The Counseling World
My current class for seminary is “Biblical Counseling Theory and Method”. So I have been immersed in reading counseling books, listening to lectures on counseling, and working on essay questions regarding counseling and theology. I am also taking advantage of counseling conferences that now offer virtual attendance. Since I am not able to travel to Texas or California (I live in Pennsylvania), I can attend the conference via livestream and recorded audio. This weekend is the ABC (Association of Biblical Counselors) conference. In June, the IBCD (Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship) conference can be watched while I recover from cataract surgery on my right eye. At the end of July, my husband and I will attend the IABC (International Association of Biblical Counselors) conference in the DC area, in person rather than virtually.
As I delve into counseling topics and what counseling involves, the online world of counseling has its own “wars” going on. What exactly defines biblical counseling? I do not have a personal answer to this question. I found David Powlison’s book The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context to be very enlightening and helpful. What I see that biblical counseling has done is to bring the Bible back into the counseling room and anchor counseling in the local church. The Bible has principles that are needed for wise, godly living (2 Peter 1:3). Biblical counseling reminds us of the sufficiency of Scripture for the Christian. It shows the connection between discipleship and counseling. Those who know Scripture are able to counsel those around them.
As I seek to minister to women, teaching them how to faithfully exposit Scripture to other women, part of this will involve counseling them in the issues that they grapple with as they seek to live faithful lives in the contexts that God has placed them. Counseling involves teaching, and to be able to teach others, it is important to be well-grounded in Scripture. The foundation for biblical counseling must be the Bible.