
those with and without licensure usually separates the few stand-alone
Christian counseling centers, clinics, and hospitals which are capable of
becoming financially successful outside of the church because they are
insurance providers, from Christian counselors associated or integrated into
the church.
Consequently, I suggest two practical roles for Christian counselors.
First, each church should have at least one full or part-time trained
pastor-counselor, Christian counselor, or elder who is part of the church
staff who can provide individual counseling in the church or at least lead a
support group ministry. He would probably not be licensed, would not
accept insurance, and serves as a “general Christian counseling
practitioner.” He would usually charge fees determined by an
income-based sliding scale, or he may be a lay counselor who provides his
services for free. Because he would not be licensed, he would be less
restricted by state regulations and secular ethical codes. He would
still be required to maintain professional counseling insurance if he
charges fees. Otherwise, he could be covered by the church’s pastoral
counseling insurance. The second role is that of the licensed
professional Christian counselor who practices in a private practice,
explicitly Christian counseling center, clinic or hospital. This
counselor is able to take insurance and develop specific expertise beyond
that of the church counselor. His role is that of the specialist.
He deals with the most difficult cases and provides capabilities like
inpatient care which are beyond the capabilities of almost all churches.
This role does not preclude the use of Faith Therapy theory or methods that
may integrate other Christian counseling modalities.
The Role of the Church Counselor
Just as the apostle, prophet, teacher, and evangelist must be submitted to the senior pastor, so the church counselor should be submitted to the local church pastor, so that the church and the “perfecting of the saints" can be conducted as an integrated, unified whole. It is common for a person to seek advice from several ministers and get different opinions based on the different ministers' backgrounds and approaches to counseling. Because of this, it is important that the role of the church counselor be clearly defined. He should deal only with the support group ministry and counsel long-term critical problems. Short-term problems and the giving of advice, direction, pastoral care and discipline should remain another pastor’s job.
This position of counseling in the church presents some unique challenges for the counselor. He must be integrated thoroughly into the church, but avoid dual relationships with the members of the church where he counsels. This means that he cannot counsel personal friends or make church decisions that personally impact his clients. Consequently, it is important that the church counselor avoid disciplinary or executive roles in the church. The counselor must be able to flow with the amateur, volunteer atmosphere of most churches. Professional counseling offices require well-trained staff, excellent maintenance, top-notch facilities, soundproofing and the exclusive use of offices. This ideal situation will probably not be available in most churches. Flexibility is an important trait for anyone hoping to provide counseling and work with support groups within the church setting.
The church counselor must be involved in all aspects of the church, but not take sides in conflicts. To be effective, the counselor must be seen as impartial. His job must be structured in such a way that he can support and bring healing to the church, without becoming embroiled in conflicts in the church. He must be the solid supporting rock that weathers even the most severe divisional storms. Pastoral staffs, in most churches, have a notoriously high turnover rate. He must not see his job as a stepping-stone to another position. He must be convinced that, ultimately, he has been called by God to fill the position of a church counselor. His position in the church should have the title of an associate pastor or elder to reflect the authority necessary to be effective in helping to resolve church conflicts and the problems of his clients in the church. These restrictions should not be taken to mean that the counselor should be isolated from the other functions of the church. He should be closely involved in staff meetings, boards, and other decisions in the church, especially those that affect the well-being of the members of the church.
As is the case with other staff, the counselor must loyally support the
Senior Pastor in every way. This does not mean that he is a “yes” man,
but that when a final decision has been made that he comes under spiritual
authority and supports it (unless it violates clear legal, moral, or
scriptural principles). If clients criticize a pastor or question
decisions made by leaders, he should direct them to the offending person,
according to Matthew Chapter 18.
The church counselor should be expected to raise up, teach, and supervise additional counselors and support group facilitators in order to meet the needs of the congregation better. As the counseling ministry grows, he will also need to disciple additional leaders to become involved in various aspects of the counseling ministry. Although he might also provide counseling for those outside of the congregation, members of the congregation should be given priority. Counselors working with members of other congregations need to obtain a specific written release of confidentiality in order to discuss issues that may relate to the client's church and to coordinate efforts with the client's pastor.
Licensed Counseling in the Church
In some cases, larger churches will find it desirable to have support
groups, church counselors, and licensed professionals operating within the
church. I believe that all of these ministries can and should employ
the methods of Faith Therapy, since it will be more easily accepted and
integrated within the church structure and doctrine. When handled in a
coordinated manner, this combination of groups, church counselors and
licensed professionals provides more credibility and increased potential to
reach unsaved people in the community. Licensed or court approved
programs, such as drug and alcohol counseling, domestic violence programs
and sexual abuse support groups draw hurting people to the church.
However, additional specific counseling programs should be carefully
evaluated before inclusion in the church setting. Whatever is done
must be integrated with and not contradict biblical principles and models
appropriate to the church situation.
Liability Issues with Christian
Counseling in the Church
One of the biggest hindrances to the growth of Christian
counseling in our churches is the fear that it could lead to malpractice
litigation. In actuality, if a
counseling program is carefully constructed, the increased risk of
litigation is small. This
additional risk can be easily overcome through the use of counseling
malpractice insurance at a minimal cost.
I suggest the following guidelines:
1. Advertise and
conduct group therapy as self-help or support groups.
Self-help or support groups claim only that they attempt to
support members in their recovery from a particular problem, facilitate
exchange of common experiences and attempt to help each of the members grow
in the recovery process. In fact,
many self-help leaders are simply those that have recovered or are in the
process of recovery and have a burden for others still suffering from the
identified problem. Because
self-help groups do not claim to provide expert advice and counseling, there
is almost no potential for filing a malpractice lawsuit.
2. Cover any support
group leaders, lay counselors and pastors under the church’s pastoral
counseling rider, on the church insurance.
As long as no money is received for counseling services, most
church insurance will add any “ministers” to the policy for a very nominal
cost.
3. Add any
professional Christian counselor or counselors, who charge for their
services, as contractors and require them to carry their own counseling
insurance covering the church as an “additional insured.”
Contractors are normally self-employed and hired to provide a
complete service to the church, meet their own ethical and legal obligations
to their profession, and provide their own supervision if required.
The normal obligations that a church has to its employees like
workman’s compensation, income tax withholding, employee evaluations, being
totally responsible for the employees conduct and providing detailed
oversight are not required to the same extent for contractors, as long as
the contractors fulfill the obligations of their contract.
If they fail to provide these services, the contract can simply be
terminated. Consequently, claims
of negligence due to a lack of detailed oversight are difficult to prove.
One million dollars of mental health practitioners insurance for a
self-employed counselor currently costs less than $200 per year when
purchased through professional organizations such as the American
Association of Christian Counselors.
The additional charge for covering a church as an “other insured” usually
costs less than fifty dollars.
Unfortunately, most mental health insurance agencies require that counselors
have at least a Bachelor’s degree in a mental health field.
An exception is NAADAC, which serves Drug and Alcohol counselors.
Consequently, lay counselors that have not obtained at least a
Bachelor’s degree will not usually be able to obtain professional counseling
insurance and, therefore, should not charge for their services, so that they
can be covered by the church’s insurance policy.
4. Require that all
counselors attend counseling supervision on a periodic basis and discuss all
of their cases with a licensed or degreed therapist.
Supervision is required by most states for all licensed therapists
for at least the first few years after they obtain their license.
Although this is not normally required of Christian counselors,
this practice is one of the best methods of insulating the church from
litigation. Supervision can be
provided by any licensed or degreed therapist on staff or by a contract
counselor. Charges for
supervision, which is normally done in groups, are usually not expensive.
Using the
guidelines that I have just discussed, we have not even had one threat of
litigation in more than ten years. We provide support groups, lay
counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, Christian counseling, and licensed
professional therapy involving over twenty group leaders and counselors.
Of course, we thank the Lord for His protection because we live in a
litigious society.
Counseling Outside the Church
Although it is my opinion that Christian counseling will be more effective and do more to advance the Kingdom of God when integrated within church programs, I still believe that there is a place for Christian counseling outside of the church setting. As I have already stated, licensed Christian counselors practicing outside of the church should develop full-time counseling practices at Christian counseling centers, clinics or hospitals that specialize in meeting the unfulfilled needs of the church. Their goal should be to serve as a specialist for a number of churches or the entire community. They must be careful to walk the fine line between the obligations of their Christian counseling calling, state regulations and the secular ethical codes of their licensed profession. This is especially problematic when it comes to avoiding dual relationship with members of their own church, and the temptation to suggest strongly that Christian truth is the only answer. In most states and licensed counseling professions, it is considered unethical for a licensed therapist to tell a client what is or is not absolutely right or wrong for him. Instead, the counselor is expected to help the client understand his own values and explore the alternatives. Licensed professionals are clearly at more risk for complaints to regulatory boards and malpractice litigation.
A COMPREHENSIVE BIBLICAL COUNSELING MODEL
In order to develop a model for biblical narrative therapy, we must learn
more about the overall process of salvation (or wholeness), and how it is
actually carried out by the Chief Counselor, the Holy Spirit.
Although other models for counseling might suffice for dealing
with problems of a less complex nature, we need a comprehensive model that
focuses on the entire person when attempting to address the complex
difficult problems addressed in this book.
The Bible gives us exactly what we need.
Possibly the best known, most extensive, and clearest type and
shadow in the Bible is that of the story of the children of Israel's exodus
from Egypt and their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
The story of the exodus of the children
of Israel is found in the Bible in the books of Exodus through Joshua.
When understood in-depth, it provides us with an almost unfathomable wealth
of information concerning the process of salvation by faith, the types of
psychological struggles that Christians can expect to encounter, and a
method for overcoming these severe problems.
Deliverance from Egypt
The first step in the journey toward complete wholeness is the acceptance of
Jesus Christ as savior. A significant number of clients seen at
Christian counseling centers are not "saved" and definitely have not yielded
the direction of their lives to Christ. Therefore, one of the first
steps toward wholeness is the initiation of the basic process of salvation.
In most cases, a trusting therapeutic relationship with the counselor must
first be established through empathetically listening to the client's
presenting problems. Then the counselor will be in a position to
demonstrate to the client that salvation is essential to his full recovery.
This need for salvation will become extremely clear once the problem is
isolated, and the process for dealing with the problem is explained.
The process of this first step is seen in the story of the children of
Israel's struggle to leave Egypt (which stands for the world with its riches
and opportunities). I believe Moses represents the Holy Spirit, whose
job it is to lead us out of the world. I believe that Aaron, whose
name means enlightened, represents the enlightened Christian counselor who
is called to speak for Moses to assist in the deliverance of God's people.
God defines the relationship between Moses and Aaron in Exodus 4:16:
"And he (Aaron) shall be thy spokesperson unto the people: and he shall be,
even he shall be to thee (Moses) instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to
him instead of God."
The first job of the Christian
counselor (Aaron) is to build hope and faith in the client.
The Bible uses the Greek word paramutheo, which means "to speak
close" or “comfort,” to describe this style of counseling. Comforting
begins by telling the client of God's plan of deliverance.
Ex 4:29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders
of the children of Israel:
The signs referred to in verse 30 are the signs given by God to Moses in
Exodus 4:4-9. They are: 1. When he cast down his rod it became a
snake and when he picked it up again it became a rod. 2. When he put
his hand into his bosom it became leprous, and when he put it back again it
became whole. 3. When he poured water from the river onto the land, it
became blood. I believe these three examples stand for what Christ has
done for us. The snake or sin, when picked up by the tail, was
transformed into a rod of authority. Christ, who was made sin for us,
has given this authority us over Satan. The hand (or our actions) that
were leprous or sinful because of the selfishness of our hearts, is made
whole through God's power. This is accomplished through the
forgiveness of our sins and our sanctification through faith. Finally,
the water from the river poured out on the land, stands for the outpouring
of the Spirit, which brings life (represented by the blood) to the whole
world. We, as counselors, are to bring hope by demonstrating through
our own lives and the lives of others that God has power over Satan, has
provided the forgiveness of sins, and has given us His abundant life through
the power of God's Spirit.
The second job of the Christian
counselor is to confront the world and Satan who hold the client captive.
The word in Colossians 1:28 translated as “warn” is noutheteo which
means "to warn or confront." Jay Adams (1973) has based his entire
style of counseling on this principle. Here we have a definite
application of that style.
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man,
and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus:
The judgments and miracles of God in Egypt represent this type of
confrontation with the world's system. As I have noted below, each was
a specific challenge to one or more of the gods of Egypt. (See Missler,
2000)
1. Aaron cast down his rod and it became a snake. The
Egyptians magicians also cast down their rods and they became snakes, but
Aaron's snake swallowed up their snakes. The cobra was the symbol of
Egyptian sovereignty. The snake is also the symbol of Satan and sin.
This sign demonstrated that the authority and power of Christ (the rod) is
greater than that of world and Satan (the magician’s rods). The
effectiveness of Christian counseling today demonstrates that the power and
methods of Christ are greater than the secular theories and methods of the
world.
2. When Aaron struck the Nile River with his rod it turned to blood
killing all of the fish in the river. The Egyptians worshipped the
Nile as the source of life. Osiris, the chief god of the Nile River,
was one of the most respected gods of Egypt. Those who worship the God
of this world will find out that the world’s life only results in the death
of the very things they need most in their lives (the fish). The world
cannot and will not truly meet the client's needs. Nonetheless,
worldly people (the Egyptians) usually just ignore their own selfish ways
and see their struggles as just a natural part of life; not a clear
indication of their need for God.
3. The land was covered with frogs. One of the chief
goddesses of the land was Hekt, the wife of the “creator of the world.”
She was represented by a frog. Egypt’s worship of frogs prevented them
from destroying the frogs that polluted the land. I believe the frogs
stand for the dishonorable habits and the addictions of life. The
world uses its addictions and habits as a way of coping with life. All
of us agree that these habits and addictions make life stink and that the
world is not capable or completely willing to eradicate them. The
frogs that remained in the river show that as long as the client relies on
the god of this world, he will not escape his addictions. It is
interesting to note that even many secular addiction therapy programs today
use Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12-step program. This treatment process was
originally derived from biblical principles because most other secular
therapy programs are less effective. Unfortunately, today reliance on
Jesus Christ has been replaced with a “higher power ” in order to appeal to
our secular society.
4. The dust became lice on man and beast. What the King
James Bible translates as “lice” were most probably sand flies. (Missler,
2000) Since these sand flies came from the soil, they were a great
embarrassment to Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth, to whom the Egyptians
gave offerings for the bounty of the soil. Man was created from the
dust. Man has no answers to explain his origin and the end of life,
but the question bothers man and beast like sand flies or lice bother us.
It is almost impossible to get rid of these thoughts about life and death.
Evolution, which is a poor theory without reasonable support, is man's best
attempt to address this question. This is the first miracle to which
the Egyptians had no answer, and the client must see that, without God, he
does not have an answer either.
5. The swarms afflicted the Egyptians. These were
probably the scarab beetle. Amon-Ra, the king of the Egyptian gods,
had the head of a beetle. These stand for the evil and selfish deeds
of others that afflict every person and society in the world. These
swarms did not bother the Israelites living in the land of Goshen, which
means "drawing near." Christians who draw near to God through faith
are set free from their selfishness and evil deeds and are protected from
the deeds of others. If he will turn to God for help, God is able to
deliver the client from evil just as He took away the swarms of flies from
the Egyptians when they asked for help.
6. The flocks were destroyed in Egypt. Apis was the bull
god and Hathor was the cow-headed goddess of the deserts. These gods
were so prominent that the Israelites later made a golden calf in the
wilderness to represent the gods of Egypt. The wealth and resources of
the world are destroyed by catastrophes and problems like plagues,
earthquakes, famines, and floods; but Christians who draw nigh to God (live
in Goshen) are delivered.
7. The ashes of the furnace became boils upon man and beast.
This was a challenge to Thoth, the god of intelligence and medical learning.
It was the custom of the priests to throw the ashes of their human
sacrifices into the air, which would be borne by the wind over the
worshippers. These boils stand for the shame which results from sin.
It brings inner pain and results in the ego defenses constructed by all
sinners. The Christian who draws near to God (lives in Goshen)
receives forgiveness, not condemnation and toxic shame. The only hope
for dealing with toxic shame is received through confession and accepting
the forgiveness provided by the death of Christ on the cross. A sinner
can even feel conviction by just being in the presence of righteous people.
8. The hail killed all men and beasts that did not take shelter.
Egypt was sunny without much rain. Where were Shu the wind god and Nut
the sky god that should have protected them? This hail represents
God's judgment on the earth for sin. Even the sinner can take heed of
the warnings and choose to escape judgment by accepting Christ, or he will
eventually be judged for his sin.
9. The locusts brought by the East wind devoured all the good
things of Egypt. The locusts were a challenge to Nepri, the grain
god, Ermutet, the goddess of crops, and Anubis, the jackal-headed guardian
of the fields. These stand for the problems of life (the devourer of
Malachi Chapter three) that are inevitable and which devour the client's
blessings. God alone can heal and protect the client from life’s
problems, as He did for the Israelites that lived in the land of Goshen.
10. A thick darkness covered Egypt for three days. The
thick darkness was a challenge to Ra, the god of the sun, Aten, the sun’s
disc, Ankh, the symbol of life from the sun, Horus, the god of the sunrise,
Tem, the god of the sunset, and Shu, the god of light. The world does
not have any true purpose or direction for life. It cannot predict the
future, and its knowledge is so limited that it is truly darkness. If
the client tries to direct his own life, he will stumble and will be unable
to accomplish anything of eternal significance.
11. The death of the firstborn of Egypt. The fact that
the firstborn were killed on a night with a full moon was a challenge to
Thoth, the moon god. (Moses and the gods of Egypt, Wade Cox, 2000)
The world has no answer for life after death and eternity. The
Egyptians built huge monuments and mummified their leaders in order to
provide for life after death. All die eternally, except for those
saved because of Christ and His blood sacrifice for sins. When the
bitterness of death comes to the firstborn of the world, the need for
salvation and eternal life becomes most apparent. How many have been led to
the Lord with the question, "If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?"
Possibly this miracle was also in retribution for all the sons of Israel
that the Egyptians had ordered to be killed in the effort to subjugate the
Israelites.
12. The victory over Pharaoh through the miracles and the Red Sea.
The final sign is that Pharaoh (Satan) and his forces could not follow the
Israelites through the Red Sea, which stands for baptism. When an
individual decides to follow Christ, trusts in His power, and submits the
direction of his life to God, he will be delivered from all the power of
Satan.
Building Faith in the Wilderness
The third job of the Christian
counselor is to help the client build faith, as they pass through the
wilderness. The newly saved person who still knows
little about spiritual warfare, Christian principles, and faith is extremely
vulnerable to spiritual attack. It is in the wilderness that the
client is led by his circumstances to rely on God, build faith, and die to
self. The Greek word parakaleo means, “to come along side of,
or to console.” It is also the word for “comforter” which is used to
refer to the Holy Spirit (the Chief Counselor). In Exodus Chapter 13,
it is made clear that God took the children of Israel through the wilderness
to prepare them for spiritual warfare.
Ex 13:17. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God
led them not [through] the way of the land of the Philistines, although that
[was] near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see
war, and they return to Egypt:
In the verses that follow in the scriptures, we see the presence of God
manifested in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The
first step in the process of salvation occurs in baptism and was symbolized
when the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea. Baptism is an
outward manifestation of the inward commitment of the client to die to self,
separate from the world, and look for God to direct his life. Although
baptism is essential to the process of salvation, it is many times neglected
in the Christian counseling process. Moses commanded the children of
Israel in Exodus 14:13 "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of
the LORD."
To the extent that the new convert is still overly dependent on himself,
others, and/or the world, and is not willing to forsake his sin and die to
himself (as is typified by baptism), he is still an idolater or, in the
language of recovery, a codependent. This term and its biblical
application will be discussed in more detail in later Chapters as one of the
complex problems blocking salvation or wholeness. All of the children
of Israel struggled with this problem of codependence due to their
experiences as slaves in Egypt. Everyone is codependent and will
manifest codependent symptoms to the degree they still excessively rely on
the world to meet their needs. Codependent problems account for much
of the interpersonal conflict in the church. It is the counselor's job
to come along side the codependent, allow him to learn from his own choices
and consequences, and help him develop enough faith to enter God's "land of
promises." This is no easy task. Moses and Aaron became
extremely frustrated as they attempted to lead the children of Israel
through the wilderness. Let us see what we can learn about this part
of the salvation process.
1. Clients must appropriate for themselves what Christ did on the
cross. The waters of Marah were bitter. They were made sweet
when Moses cast a tree into the water. The tree represents the cross
of Christ. The client must apply Christ's crucifixion to his life
which will bring forgiveness and make it sweet. Simply having our
spirit saved is not enough. Our flesh must be "crucified with Christ."
Continuing to try to meet our own basic needs in our own strength will only
make life bitter.
2. Clients can only escape the problems of life by trusting God to
heal them. In Exodus 15:26, God declares himself as "the LORD that
healeth thee." He promised that if the Israelites would obey, He would
put none of the diseases of the Egyptians upon them. As already
discussed, the diseases of the Egyptians were not only physical illnesses,
but the psychological consequences of trying to meet their needs through the
world which has no answers.
3. To have the abundant life, clients must accept God's government of
their life by making Jesus their Lord or boss, not just their Savior.
At Elim the Israelites found 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees. Elim
means palms, which stands for radiant believers living under austere
conditions (Wilson, p. 476) The number 12 stands for the government of
God, and the number 70 stands for God's complete provision in Christ.
God is limited in his ability to help those who refuse to completely submit
themselves to Him, because they will not obey His directions.
4. They must learn to trust God for all their needs even in hard
times. God provided the manna in the wilderness. The
Israelites complained that what they ate in Egypt under slavery was better
than what they were getting in the wilderness. For most clients there
is a time of having a pity-party or acting as victims when they remember the
pleasures of sin—their old coping mechanisms and addictions. The
counselor must help them find Christ who is the true manna that will always
be available in the wildernesses of life and which truly satisfies the soul.
They must learn to desire the spiritual feeding of the word daily in order
to develop the faith necessary to come into the even greater provision of
the promises of God (the land of Canaan).
5. Client must learn to use God's authority to meet their needs.
Moses smote the rock in Horeb and water came out. Complaining in the
desert (Horeb) of life is not the answer. When clients asks if "the
Lord is among us or not," they must be taught to use God's authority (rod)
to retrieve water (life) from the rock that was smote (Christ).
Getting needs met though Christ must become a reality. Many times
clients will fail to do their part by not using the authority given to them
by Christ.
6. The war between the flesh and the Spirit must be won.
The decision to choose the spiritual answer instead of the fleshly one is
critical. In Exodus 22, in the battle with Amalek (the flesh), Joshua
(Jesus) had to do the fighting, but the battle was determined by Aaron (the
counselor and the person's intellect) and Hur (the person's spirit) holding
up Moses' hand holding the rod of authority. Jesus has already won the
victory over the flesh, but it must be worked out in the client's life by
the constant correct use of God's authority (the rod) assisted by his right
mental choices (with counselor’s inputs) and his reliance on the Holy
Spirit. We are warned that although God (Jehovah-Nissi) has promised
to lead us in the battle against Amalek (the flesh), this battle will
continue to be fought "from generation to generation." We should be
encouraged that God promises us the final victory in that He "will utterly
put out the remembrance of Amalek (the flesh) from under heaven" when we are
received into his heavenly kingdom. (Exodus 17:14)
7. Clients must be lead and directed by the Holy Spirit. This,
of course, requires that they learn to discern the direction of the Holy
Spirit. In Exodus Chapter 23, God states that he will send his angel
or messenger to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. We
are told that God's method of change is slow, rather than fast.
Transformation occurs as we replace our old ways of coping with the new
spiritual ways of meeting our innermost needs. The Holy Spirit is not
in a hurry during this process.
Ex 23:29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest
the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
8. God's first method of motivation is the law. Clients
must get to know God's law as a mirror to convict of sin, not as a solution
to life's problems. In it, Christians will find God's directions for
living a good life and the fact that, without faith, they are powerless to
obey the law. They must learn that they can be saved only through
God's grace and power. When Moses delivered the law, they all agreed
to obey it. However, as soon as they felt let down by God (Moses was
gone 40 days), they quickly returned to the gods of Egypt.
Unfortunately, so did Aaron, our model counselor. We, as Christian
counselors must be careful that our own codependency and need to be
successful does not lead us to return to worldly solutions for our clients!
9. God's second method of motivation is allow clients to learn from
the consequences of their decisions. In order to learn, clients
must be allowed to make their own choices and reap the associated
consequences. Options, not advice, should be given. The children
of Israel had returned to worshipping the gods of Egypt by making the golden
calf. Moses broke the tablets of the law, confronting them with the
fact that they had broken the law by making and worshipping the golden calf.
He made them drink the powder of their idol after he had the gold the calf
was made of burned, ground up, and sprinkled into their drinking water.
Three thousand men were killed by the Levites, they were filled with shame
because of their nakedness, and they now faced the possibility of being
separated from God. Neither Moses nor Aaron attempted to protect them
from these consequences. Finally, Moses entreated God that His
presence would again accompany them to the Promised Land. In the same
way, we as counselors are to allow our clients to face their own
consequences for their sins but continue to reassure them of God’s
forgiveness for their sins, His unconditional love, and His acceptance.
10. God's third method of motivation is judgment. If
clients will not learn from their consequences, more direct discipline from
God will be required. Clients must learn that continually lusting
after worldly things brings judgment. In Numbers Chapter 11, the
children of Israel began lusting for meat like they used to have when they
lived in Egypt. God gave them more than they could possibly eat, but
along with it came a plague that killed so many that the place was named
Kibrothhattaavah, which means the grave of lust.
11. The counselor must be careful not to take sides with his
clients too quickly. This is especially important if the issue is
with a husband, wife, pastor or elder. The Bible warns never to judge
something before hearing both sides (Proverbs 18:13) and that an accusation
against an elder or pastor must be substantiated by at least two or three
witnesses (1st Timothy 5:19). In Numbers Chapter 12, Aaron took sides
with Miriam against the Ethiopian woman whom Moses had married. Miriam
became leprous and Aaron had to appeal to Moses to ask God for her healing.
12. Without faith the giants of life cannot be overcome, and God's
promises cannot be claimed. The consequence of not developing a strong
faith in God is dying in the wilderness without appropriating God's abundant
life here on earth. In Numbers 13, the ten spies (human infirmity)
reported that the Promised Land was desirable, but that the giants in the
land could not be defeated. Only Joshua and Caleb had enough faith in
God to desire to enter the land of Canaan (low self-image) and drive out the
giants (psychological problems). How many people in our churches have
settled for a life in the wilderness, because they did not develop the faith
to believe the promises of God and deal with their problems? Other
attempts of clients to find his own way in life (like the children of Israel
who tried to take the land without faith) are destined to fail again and
again as clients are defeated by the flesh (the Amalekites) and the problems
associated with there low self-image (the Canaanites).
Dying in the Wilderness
The fourth job of the Christian
counselor is to help those who have chosen, due to a lack of faith, to live
as carnal Christians (in the wilderness).
Clients must learn, through the consequences of their own decisions, to put
off the immediate gratification offered by sin (die to self). This
includes learning to deal with issues such as church splits, conflicts with
church authorities, divorces, and generational sin. These clients
usually come to counseling only when life becomes unbearable and stay only
long enough to get a little relief. Fortunately, even some of these
clients can eventually find the faith to come out of the wilderness.
As the
account of the children of Israel continues, we can clearly identify
additional counseling principles for dealing with problems associated with
unbelief.
1. The counselor must help clients deal with forgiving others and
themselves. In Numbers 15, Moses was directed to provide specific
sacrifices to make atonement for the sins which had been committed.
Aaron was to assist with guilt sacrifices, just as the counselor is to
assist clients in dealing with their guilt and shame through the forgiveness
of sins, which was purchased by Jesus Christ. Those who were defiant,
were to be cut off from the congregation, just as those who refuse to
repent, are to be excluded from the church.
2. Through prayer, counselors should try to minimize the damage
caused by rebellion. In Numbers Chapter 16, Korah challenged
Moses' and Aaron's leadership, and consequently, he and his followers were
swallowed up by the earth. Moses and Aaron pleaded with the Lord not
to consume the whole assembly, and Aaron took a censor (containing incense
which represents prayer) among the congregation to stop the plague after it
had killed 14,700 of the Israelites.
3. If challenged, the counselor should allow the results of his
counseling to speak as the proof of his anointing. It is not
necessary or desirable for us as counselors to defend our calling if we are
challenged by clients. It is the client's choice to come to us, just
as it was the Israelite's choice to follow Moses and Aaron. Many of
these challenges to authority are the result of transference and should be
dealt with directly by addressing the real issues. If we are an
effective counselor called by God, the results of our work will validate our
calling. The counselor must avoid the trap of trying to please clients
instead of doing what is best for them. Aaron's rod budded, proving
that he was chosen by God to do his calling. (Numbers 17:8) In
extreme cases, when the client is very uncooperative, referral to another
counselor is always an option.
4. The counselor must closely follow the directions that God has
given and not deviate from them. In Numbers Chapter 20, at
Meribah, instead of speaking to the rock, out of frustration Moses struck
the rock (Christ) twice to produce water. Even though the technique
worked before and it did produce the needed water, both Moses and Aaron were
judged for their disobedience and were not allowed to enter the Promised
Land. They did not trust God's direction on the method to use to meet
the needs of the Israelites. Using our own methods instead of what God
directs us to do, even if our methods produce some success, will result in
our own judgment for disobedience.
5. Counselors must avoid burnout through trusting God with their
caseload. If we as counselors believe that we are responsible for
the recovery of the people that we counsel, if we try to fix them or if we
try to make their recovery happen in our own strength; we will eventually
burn out and become as frustrated as Moses and Aaron. As counselors,
we are warned to avoid getting frustrated with our clients, especially if
this frustration leads us to try to do things our own way. Because of
this frustration, Moses and Aaron were not able to personally lead the
Israelites into the Promised Land.
6. Faith in Christ is to be used to deal with impatience which
eventually leads to sin and judgment. In Numbers Chapter 21,
rather than fight against Edom their brother, Israel was directed to take a
longer way around Edom's territory. Because of impatience (wanting
immediate need gratification), Israel sinned and was plagued by snakes
(which represent sin). Impatience results in trying to make things
happen ourselves, and this results in sin. The Israelites complained
that they would die in the desert (God would not save them), that there was
no bread (worldly pleasure), that there was no water (spiritual life), and
that they detested the manna (the Word of God). These are symptoms of
faithlessness. God's answer was to direct them to again put their
faith in Christ (represented by the bronze snake on the pole, since Christ
took our sins upon himself). Consequently, we must direct the client
to again place his faith in Christ when he becomes impatient and turns to
sin to meet his needs.
7. Contention must be decisively dealt with in relationships and in
the church. Contention must be resolved through counseling, or it
will infect the church and destroy unity. The Moabites (lust) enlisted
Midian (contention) to tempt the Israelites to commit fornication and
worship Baal-Peor. Only the decisive action by Phinehas saved the
Israelites from the consequences of their fornication, which had already
resulted in the death of 24,000 Israelites.
8. Support groups are important in the church as places of refuge
for hurting people. In Numbers Chapter 34, six towns were set
aside to protect those who had accidentally killed someone. In the
church, we need places of refuge from the abuse of the world. I
believe that this is one of the most important functions of care groups and
support groups in the church.
Entering the Promised Land
The fifth job of the Christian
counselor is to help clients defeat the psychological giants in their lives
and appropriate the promises of God by faith.
I believe that the names of the tribes of the land of Canaan represent the
major complex psychological problems that each of us may face to one degree
or another in our lives. Through an understanding of the meanings of
these Hebrew names, it is possible to identify the psychological problems
associated with each. In a way, this is the biblical counterpart of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) used in
secular psychology to categorize mental problems. Reginald Klimionok
has made a good attempt at these meanings, but not as they relate to
underlying psychological problems. As an example, he identifies the
Amorites as the tongue since the word means, “to speak against or boast
publicly.” I have identified the Amorites, which also means
prominence, as suggesting psychological problems with significance or
prominence, which sometimes result in speaking against or boasting. He
identifies the Canaanites, which means lowland, or brought low by traffic or
trade, as problems with greed and lust for material goods. I identify
the Canaanites as low self-image problems, which many times result in greed
and lust. He identifies the Perizzites as the need for protection.
In counseling, these are called "boundary problems." He identifies the
Jebusites, which means treading or trodden down, as condemnation. I
suggest it means problems of abusing others, which result in condemnation of
self and others. For the Girgashites, which are mentioned later in
Joshua, Klimionok suggests backsliding—based on alternate meanings of
turning back from a pilgrimage and dwelling on clay or muddy soil. I
believe that the implication here is "getting stuck," turning back, or
quitting, which in counseling is typified by emotional problems like
depression, grief, and attempting suicide.
Except for these specific differences of interpretation that I have just
discussed, I agree with Klimionok’s suggested types for the remainder of
these tribes. Here, to the best of my current understanding, are the
giants of the land as they are listed in Exodus Chapter 23:
Ex 23:23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto
the Amorites (prominence or significance problems), and the Hittites (terror
and fear problems), and the Perizzites (open country with unwalled towns or
a lack of boundaries problems), and the Canaanites (humiliation or
self-image problems), the Hivites (life-giving or things we do to try to
meet our needs including addictions and intimacy problems), and the
Jebusites (treading down or threshing place, i.e. abusive behavior): and I
will cut them off (deliver you from all these problems).
The analogy of tribes or organized forces is consistent with the idea that
these represent groups of difficult problems, rather than individual
disorders. In addition, I agree that spiritual forces take advantage
of these psychological problems as suggested by Klimionok (p. 20). The
psychological and the spiritual are so interwoven that all psychological
problems probably have a spiritual component (Bufford, 1988, p. 51).
Because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV,
1994) is the most recognized secular method for categorizing psychological
problems, I will compare it to this biblical list of psychological giants.
First, I believe that the biblical list is more general and includes a broad
spectrum of common problems and dysfunctions as well as mental disorders.
Conceptually DSM IV only addresses mental disorders (or mental illness).
The categories of DSM IV have been empirically derived and have been
significantly influenced by societal pressure and what is considered
politically correct.
1. Amorites (prominence or significance problems)—This is what
I call codependent independence. It results in excessive drive,
performance self-worth, people pleasing, arrogance, pride, workaholism,
imperativeness, desire for worldly prominence, and rescuing. Because
our society is so driven by a desire for prominence, this problem is not
even identified in DSM IV as a psychological disorder. Some of the
symptoms of prominence appear in the Histrionic and Narcissistic Personality
Disorders.
2. Hittites (fear)—This is the basis of phobias of all types,
anxiety disorders, panic attacks, shyness, and withdrawal from
relationships. Codependent avoidance is my recovery term for this
disorder. When this problem becomes extreme it is called Avoidant
Personality Disorder in DSM IV. Other problems with fear are
categorized as anxiety disorders, panic disorders, adjustment disorders, and
other types of personality disorders.
3. Perizzites (boundary problems)—This is classical codependent
dependence with its people pleasing, inability to confront problems, staying
in abusive situations, depression, angry outbursts, and enabling. When
extreme, this problem sometimes results in Dependence Personality Disorder
in DSM IV.
4. Canaanites (lowland or self-image problems)—This is low
self-image which leads to passivity, codependency, addictions, and
dysfunctional relationships of all types. Low self-image is
categorized as "Problems Related to Abuse and Neglect," but may also
be listed under almost all other areas because self-worth problems underlie
most other problems.
5. Hivites (life-giving desires or lusts of the flesh)—This
includes all addictions especially those relating to eating, intimacy and
lust such as chemical dependency, alcoholism, eating addictions, romance
addiction, relationship addiction, sexual addiction, and homosexuality.
In DSM IV, these kinds of problems fall under substance abuse, sexual and
gender disorders, and eating disorders. Homosexuality is not listed as
a mental disorder in DSM IV.
6. Jebusites (to tread down, reject, trample down)—This
includes all forms of control and abusive behavior including verbal,
emotional, sexual, and physical abuse as well as domestic violence.
Possibly the most appropriate category in DSM IV is Impulse Control
Disorders and problems related to abuse or neglect. The only clear
mental disorder identified by DSM IV in this area is Intermittent Explosive
Disorder.
7. Girgashites (to be stuck in the mud or to turn back)—This
includes all forms of emotional problems; especially depression, grief, and
suicide. DSM IV lists these under mood disorders or bereavement.
God promised that the spirit of Christ would go before the Israelites
(Christians) and cut off all these problems from their lives. In the
verses that follow, it is clear that this is to be done in a progression of
victories by faith over time. All the land on which their feet trod
was to be theirs, but it had to be taken one-step at a time. Kenneth
Hagin (1993) suggests that when a Christian is born again, his spirit that
is saved. The salvation of the soul is then the responsibility of the
Christian. My experience is that almost no one is immediately
delivered from all of the giants of the Promised Land. Unfortunately,
many Christians seem to have missed this progressive plan of God and the
reasons behind it, and therefore expect that salvation will solve all their
psychological problems immediately without great effort on their part.
God understands that someone who has spent his life coping by worldly means,
will not immediately trust Him to supply all his needs. Slowly these
dysfunctional coping mechanisms must be replaced with spiritual ones.
Faith and spiritual strength must be developed that is equal to the problems
to be encountered.
Ex 23:28 And I will send hornets (stinging or
scourge—an inner sting of increasing guilt as we better perceive the
holiness of God) before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the
Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
But God expects us to take all of the land and, in the end, totally replace
our fleshly means with spiritual ones through faith. We are not to
compromise with them even in the slightest way or let any remnant of them
remain in our lives. If we do, they will cause guilt and shame which
will eventually undermine our faith, which is the very basis of our
salvation.
Ex 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea
of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver
the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out
before thee.
As we prepare to continue our journey of faith into the Promised Land filled
with these psychological giants, we must be careful to understand the
strategy laid out for our clients and us. The fact that Moses and
Aaron did not accompany the children of Israel into the Promised Land is
significant. At this point in the counseling process, clients must
take responsibility for their own recovery. This is also clear because
upon entering the Promised Land the manna stopped. Consequently, in
the remainder of this story we must assume our own responsibility for our
choices as we follow our Joshua (Jesus) to victory.
1. We must yield totally to God's plan for taking the Promised Land
by faith. Joshua, whose name means Jesus, is to be our leader.
Moses directed the people to obey Joshua completely. His spirit is to
go before us. Joshua was warned in Joshua 1:7 to "turn not from it
(God's direction) [to] the right hand or [to] the left, that thou mayest
prosper whithersoever thou goest." One of the greatest difficulties in
counseling is trying to get the client to decide to do what God requires to
resolve the situation. Most clients feel far more secure trying to
direct their own lives. Many a client has to be warned that if they
keep doing the same thing, they will keep getting the same result.
2. In order to have success, they must meditate day and night on
the Word of God. Joshua 1:8 makes this clear, "This book of the
law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day
and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success." The Bible is our main faith builder, and it is the
blueprint of our campaign to conquer the Promised Land of complete wholeness
and spiritual maturity.
3. An assessment of the strongholds in the clients’ lives is
essential. An important part in understanding these problems is
determining whether clients are truly saved and to what extent they are
relying on God to meet their needs. If they have not made a total
commitment to follow Jesus (Joshua), they are not qualified to enter the
Promised Land. Consequently, a true salvation experience needs to
become a priority in the counseling plan. Rahab the harlot, who had
faith, was told to put a red string in her window when Jericho was attacked.
This stands for the application of the blood of Jesus. Without true
salvation, where Jesus is Lord and boss, taking any of the promises of God
by faith is impossible.
4. God’s method includes experiencing the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit through faith in order to enter the Promised Land. The
children of Israel had to follow the Ark of God through the Jordan River,
which divided and backed up to the City of Adam (which stands for our human
nature). Although some might disagree, I believe that the crossing
through the Jordan River is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, just as crossing
through the Red Sea is the baptism by water. My experience is that the
baptism of the Holy Spirit equips the Christian for spiritual warfare and
makes them more spiritually sensitive. Consequently, those so
equipped, are more capable of overcoming the spiritual and psychological
giants of the Promised Land. I believe that the Israelites who chose
to dwell on the West side of the Jordan represent Christians who choose not
to pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but who are still required to
fight the psychological giants of the land.
5. Christians must do their
part in order to get their needs met through the promises of God in the
Promised Land. On entering the
Promised Land, the automatic provision of manna stopped. God will not
do for us what we can do for ourselves. If He did, He would be
enabling us, and God is not a codependent! While in the desert the
manna was necessary for survival, but in the land of God's promises, all our
needs are to be met through faith. The “milk of the Word,” manna, was
easily available, but now we must learn to do our part and dig deeper into
the Word of God (the meat of the Word) and believe its promises in order to
meet our deepest needs. As a Christian counselor, we must realize that
we cannot give out to our clients more than we have taken in from the Spirit
of God. We will end up relying on ourselves instead of the Holy
Spirit, and we will eventually “burn out” when our inner supply of the
Spirit is exhausted.
6. The flesh and sin must be set aside in order to prepare for the spiritual battle. God commanded that all of the children of Israel (males of course) were to be circumcised, because the generation that grew up in the desert had never been circumcised. According to Wilson’s Dictionary of Bible Types (1957), circumcision means, "the act of reckoning one's self dead unto sin and of laying aside the desires of the flesh.” (p. 113) Clients cannot hope to be victorious over psychological giants through the means of the flesh. Counseling can only weaken the flesh, not overcome problems through the flesh. It takes the power of the Spirit to overcome the flesh and sin.
7. The church is God's designated base of operations for the good
fight of faith. The first camp for the children of Israel after
crossing the Jordan River was Gilgal, which stands for the church.
There they were commanded to keep the Passover, which in the New Testament
is represented by the Lord's Supper. It was at this time that the
manna was cut off, indicating that God expects the church to meet its needs
though faith in the promises of God. It was near Gilgal, while
scouting Jericho, that Joshua encountered the "Captain of the Hosts of the
Lord." In the same way, it is in the church that God gives direction
for taking the Promised Land. I believe it is extremely clear that the
local church is to play a very significant part in God's plan for defeating
the psychological giants in the lives of its members.
Conquering Jericho
Jericho is the fortress of fear. Consequently, it represents our
struggles to overcome the insecurity in our lives. We can verify that
the city of Jericho represents fear by the fact that each time the city is
mentioned, the people were living in fear. Rahab said that the
inhabitants were in fear of the Israelites and that the gates were locked
out of fear. (Joshua 2:9, 11, 6:1) The clients’ fears are the first
formidable challenge. We are later told that all the tribes were
represented at Jericho. All sorts of psychological problems make their
homes in the client's life based on fear. Probably the best known are
fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of shame, and fear of punishment.
(McGee, 1990) Phobias, anxiety attacks, some panic attacks,
obsessive-compulsiveness, codependency, domestic violence, and most other
psychological disorders have their roots in fear.
The basis of overcoming simple fear by faith is
outlined in this event:
1. The first step in overcoming fear is to confront it.
In preparing to take Jericho, the Israelites marched around it for six days.
They were not to speak at all. Negative self-talk and speaking about
fear increases the power of fear. Marching around Jericho represents
surveying the things that cause fear in our lives from a distance as we
build our faith that we can conquer them. Six stands for man's
sufficiency. Speaking about or relying on man's sufficiency is the
basis of most fears. It takes faith in order to overcome fear.
The client must get close enough to the thing that is feared; yet maintain
his faith that, with God’s help, it will not harm him.
2. To overcome fear we must trust God to meet our needs.
On the seventh day they encompassed the city seven times. Seven stands
for God's complete provision. They had to get to the point where they
trusted God's complete provision so much that they were willing to openly
declare and act on their faith.
3. They were to confess their faith. They blew on the
ram's horn. The ram stands for Christ, our perfect sacrifice.
The ram's horn stands for preaching. Faith comes by hearing.
They were then to shout, or declare their faith in unison. When they
did this, the walls or defenses of fear (Jericho) fell down. When we
no longer believe the feared thing can harm us, it is defenseless.
Hebrews 11:30 declares that, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after
they were compassed about seven days."
4. They had to physically occupy the territory of the fear.
The battle was not over until they actually killed the enemy and burned the
city. Until we actually do the thing that is feared, we do not yet
have complete victory.
5. The credit for overcoming our fear must go to God.
This was the first of ten cities and, as such, its wealth was the first
tenth, or tithe. Joshua placed a curse on anyone who took anything
from the city. If clients take credit for overcoming their fear, their
fear will eventually return. This is because the clients are again
relying on themselves. Self-reliance is the root problem underlying
fear.
6. The city of fear must never be rebuilt. Joshua cursed
anyone who would rebuild this city. The curse was that the children of
those who rebuilt the city would die. (Joshua 6:26) Clients
bring a curse on their posterity if they rebuild fear in their lives, since
fear is transmitted from generation to generation. Unfortunately, this
often happens because old patterns of thinking can easily return. (It
is interesting to note that the first and last child of Hiel the Bethelite,
the man who rebuilt Jericho, died (1 Kings 16:34)).
7. Only those with faith will not be destroyed by fear.
Rahab, alone, was not destroyed with the people of Jericho. She
believed that the Israelites would take Jericho. We need to believe
that with God's help we can defeat all fear in our lives. (Hebrews
11:31 lists Rahab as one of the heroes of faith.)
If we take a close look at these events, we find the basis for a method for
confronting fears that has been called systematic desensitization. It
is possibly the most effective method of behavior modification for dealing
with fear. First, the client is taught how to relax. Relaxation
helps to alleviate fear. Because most persons cannot be relaxed and
afraid at the same time, tension can also be used as an indicator of fear.
Usually, clients are progressively exposed to fearful scenes in their minds
in a hierarchical order (as they are able to remain relaxed and to overcome
each fearful scene.) In this way, the client is slowly conditioned to
be able to tolerate the feared stimulus. Finally, each of these
situations are experienced in the same order in real life until clients can
face even the most fearful situation that they can imagine. (Comer,
1995) When we examine the process of systematic desensitization,
we find that it is no more than slowly developing faith that the feared
situation can be overcome.
Secular systematic desensitization can only go so far. It helps people
with irrational fears, as they perceive them. With faith in God, all
worldly fears can be overcome; because we trust in His protection. My
experience is that helping clients build a realistic faith in God, in
combination with systematic desensitization, produces outstanding results in
overcoming all fears and anxieties.
Overcoming Ai
Ai was one of the most insignificant
Canaanite cities. It means "heap of ruins." The word Canaanite
means "low land" and represents our evaluation of ourselves. Here Ai
represents the ruins of our lives due to sin, or our shame. It is one
of the keys to the problem of low self-image. Guilt or shame, when not
properly dealt with, turns to toxic shame. It changes from "I did a
bad thing" to "I am a bad person." When Achan chose to take the gold
and garments from Jericho, he did a bad thing. When he chose to hide
them in his tent (ego defenses), his sin became part of him. He was
relying on himself to meet his needs instead of God. The battle of Ai
gives us the strategy for overcoming toxic shame, which, as we will see
later, is the basis of addictions and codependency.
1. Sin in the camp must die. We must repent of our life
of sin. Achan means trouble and that is exactly what sin brings us.
As long as we choose to try to meet our own needs, our sin will cause our
own defeat as it did for the Israelites at Ai. We cannot hide sin and
defeat low self-worth (the Canaanites) at the same time. Achan sinned
by taking some of the spoil of Jericho, and because he refused to deal with
his sin and hid it, he was destroyed by it. Just as the Israelites
were in fear of the other tribes because of their defeat at Ai, so shame
makes it impossible for us to stand before or deal with the other
psychological enemies in our lives.
2. The shame must be drawn out and exposed. Israel drew
the soldiers of Ai away from the city and overthrew it with an ambush.
The ambush that God has provided for us in order to defeat shame is the
cross of Christ, which provides the forgiveness of every one of our sins.
Jesus took our shame upon Himself. It is our job to admit our sins,
accept His forgiveness, and trust Him to take away our shame.
3. The entire city or foundation of shame must be destroyed.
The Israelites completely burned the city. In the same way, we must
totally destroy our shame and the worldly evaluation of ourselves that is
based on toxic shame. Our evaluation of ourselves based on our past
actions must be exposed as a lie. It must be burned completely and
replaced with our position in Christ and what Christ has done for us.
The King of Ai, who I believe stands for pride (the defense of those
struggling with low self-worth and shame), was hung on a tree and buried
under a monument at the city gate. In the same way our pride is to die
forever along with our shame and be replaced with God's evaluation of us
according to faith.
4. Accomplishments and capabilities developed to overcome shame can
be used for our good. The cattle and spoil of the city were taken
for use by the Israelites. Those struggling with low self-worth and
shame are many times motivated to be over-achievers who accomplish and learn
many things. These capabilities and the things that have been
accomplished in our futile attempt to build our low self-image can still be
used as a blessing to us.
5. We must always be on guard against rebuilding shame.
Ai was to remain in desolation forever. We must be careful to confront
and confess our sin and deal with it as soon as it is detected. Toxic
shame, the result of hiding our guilt, must never be allowed to develop
again. Pride must never be allowed again in our lives.
Subjugating Gibeon
After dealing with fear and shame, we must confront our life-giving desires that we believe are the very basis of our lives. These desires are the results of our attempts to meet our deepest need for love and acceptance.
The story of the subjugation of Gibeon seems confusing until we realize that
Gibeon was a city of the Hivites, which stands for our deepest selfish,
life-giving desires. It is clear that the complete destruction of
Gibeon was God's perfect will. Instead, the Israelites were tricked
into making an alliance with it. Unfortunately, very few Christians
have been able to totally eradicate all of their deepest selfish desires and
completely trust God to direct every aspect of their lives. These
desires are so crafty that they look to most of us as something that God
desires for us. We see this played out in the story of the subjugation
of Gibeon beginning in Joshua Chapter 9.
1. Our deepest selfish desires, sexual passions, and lusts are
really our enemies. They are under the influence of our flesh and,
as such, are incapable of bringing life and carrying out the will of God.
The inhabitants of Gibeon, who were Hivites (selfish life-giving desires),
sent ambassadors to Israel. These ambassadors craftily deceived the
Israelites into making a treaty with them. Gibeon means "feller of
trees." Trees in the Bible often stand for men. Without doubt,
selfish desires have caused of the fall of many men. Our selfish
desires fool us by making us think that they are no real threat to us and
are something to be desired to meet our needs.
2. We must submit our deepest desires to God. The mistake
of the Israelites was that they did not inquire of God before making a
treaty with the people of Gibeon. Our desires have the same excuse
that the Gibeonites had—they do not want to die. The Gibeonites even
came to Gilgal, which represents the church. Unfortunately, many in
the church have been fooled into making these deep selfish desires an ally
without recognizing the danger or consulting with God. Lust is really
unlimited, selfish, life-giving desire. Lust must be controlled and
transformed into unselfish love, or it will lead to sin and spiritual death.
3. Life-giving desires are subjugated by limiting their activities
through boundary agreements. Although God's original plan was the
complete replacement of our desires with His will through faith, it is
possible to subjugate these desires and use them for our good. Because
very few clients are anywhere near spiritual maturity, the counselor must
many times settle for the subjugation of the client’s desires. This is
the establishment of self-boundaries. The Gibeonites agreed to become
hewers of wood (Christian activities) and drawers of water (spiritual life)
for the sanctuary. In the same way, the Christian is to limit his
deepest desires to doing only the will of God and for the use of the Church.
4. These desires must be turned into unselfish love and obedience.
The Gibeonites became loyal followers of God, and so can our desires.
During the time of David, because Saul mistreated the Gibeonites; a famine
came on the land. We also can learn to subjugate even sexual lust into
a giving, loving marital relationship. Self-boundaries must be set on
our thought-life, fantasies, and sexual acting-out.
5. We must defend our desires from the attack of prominence.
Probably one of the most insidious attacks on our selfish desires is the
drive for prominence (Amorites). In Joshua Chapter 10, the five
Amorite kings rose up to destroy the Gibeonites, because they had lost a
strong ally. This is a victory that must be won, otherwise our
desires, which have been subjugated, will rise again as a multitude of
lusts, leading to sin and ultimately spiritual death.
Defeating the Amorites
One of our basic psychological needs is our need for
significance. This is not to be confused with our need for self-worth.
Self-worth has to do with intrinsic value while significance has to do with
our success in using that potential. In the world, prominence is the
general measure of how significant others see us. The world is
motivated by this desire for prominence. Almost anything will be done
to achieve it. The "rat race" of life itself is based on the unlimited
lust for more, fueled by a search for prominence in life. Our fleshly
drive for prominence wants to take over our desires, which in the past have
been one of its strongest allies. At stake in this battle with the
Amorite kings (prominence) were the towns of Jerusalem (peace), Hebron
(relationships), Jarmuth (worth), Lachish (invincibility), and Eglon
(vigor). We must defeat the temptation to pursue our own prominence if
we are to have peace, have healthy relationships, feel worthwhile, obtain
the invincibility that only comes from God, and vigorously pursue the
Kingdom of God. The real question is, are we going to trust God to
meet our deepest desires or are we going to attempt to meet them through
achieving prominence in this world through the flesh? The strategy for
victory over prominence is this:
1. We as Christians must recognize the threat of the drive for
prominence in our lives. This threat is revealed through our
desires. It was the Gibeonites (life-giving desires) who sent word to
the camp at Gilgal that they were being attacked by the Amorites (drive for
prominence). Every time we feel a desire to be first, best, or overly
competitive, we should recognize the attack of prominence. Pride and
selfishness are also clear signs of attack. Because many Christians
have been fooled into thinking that a desire for prominence is normal, the
attack goes undetected, and our deepest desires are again made our enemies.
2. The church must swiftly attack the drive for prominence using
the Word of God. The children of Israel took the Amorites by
surprise and slew them with the sword (the Word of God). In the same
way, the Word of God shows us that our desire for prominence is wrong and
leads us to submit to God's plan of obedience and humility.
3. God will judge our desire for prominence through consequences.
The Bible tells us that pride comes before a fall. (Prov 16:18)
Eventually, everyone will reach the top of their ability and be forced to
accept their human limitations. More of the escaping armies were
killed by the hailstones (judgment) from God than were killed by the
Israelites. The long-term consequences of our drive for prominence
will eventually bring us to our knees if we refuse to let God deal with it.
Jesus said that if we want to be great in the Kingdom of God we must be the
servant of all. (Mark 9:35)
4. If we ask and truly desire His help, God will even
supernaturally suspend nature itself in order to assist us in this fight
with prominence. When Joshua took the authority given to him by
God and commanded the sun and the moon to stop, they stopped their movement
for an entire day in order to provide additional time to defeat the
Amorites. (Joshua 10:12, 13) Possibly the most important part of this
battle to overcome prominence is reaching a point where we completely submit
ourselves to God's rule in our lives and desire only to please Him.
Then He will “move heaven and earth” on our behalf.
Taking the Remaining Land
Once our fear, shame, selfish desires, and drive for prominence are
defeated; our most significant enemies remain in our mind or intellect.
1. We must recognize that our mind is the battlefield for
overcoming most psychological enemies. King Jabin (intellect) of
Hazor (enclosure or castle) gathered all the enemies of the Israelites to
the waters of Merom, which means “elevation.” Intellectualism
protected by closed-mindedness unites the remaining psychological enemies of
self-pity (Jobab), strife (Madon), lack of motivation (Shimron), control
(Achshaph), low self-worth (Canaanites), prominence (Amorites), fear
(Hittites), boundary problems (Perizzites), abuse (Jebusites), and lust
(Hivites).
2. We Christians are not to be afraid of intellectual arguments or
of challenging our intellectual assumptions. Since the assumptions
of life provide our world view and our security, we seldom want to challenge
our long-held assumptions. This is especially true of those premises
of life held in our subconscious mind. Joshua was told not to be
afraid of these enemies, but that God would deliver them into his hands
slain. (Joshua 10:6)
3. God's wisdom must be chosen over man's wisdom for the direction
of our lives. The battle was to be fought at the waters of Merom,
which means “elevated.” Man takes pride in his thoughts and
intellectual achievements and thinks that they make him higher than others.
We must decide to base our lives on God’s wisdom—not man’s—and choose
to do the will of God instead of our own will.
4. False premises are to be permanently disabled and logical
arguments destroyed. Jesus overcame His temptations by quoting the
truth from the Word of God. (Luke 4:2-13) Wrong ways of thinking
provide the basis of most psychological problems. Even our emotions
are controlled by the way we look at situations. Joshua was ordered to
hough (disable) the enemies’ horses (premises) and to burn their chariots
(arguments) to ensure that they would never be used again.
5. The renewing of the mind is to be done quickly and completely.
The Israelites "suddenly" attacked the enemies at Merom and completely
destroyed them. The Bible tells us that we are to think on good things
(Php 4:8) and that out of the heart the mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)
6. Intellectualism and closed-mindedness must be completely
destroyed by the Word of God. Joshua then returned to Hazor
(closed mindedness) and burned it, after killing King Jabin
(intellectualism) with the sword (God's Word).
7. Only worldly knowledge that opposes God's word must be destroyed.
Hazor was burnt with fire, but all the cattle were taken as plunder.
This battle is not against the knowledge of the world, but the false
knowledge of the world that opposes God's truth. The good things
produced by intellectual pursuit are to be used for the Christian's good.
8. The struggle for the supremacy of the Word of God over man's
wisdom takes a long time. The Bible tells us that "Joshua made war
a long time with all those kings." (Joshua 11:18) It also tells us
that it was God's will that all the tribes of Canaan be completely
destroyed.
9. We must destroy all the remaining psychological
giants. The final battle was to eliminate the Anakins (giants)
remaining in the mountains. I believe that these represent the more
difficult and complex problems in each of the areas represented by these
tribes. They will be addressed in detail in the following Chapters.
11. One of the most important lessons that we must learn is how to
fairly maintain personal boundaries. The Israelites were to
respect the boundaries that God established for them. Offenses come
from violations of healthy boundaries. Without understanding personal
boundaries, the commandment to love one another cannot effectively be
carried out. In modern terms, we are said to be assertive when we have
learned to maintaining our own personal boundaries while respecting
boundaries of others.
12. The final blessing is rest, which is the result of spiritual
maturity. Our psychological rest is based on our faith that God
has and will always meet all of our needs according to his riches in glory.
(Philip 4:19) We can exit the rat race of life as we simply trust,
obey, and follow Him in all we have been called to do. This does not
mean that we will no longer have any struggles, but that, because we are
trusting in God for total victory in all we do, we will not be shaken by
anything. Joshua 21:44-45 states, "And the LORD gave them rest round
about, according to all that he swear unto their fathers: and there stood
not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their
enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing
which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."
This is the fulfillment of our salvation and it is glorious!
As we examine what we have just learned, we can see a basic structure or
plan for the conduct of Christian counseling.
This model suggests a life-long developmental approach to
counseling directed by the Holy Spirit as the Chief Counselor.
It is He that orchestrates the overall process.
The client is brought to us to help him remove any hindrances to
going forward into the next phase of the process of salvation by faith.
The use of the narrative approach to teaching psychological truth
simplifies the teaching process and continues to build faith in the client
that God’s truth, the Bible, can be trusted.
Reliance on God’s plan for salvation for the ultimate healing of
the client is, and always will be, essential for long-term and lasting
results. The basic steps of this
plan are discussed below. I have
indicated the origin of each step as they relate to the story of the exodus
of the children of Israel in parenthesis.
A complete case study using this method of counseling is presented
in the last Chapter of this book.
1. Determine the problem. (Identify the type of slavery.)
While the process begins like most counseling intakes—determining the
problem—the remaining steps are contingent on where the client is in his
spiritual development. Determining the problem involves asking the
client his reason for coming to counseling, gathering background
information, analyzing the information, and attempting to fit the pieces of
the puzzle together to form a hypothesis concerning the underlying cause.
When dealing with complex problems, the counselor should attempt to
determine if the problem fits one of the models developed later in this
book. The children of Israels’ problem was that they were in slavery
and afflicted by the cruel taskmasters of Egypt (the world). Before we
are saved, we are the slaves of sin and the world, and need to be delivered.
2. Demonstrate that what the client is doing will not meet his
needs and build hope that his problems can be overcome through Christ.
(Confront the Gods of Egypt.) Until the client is convinced that his
methods do not work, he will continue to do them and will get similar
results. Moses had to demonstrate to Israel that the Egyptian’s
methods did not work before they were willing to leave Egypt. He also
had to demonstrate that God’s methods could deliver them from their slavery.
I usually try to show my clients that the entire rat race in life makes no
sense and that everyone is eventually promoted until they fail. Even
all those who get to the top are eventually replaced and what they have
accomplished has no lasting significance. In fact, without God,
nothing they do will have lasting value and they do not have enough
information even to attempt to direct their own lives. Life is but a
vapor and only God can make them eternally happy.
3. Use the biblical principles and models to help the
client perceive and understand the
problem from a biblical perspective.
(Understand God’s plan and repent.) Few clients will have an in-depth
understanding of the problem identified in step one. Consequently, the
counselor will need to use Bible principles or a narrative biblical model to
help the client understand the problem from a biblical perspective.
Moses had to help the Israelites understand that they were the chosen people
unto God; and that it was God’s perfect will for them to live in the land of
Canaan, not serve the Egyptian gods in Egypt.
4. Determine where the client is in the process of salvation
and, if appropriate, lead him to accept Christ, be baptized, yield the
control of his life to God, and help him get established in a church.
(Cross the Red Sea.) After determining the problem, the counselor
should locate where the client is in the overall plan for his salvation
according to the model of the exodus of the children of Israel. The
client must be saved, baptized, and established in a good church to provide
the support and a basis for this process of salvation or wholeness.
When counseling someone who is not saved or who has a weak spiritual
foundation, these initial four steps are essential. If a client has
progressed beyond these steps, we must identify where they are in their
spiritual walk in order to determine the next step to take.
5. Help the
client take responsibility for his own actions, not blame others or react to
what they do, and do everything as unto God.
(Quit murmuring.) Most clients come to counseling blaming their
parents, past events, or someone or something outside of themselves for the
problem, just like the children of Israel did. Many times, they want
the counselor to take the responsibility to “fix” them. They must
understand that they are responsible for “working out their own salvation”
(Philip. 2:12b) and that when they stand before God, He is not going to ask
them what someone else did but how they responded to what others did.
They must learn to do what is right in spite of what others do. The
Israelites had to learn to quit murmuring, blaming Moses, and threatening to
return to Egypt.
6. Help the client
grow in his personal relationship with Christ and build faith that,with
God’s help, he can overcome the problem.
(Build faith in the wilderness.) It is at this point that the first
generation of Israelites, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, failed.
In order to trust God, the client needs to develop a personal relationship
with Christ and build faith that God will help him overcome every aspect of
his problem and meet all his needs. Without it, the client will not
have the faith required to face his complex psychological problems.
The client will fail if he tries to rely on himself, fix himself, or meet
his own needs through the flesh.
7. Assist the client
in receiving the empowerment of the baptism of the Holy Spirit if he chooses
to do so. (Cross the Jordan River.)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit received at Pentecost empowered the disciples
to effectively move into the supernatural realm and trust God beyond
anything they had yet experienced. Teen Challenge attributes much of
their high success rate in helping to deliver incorrigible addicts from
years of addiction to the enablement of the Spirit in their client’s lives.
However, just as not all the Israelites chose to permanently dwell in the
land of Canaan, the counselor needs to respect the right of the client to
skip this step; especially since the baptism of the Holy Spirit is still
controversial or even spoken against in some churches. Faith is
required to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To have faith each
client must be fully convinced in his own mind.
8. Help the client
apply the biblical principles or model to overcome the identified
psychological problem. (Conquer the
giants.) Most clients come into therapy totally caught up in the
methods and problems of the world. They are usually facing one of the
giants of dysfunction, fear, codependency, abuse, addiction, or depression.
By this time in the therapeutic process the client has overcome most of the
lies of the world system and realizes that he cannot overcome his problems
by relying on his flesh. Now, the worldly lies that he has believed
that underlie each of these strongholds needs to be replaced with the
eternal truth of God. This is accomplished through the application of
biblical principles or the application of complex models provided in
the later Chapters of this book.
9. Determine the root cause of the difficulty and assist the client
in developing faith to overcome this root problem. (Conquering the
cities of Canaan.) All counseling problems eventually can be traced to
a basic need for love, security, worth or significance. In the story
of the exodus of the children of Israel, Jericho stands for overcoming a
lack of security or fear, Ai stands for overcoming low self-worth or shame,
and Gibeon stands for overcoming the lusts of the flesh (fulfilling the need
of love). The cities of the Amorites, Jerusalem (peace), Hebron
(relationships), Jarmuth (worth), Lachish (invincibility), and Eglon
(vigor), stand for overcoming problems with significance or trying to find
worldly success in life. Finally, Hazor, which stands for the
strongholds in the mind, must also be overcome. Through analysis, the
counselor should help the client realize his needs, understand how he has
been trying to meet them through the flesh, and help him begin to place his
trust in God to meet them all. Without this step, a long-term
resolution of the problem cannot be assured since the unmet needs will
eventually re-assert themselves in another form. For example, addicts
many times change from one form of addiction to another when the root cause
of the addiction is not fully eradicated. The Israelites had to fully
defeat all of the tribes and cities of Canaan before final victory was
assured.
10. Release the client again to the care of the Holy Spirit so that He can continue to orchestrate the process of salvation by faith in the client’s life. (Enjoying the Promised Land.) We must remember that it is the Holy Spirit or Chief Counselor that orchestrates this entire process. Furthermore, it was Christ that made it all possible, and we, as counselors, only have a small part in it. As the counseling process continues, it is our job to work ourselves out of a job. As the client finds greater and greater success, the counselor should require him to face more of his problems on his own (with God’s help) or with the help of a support group. The client should be seen for counseling less frequently until the client only calls for an appointment if he is afraid he will relapse, or if he cannot resolve some problem on his own with God’s help. Finally, God must be given all the glory and thanksgiving for the positive results that have been accomplished during the counseling process and the client should again be released to the sole direction and care of the Holy Spirit.
For videos on this subject select the links below:
1. Christian Counseling in the Church (Faith Therapy Lesson 1)
2. A Comnprehensive Plan for Biblical Counseling (Transformation lesson 2)
The written material information presented above comes from