Counseling: Faith vs. Practice

by Dr. Charles Solomon

In the last several decades, we have gone from some conservative Christians considering psychology to be of the devil to the place where much of Christendom sees it as a kind of savior. It is being hailed as the treatment of choice for ailments formerly recognized as the domain of the church. Formerly, it was not accorded a place in the education of ministers; now, one who would minister to deep soul problems may secure advanced training at the seminary level and achieve state licensure for it. As a result, there are pastors who think nothing of listing psychologists and professional Christian counselors on their web sites with the explanation that there are no trained counselors on the staff of the church. With that being the official position of the church, one would not be surprised at the reluctance of Christian leaders to closely scrutinize the content and practices of psychotherapy.

This brings us to a basic question: Should counseling be spiritual ministry or primarily a professional practice? Is it likely that therapy will be successful in non-organically based cases that are considered beyond the capability of the Holy Spirit through a biblical counselor? It is my considered opinion, based on thirty years of counseling, that true spiritual counseling is actually remedial discipleship on a one-to-one basis. However, we are in an era where discipleship may mean anything or nothing; it is not unusual for approaches to discipleship to omit the experienced Cross as the beginning or foundation. This despite the clear teaching of Luke 14:27 which states," And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple". This being the case, there are apparently few whose lives are transformed as a result of popular modes of discipleship.

How did the church make such an about face which, in essence, is a denial of our birthright? Because the teaching of the Cross (e.g., Romans 6:1-23 and Galatians 2:20) has all but dropped out of the teaching of the church; it is all too easy for practices which appeal to the flesh to supplant the role and work of the Holy Spirit. Religiosity passes for spirituality and carnal weapons, developed and used by the flesh, are adapted or adopted to train professional Christian counselors

Indeed, there seem to be almost no seminaries in the country which make consistently apply what is taught in the theology department to what is taught in the counseling department. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that theology taught individually would be more powerful than when it is taught corporately? If we believe that we have a theological position that is honored of God with transformed lives, why not be consistent and apply it in whatever setting that ministry is done? Or have we not seen the potential for Holy Spirit-directed counseling with supernatural results, and thereby are more inclined to make referrals elsewhere.

But, you say, there are many cases where there is great help in individual lives and marriages as a result of professional counseling and/or Christian psychology. If the therapist is giving support and wisdom as a ministry in that context, progress is made. However, what if the person receiving the help is just developing coping mechanisms that enables him to avoid full surrender to God and the need for a reckoning of his identification with Christ? The symptoms may improve while the self-life (the root problem) actually gets worse. here is where one's core values and counseling model determine how success is defined.

At this point, it is vital that we identify the problem from which the symptoms emanate. Lacking identification of the problem, it is highly likely that the symptoms will be labeled as the problem and therapies designed that will constitute symptomatic treatment. Since major schools, publications, and names in Christian psychology and psychiatry usually side with the behavioral sciences, who dares to question their presuppositions, philosophy of ministry, and results? The DSM-4 Manual contains a plethora of humanistic designators for human dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, behavior, and relationships. These labels are developed for use in humanistic therapy for which third party payment is available (at least, for a short while!) Seminaries are turning out those with degrees in psychotherapy so they can compete with secular therapists working with the same people and seeing approximately the same results. However, the root problem is the flesh (Gal. 5:16) and this problem is not identified in the DSM-4 Manual.

There is something wrong with this picture! Sanctification-based biblical counselors can testify to a high rate of transformed lives. They witness people set free by the Holy Spirit from many of those things contained in the DSM-4. I have often this answer to prayer in as little as one interview, and most in an average of 3-4 interviews. Therefore, I have no problem in affirming that believers should be doing spiritual ministry, without needing to rely on professional [psychotherapy. To go a step further, I have seen believers with less than a high school education being used of the Holy Spirit in effective biblical counseling. This being the case, most of that which is routinely referred outside the church should eventually be done inside the church. Trained, Spirit-filled brothers and sisters would be provided a strategic opportunity for spiritual maturity in the lives of others.

Yes, this would require a decided challenge to the status quo which is Latin for "the mess we are in"! It is high time that we have a reformation in the field of counseling and get it back into the ministry of the Body of Christ. Yes, there are those who will need help that the church is not yet prepared to give; however, with sufficient training and experience the number of such cases will shrink rapidly. Then the church will no longer be a primary referral source for humanistic counseling.

Of course, it is first necessary that pastors have the spiritual experience and the basic training that is required for this kind of spiritual ministry if they are to believe that they can train their lay people to be ready to be used of the Holy Spirit in such a manner. Expect resistance from the behavioral sciences that now view this area of service as their domain. They are busily attempting to get licensure laws passed in every state. Although high ethical and clinical standards are important, this legal posturing appears to prevent the church from legally doing soul cure which could cut into their business of doing soul care!

The only way that we can take back the ground we have lost is to have a better counseling product . But qualitatively better results will be unlikely if we continue to drink at the fount of humanistic psychology. Change is insufficient; exchange is required, and the Holy Spirit is the only One who is in that business! "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NKJV). Mere Reformation can be brought about by doing therapy on the self-life; Transformation should be the fruit of biblically-based counseling. This kind of change is the work of the Holy Spirit which results in revival, individually and corporately.

To sum up, counseling can be a practice in which faith is set aside, giving preference to a secular approach to therapy. Or, we can put our faith into practice and trust God to honor biblical theology and spiritual experience for the transforming of lives where He gets all of the glory for the work He has done. It is a new approach which is 2,000 years old.

LET THE SPIRITUAL MINISTRY BEGIN!. . . . . . .