Isaiah 43:4
“Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you…”
Think about those words that God speaks to Israel. And then remember how He demonstrates this through Christ. The value we have as God’s children is incalculable because it is God who bestows it on us.
The most effective approaches to healing in the counseling environment begin with a deep understanding of the dignity and “honor” each person is due. An “honor” that we give because God gives it to us as His children. And when the counselor demonstrates this in their words, countenance, decision-making, etc. it begins the healing process. Most people wind up in counseling because of actions that have accused, belittled, hurt, and destroyed their dignity as a child of God. I see my responsibility as a counselor to help them reframe their story in light of God’s love, approval, delight, honor, of them.
It’s his kindness that leads to repentance.
It’s his love that relieves condemnation.
It’s his honor of us that helps us drop our guard and turn back to him.
#biblicalcounseling
@lukedsimmons We have nursery for 0-3, 4-6 class during sermon, and then full integration into service at 7. There are challenges, but the blessings outweigh any drawbacks! IMO, this is a good balance for everybody
CSB Goatskin Bible Giveaway!
The first episode of Season 1 with @KevinCarson will drop in July. As we look forward to launching this season of Christ and Counseling, we are offering this giveaway opportunity for a premium Bible. In order to win, follow the steps below!
Five psalms for five moments:
Psalm 23: You feel completely alone.
Psalm 46: Everything is falling apart.
Psalm 73: You're struggling with envy.
Psalm 103: You've forgotten how loved you are.
Psalm 139: You wonder if God really knows you.
We do not drag God down by our worship, and we do not climb up to God by our zeal.
Christ descends by his Word and Spirit, gathers us to himself, and places us by faith in the heavenly assembly where he ministers for us.
I am really concerned with what Carl Trueman describes here and am seeing the effects of “gig Eva” in real life. There are so many online influencers given spiritual authority over-above the local church. True discipleship only happens in local church life. Period.
It's a Herman Bavinck Library GIVEAWAY! The winner will receive the four volumes of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics (@BakerAcademic), The Wonderful Works of God, and The Certainty of Faith (@westsempress). A $300+ addition to your library!
How to enter:
1. Follow our account (@ReformedBC)
2. Like AND share this post
3. Tag a friend below
4. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://t.co/WrBgdgwL6n
The winner will be announced next Friday (5/1)! One winner will be chosen across all social media platforms. Only shipping to the continental US.
#biblicalcounseling #biblicalcounselingtraining #biblicalcounselingministry #reformedtheology #HermanBavinck
“At regular intervals we all need to quit our work and contemplate his, quit talking to each other and listen to him. God knows we need this and has given us a means in sabbath - a day for praying and playing, simply enjoying what He is.”
- Eugene Peterson
@TheRhetorRick I love the idea of a church giving their pastor a break to write! But that’s not a sabbatical. That’s just a different kind of work/ministry.
I'm honestly so glad when I see a pastor get a sabbatical. I don't think it's about fair or toughening up. I think it's a grateful congregation that understands that pastors endure hardship in a way that few understand.
What do I mean?
I don’t have to get a phone call at 3:00 a.m. telling me someone in my church is dying and rush to the hospital to sit with a grieving family.
I don’t have to walk with a couple for years, praying with them, counseling them, pouring my heart into their marriage, only to watch it collapse because of betrayal or unrepentant sin.
I don’t have to stand with parents planning a funeral for their child.
I don’t have to sit with someone who minutes before received a devastating diagnosis and doesn’t know how to tell their family.
I don’t have to prepare sermons each week to preach hope on Sunday morning after spending the entire week sitting in rooms filled with heartbreak.
I don’t have to discipline someone's husband out of the church when he refuses to repent for adultery.
I don’t have to watch people I’ve discipled for years slowly drift away from their faith and leave their families and the church.
I don’t have to carry the spiritual weight of shepherding hundreds of people while knowing that my words and leadership shape their faith and their families.
I don’t have to weekly absorb criticism from fickle people who only know a tiny bit of a situation, assume the worst about my motives or decisions, while still trying to work for their good.
I don’t have to live with the quiet pressure of knowing that when people are in crisis, they expect me to have spiritual clarity, emotional strength, and wisdom ready at a moment’s notice.
I don’t have to watch families I’ve loved for years leave angry over surprisingly small things. A disagreement about music, a ministry decision, or a change in schedule.
I don't have to bear the weight of regularly being measured by celebrity pastors and influencers and given tips on how I could be more like this or that person if I really tried harder.
I don’t have to be on call 24 hours a day because people assume I’m spiritually responsible for their crisis...their 3rd crisis this week.
I don’t have to balance the demands of ministry with the needs of my spouse and children who sometimes sacrifice important time with me because of the church.
I don’t have to step into church conflicts between people who both expect me to take their side.
I don’t have to deliver hard biblical truths knowing some people will take it personally and think I am unfairly targeting them.
Giving pastors rest from this burden isn't pampering people who are entitled and coddled. It's wisdom and gratitude in recognizing that they bear a weight that few understand or fully appreciate.
God bless all of you who are committed to the care of Jesus' bride!
"It is not experience of life but experience of the Cross that makes one a worthy hearer of confessions. The most experienced psychologist...knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
@mitchellchase It’s literally the exact opposite. One of the greatest gifts to a pastor are brothers and sisters in his church who come alongside and support and encourage and care for them.