Though I have a lot of my plate right now, EPIC, Grad class, family, etc., I have been reading, just for personal development, the book, Discipleship Counseling by Neil Anderson.  I have been a student of Dr. Anderson for quite some time and have always enjoyed his biblical approach to the counseling process.  In this recent book a quote caught my attention om relation to how we, in the church, often use secular reasoning to deal with spiritual issues,

Have we taken into account the reality of the spiritual world?  In other words, do we have a biblical worldview?   Are our struggles against flesh and blood?  Are we trying to accomplish God’s will without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit?  Is the person mentally ill, or is there a spiritual battle going on for this individual’s mind?  Do we us the same message and methods with believers as we do with non-believers? Are we trying to help people establish their identities, find purpose and meaning in life, and see to meet their needs without Christ?  Isn’t that what the devil is doing?  Sobering!

I have had a lot of opportunities to meet with students and parents recently over a number of different issues and yet, almost every time, I find myself reverting to secular practices to deal with spiritual issues.  I have tried so hard to make my psychological schooling match my spiritual needs.   This is not going to work.  Though I see to help others, there is no one outside of the Holy Spirit, that can change their life–no one!!!  Not even me!  I am not, nor can I be, anyone’s Savior.  All I can do is point that person to Jesus Christ and help encourage them to be open to the Holy Spirit.  I am thankful for this reminder.  My desire is that this would continue to be at the forefront of my mind.

I recently saw this article and thought it interesting!

1)  Married to Anna for 11 years.
2)  Have known her for 15 years.
3)  I met her in Canada at camp
4)  She is my best friend–for REAL
5)  I am a proud father of three amazing children
6)  The oldest of three bothers.
7)  I love to blog (www.myepicjourney.com)
8)  I LOVE to read but only non-fiction
9)  I want to be a professional fisherman when I grow up.
10)  I am not sure I will ever grow up
11)  I am currently working on a Master’s in Professional Counseling
12)  I am Pastor of Student Ministries at Grace Point Community Church
13)  I have been Youth Pastor for 11 years in 4 different churches
14)  Our Student Ministry is called EPIC
15)  I LOVE my students!!
16)  I LOVE my leadership team MORE!!!!
17)  I love Ohio but not the Buckeyes
18)  I love the Indianapolis Colts–A LOT!!
19)  I grew up in Nashville, Indiana
20)  I have an amazing sister we adopted when I was 24!! She was 25!!!
21)  I love to hunt–animals!
22)  I don’t like to fly
23)  I am not a big fan of traveling altogether
24)  I weighed 165 lbs. when I entered college.  I no longer weigh that!
25)  I pooped my pants–in public–at a funeral.  I was 24 years old!

1. Inadequate listening.  Becoming easily distracted.  Tuning out!
2. Evaluative or judgmental listening.  Instead of JUST listening, sometimes we listen to tear apart or to constantly evaluate.
3. Filtered listening.  Picking out ONLY what we want to hear and not focusing on the WHOLE story or explanation.
4. Rehearsing instead of listening.  I do it all the time.  Just ask Anna.  Thinking about your response before the one sharing is done with their message.
5. Sympathetic listening.  This is projecting your concern beyond what is needed.  Becoming emotionally responsive the is “over the top.”
6. Interrupting.  Stopping someone before they are done.

Our society does a horrible job at listening.  May it not be true of us who call ourselves followers of Christ.

“He who has ears, let him hear.”  Matthew 11.15

I was reminded again of this in a reading I was doing for grad work. Clinton and Ohlschlager, in their book, Competent Christian Counseling, state:

Within a community committed to acceptance, education, and appropriate discipline and consequences for conduct unbecoming a disciple of Jesus Christ . . . people are brought to maturity.

The spiritual reparenting required is often best accomplished through cell (life) groups, that assemble for the purpose of Bible study, encouragement, exhortation, worship, and the practice of a series of spiritual disciplines within a circle of accountability (Foster, 1988; Willard, 1998).  In keeping with our giftedness, no member of the believing community is excused from involvement with these groups or the means of personal spiritual growth they seek to establish (Ephesians 4.14-16) (p. 113)

Our Pastor of Discipleship, Tom Houser, does an AMAZING job fostering and training our community of believers on the importance of the Life Group community.  For more information on Tom’s thoughts and guidance check out, http://runinsuchaway.com/.

Three things have helped make this decision:

1. A church, Grace Point Community, that values furthering education to point of attaching that to a part of our benefits package as a staff member.
2. A Senior Pastor, Terry Lewis, that is CONSTANTLY in a learning mindset. In fact he is currently in the middle of his Doctor of Ministry program.  He is always challenging us and pushing us to grow in our faith and in our understanding.
3. A wife that is VERY supportive.  Without Anna encouraging this it would be impossible to pursue.
4. A volunteer staff that loves me and EPIC ministry and rallies behind the students and each other to accomplish what needs to be done.

So, I am now a Master of Professional Counseling student at Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA).  For the next 12 weeks my posts on this site may be sporadic but hope to keep up.

Below is the course description for the class I am currently in:

COUN 501:  COUNSELOR PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, FUNCTION, AND ETHICS

This course introduces students to concepts regarding the professional functioning of counselors, including history, roles, professional organizations, ethics, legalities, standards, and credentialing.
Current issues in therapeutic practice in a variety of professional settings are explored.
This course provides students with an understanding of various aspects of professional functioning as a counselor. Some of these aspects include the following: the relevance of personal identity to professional identity; the function of professional ethical codes and standards; ethical/legal considerations; the development of a biblical worldview regarding counseling; the history and development of counseling as a profession and as a distinct ministry of the church; roles, functions, and relationships with other providers; technology; professional organizations, primarily including
the AACC and ACA, with emphasis on divisions/branches, affiliates, benefits, activities, member services, current emphases, credentialing, certification/licensure, and accreditation; public policy and professional advocacy; advocacy on behalf of clients; and current challenges/opportunities facing today’s counselor.