Robust Content and Relational Connection: CCEF 2012 

I just returned from five days at the 2012 CCEF National Conference on Guilt and Shame. Two phrases sum up the entire week for me: robust content and relational connection. Interestingly, those same two phrases summarize for me the nature of truly biblical counseling: robust content and relational connection. 

Robust Content 

I’d summarize the robust content at the Guilt and Shame Conference as theology related to life. Or as in-depth biblical truth related deeply to the soul. 

The conference plenary sessions and breakout workshops were not “take one verse and call me in the morning.” They were not one verse—one problem—one solution. 

Every speaker I heard richly addressed with clarity the biblical theme of guilt and shame and how it relates to everyday life for every person since Adam and Eve (including Adam and Eve). And every speaker took me to Christ, took me to the Gospel, took me to the Cross.

They were not “solution-focused.” They were “SOUL-u-tion-in-Christ-centered.” 

I heard the thread in every session of our fallen-condition-focus: we’ve fallen away from God through our sin and we are in desperate need of outside help. 

And I’m so thankful for the thread that I also heard: In Christ Alone. The 2012 CCEF conference was not simply about sin. It wasn’t even simply about the horrific impact of our sin—guilt and shame. The CCEF Conference was about grace. Where sin abounds, grace superabounds (Romans 5:20). 

When I teach biblical counseling and how it addresses sin, I teach about reconciling and the two core biblical aspects of the reconciling process: it’s horrible to sin but it’s wonderful to be forgiven. CCEF nailed that twin truth beautifully and powerfully. Yes, the horrors of sin were clearly identified. I felt conviction. But I was not left there. CCEF, like the Puritans of old, taught about the load of guilt and shame. And CCEF, like the Puritans of old, taught how the Cross lightens our conscience with grace. 

When I teach biblical counseling and how it addresses suffering, I teach about biblical sustaining and healing: it’s normal to hurt and it’s possible to hope. CCEF powerfully presented the sustaining empathy of “climbing in the casket” with the person who is experiencing the agony of being sinned against and of the consequences of living in a fallen world.

But again, they did not leave me in the casket. CCEF beautifully pointed me and nearly 2,000 others in attendance to the healing hope found only in the Christ of the cross and the Christ of the resurrection. They not only climbed in the casket with our guilt and shame, they celebrated the resurrection with us and the end of shame—because it was nailed to the cross and it was defeated by the empty tomb. 

Before the Throne 

The best I can do when I attempt to explain the depth of impact the conference had on me is to quote from the modern gospel hymn Before the Cross. The lyrics by Charitie Lees Bancroft (1841-1923) are a brilliant combination of Gospel-Centered theology with personal application that reaches to the depth of the soul (like the CCEF sessions and workshops). The hymn has since been set to a beautiful and timeless melody written by Vikki Cook. For me, the words and the tune capture the essence of the robust content of the CCEF conference.

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea,

A great High Priest whose name is love

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heav’n He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart,

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free,

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me,

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there! the risen Lamb,

My perfect, spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I AM,

The King of Glory and of Grace.

One with Himself I cannot die;

My soul is purchased by His blood,

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ my Savior and my God,

With Christ my Savior and my God.

The Rest of the Story 

Yes, I did say, robust content and relational connection. Please return tomorrow for Part Two where I’ll share about the relational connection aspect of the 2012 CCEF Conference. Here’s a hint: I thought CCEF had a brilliant balance of planned time of content (plenary sessions and breakout workshops) along with planned free time for reflection, rest, and relationship. More on this tomorrow and on how God used it in my life… 

Join the Conversation 

If you were at the CCEF Guilt and Shame Conference, what most impacted you? 

If you were not at the CCEF Guilt and Shame Conference, how does the message of Christ’s victory over guilt and shame impact you personally? 

Note # 1: You can download the conference outlines here.  

Note # 2: You can purchase Ed Welch’s excellent book, Shame Interrupted, here.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth