Equipping Pastors to Counsel
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, I’ll be presenting a paper at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) on Pastoral Counselor Preparation in Evangelical Seminary M.Div. Programs.
As part of my research, I randomly selected two dozen Capital Bible Seminary M.Div. graduates from 2008-2012 who took both Discipleship Counseling I and Discipleship Counseling II. They responded to a qualitative survey that sought to determine the potential impact of those two courses on their life and ministry.
I obtained a response rate of 75% from a wide cross-section of African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and International senior pastors, associate pastors, youth pastors, and church-planting pastors ranging in age from late 20s to early 60s, and ministering in urban, suburban, and rural churches ranging in size from “mega-church” (over 2,000) to churches under 100 in attendance.
Sample representative responses are included below. Notice that the impact of the courses included not only equipping for pastoral counseling, but also personal impact plus impacting overall ministry philosophy.
• “The DCI class helped solidify the all-sufficiency of Scripture for all issues of the soul. Previously I had to work hard to develop a framework to deal with various problems that people have and PCI provided a guide for me to do just that.”
• “The DCI class completely reshaped and defined my entire ministry—it defined biblical relational ministry as nothing else had. It gave me a framework in which to live, work, and minister.”
• “The DCII lab assisted in developing my use of God’s Word as the regular resource in ministering to the everyday ordinary, as well as extraordinary, issues I am confronted with in pastoral counseling.”
• “Through the impact of both classes, my relationship with Christ has become much more personal and not just cerebral. As a result, I am becoming more Christlike in my walk.”
• “Through DCI and DCII, I am far better equipped to hear, understand, discern, and speak to issues of depression, anger, anxiety, sexual addictions, marital discord, parent-child problems, etc. People in my ministry are amazed that a pastor is as well-equipped as I am to help them.”
• “As a youth pastor, DCI plays a critical role every day in how I minister to and counsel my students. I face so many different circumstances and brokenness in ministry and the training and theology has grounded me biblically to help them.”
• “The biblical content in DCI truly gave me the big picture through which I now walk with every broken person to give them hope in the midst of their greatest sorrow and pain and struggle with sin.”
• “The sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding framework from DCII is foundational to every counseling session I have.”
• “Through DCI and DPCII, I am (at least I think I am) a better husband today because of these classes. I don’t talk as much and I listen more attentively. I am quicker to understand my wife. I know that I have been immensely impacted, by DCI/II. I wouldn’t be close to the same man I am today if I not for these classes.”
• “The DCI approach to ministry completely changed my approach to pastoral ministry and pastoral counseling. My involvement in the DCII lab had a foundational impact on my ministry and on my life.”
• “DCI gave words and structure to the heart of pastoring. Observing pastors who were removed from the people they were shepherding and who had fallen into a CEO model of ‘doing church’ had left my heart desiring more. DCI recaptured the personal ‘life on life’ role of a shepherd who administers God’s timeless truth to aching, soul-sick souls in an incarnational way. The classic M.Div. gives the pastor the tools necessary to study and accurately handle the Word of God. DCI adds the foundational, relational structure and philosophy to undergird the ministry of making disciples.”
• “The strength and attractiveness of DCI for me came from the wonderful balance of sound theology expressed from the perspective of a practiced pastor who understands the human soul in the context of a personal God and an incredible story.”
• “DCI/II thoroughly equipped me to view counseling first and foremost through a spiritual lens.”
• “From DCI, I have grown tremendously in my ability to ask probing questions that get to the heart of the issue in others. I also have a greater level of courage, knowing that God wants to use me to be an instrument of change in another believer’s life.”
• “DCI has provided our caring ministry a firm biblical and theological foundation and guidelines to follow. As our ministry co-workers walk through God’s greatest story together, it transforms our lives together.”
Note: For the full seven-page results, you can download the free RPM Ministries resource ETS CBS M.Div. Qualitative Survey.
Join the Conversation
If you were trained in pastoral counseling in a seminary M.Div. program, how effective was your training?
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