Definition of Biblical Counseling
Biblical counseling at Harmony is defined as counseling that exclusively utilizes the Word of God to bring change to the life of the counselee. This utilizes the full authority of Scripture taken in context to convict, develop, and grow believers in Christ in their walk with Christ. The believer is challenged through loving discipleship to develop past their problems and to walk in the regenerate work of Christ.
Why the Counseling Ministry Exists
The Counseling ministry exists, quite simply because sin exists.[1] People are broken because of sin, people are hurting because of sin, no matter where one looks, the problem is sin. It may be someone else’s sin has hurt them; it may be their own sin. When someone is unable to discover the answers through prayer and meditation over Scripture, they rightly should turn to a brother or sister in Christ for wise counsel that is based on God’s Word.
How the Counseling Ministry Relates to the Overall Ministry of the Church
The counseling ministry relates to the overall church because the church is commissioned to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) and this includes admonishing one another with God’s Word. Because sin is the problem, the church as a whole knows the solution is only found in Christ.[2] When one sees the problem of sin through this lens, one can begin to understand that this is active discipleship that all believers are called to participate in.[3] When one is in the process of discipleship, there is a level of the root word, discipline, that must be taking place and therefore counseling is taking place in the context of Scripture, such as Romans 15:14 or Colossians 3:16.
What the Distinct Goals are for the Counseling Ministry
The main goal of the counseling ministry is love.[4] When we love someone, we should be correcting them in love, because we do not want them to suffer unnecessarily. Love is not allowing them to remain in their sin. We would not allow someone we love to physically harm themselves, likewise we should use similar authoritative love to prevent sinful harm spiritually and mentally. Therefore, we must speak in love with authority in counseling to return the individual to a loving relationship with the Father.[5]
What a Counselee Should Expect When Engaging in Counseling at the Ministry
A counselee should expect to receive counsel that is derived from God’s Word. They should expect the counselor to be able to exemplify goodness, wisdom, and knowledge.[6] They should expect empathetic counseling that will be true to the problem and the solution.[7] They should expect to not be enabled in sin and disobedience, but rather to become face to face with their problem, and they should expect to have the solution derived from the pages of God’s Word through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
What Goals are Desired as a Clear Outcome for the Counseling Ministry
The desired outcome of counseling is for the individual being counseled to realize the solution to the problem in light of biblical revelation, come under the authority of Scripture, and providing the proper and necessary tools for the counselee to be able to avoid the situation in the future.[8] This is the effective measure of the counseling ministry, and the desire of the counselor, because when this is taking place there is complete restoration for the counselee’s relationship with God. Additionally, this provides the counselee with the tools to assist others in similar situations. Thus, now they have the tools to not only help prevent the situation again in their future, now they also have the tools to informally counsel others and grow the discipleship ministry of the church.
If this is the kind of counseling that you are looking for, please complete the form to schedule a time.
[1] John MacArthur, Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2005), 27-29.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling, (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 1986), 41.
[4] Ibid, 54
[5] Ibid, 55
[6] Ibid, 59-62
[7] Ibid, 58
[8] Ibid, 57
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