Dear David
My friend, David Murray, in his post today, Dear Bob, has responded to my first three posts about biblical counseling and mental illness.
Dear David,
I know this is an extremely busy time for you, David, and I appreciate you making the time to respond given everything going on in your life and ministry. And I appreciate you—your spirit of bridge building, your graciousness, your willingness to learn and grow, and your insights for Christian life and ministry. Your books, your blog posts, and our frequent email exchanges have always encouraged me in Christ. Thank you, my friend.
A couple of reflections…
1. Motivated to Present New Characterizations
I and some others who read your post on “sin maximizers” felt that it could lead some readers to continue the characterization or stereotype of biblical counselors as those who minimize the body and maximize sin.
That concern motivated me to consider how I would summarize the modern biblical counseling movement.
In response, in my first three posts on Biblical Counseling and Mental Illness, I have said that rather than being sin maximizers and body minimizers, biblical counselors seek to be:
• Post 1: Sanctification and shepherding maximizers
• Post 2: Christ/gospel/grace maximizers
• Post 3: Compassionate and comprehensive (whole-person) care maximizers
If readers of our posts come away challenged to ponder a new view of biblical counselors as those who maximize sanctification, shepherding, Christ, the Gospel, grace, compassion, and comprehensive (whole-person) care, then I will delighted.
David, your original post urged biblical counselors not to whisper what we are for. Point taken. Thank you for your challenge. My posts have been my attempt to speak loud and clear about what biblical counselors emphasize.
David, you are an influential voice. I read your influential comments about sin maximizers in the context of a long-standing history of some people characterizing biblical counselors as a whole as those who maximize sin and minimize whole-person care.
I know you know that this characterization is all-too-common.
And I know we both agree that labels matter greatly—they have power to capture the imagination and influence how people perceive reality.
So, I’m glad to hear in your Dear Bob post you very clearly stating to your readers that no one should have read your earlier post as saying that sin maximizers is a fair summary characterization of the modern biblical counseling movement.
In hindsight, it would have been better for me to say, “Just in case anyone misinterpreted David’s post, or in case anyone has a negative stereotypical view of biblical counseling, before exploring a biblical counseling view of mental illness and the church, I want to summarize what biblical counseling is all about.”
2. Moving Forward
My first three posts were simply setting the background for addressing the real issue:
Exploring a biblical counseling perspective on mental illness and the church.
As you correctly pointed out, that issue could be wrongly explored from the perspective of sin maximizing and body minimizing. So your post focused on correctives to that small percentage of people who you see as addressing mental illness from a sin maximizing perspective. For those who do that, I would agree with most of your suggested remedies and a good portion of your wording.
Your post addressed the “outliers” and what they should do differently. That’s very important. Thank you.
I want to explore the vital question from a different perspective:
What do biblical counselors who maximize sanctification, shepherding, Christ, the Gospel, grace, compassion, and comprehensive (whole-person) care believe about mental illness and the church?
Isn’t this what we all really need to be talking about?
Let’s carefully and compassionately define what we mean by mental illness from a comprehensive biblical perspective. Then let’s biblically and lovingly interact about what it looks like for the church to minister well and wisely.
In Christ’s Grace,
Bob
