Nate Brooks on David Powlison and Eric Johnson
This morning on X (Twitter), Nate Brooks posted an insightful thread about humility and charity in biblical counseling. Nate used David Powlison’s interactions with Eric Johnson as an example of humility and charity in biblical counseling.
With Nate’s permission, I am reposting his thread.
Nate’s Thread on Humility and Charity in Biblical Counseling
“A thread on biblical counselors interaction with other approaches to counseling.”
“Starting with Jay Adams, biblical counseling has often had a polemic edge to it. Perhaps such is the case for almost all renewal movements, of which biblical counseling certainly was/is.”
“It’s not difficult to find biblical counseling literature that calls integrationists unfaithful to the gospel, in need of repentance, and deniers of the sufficiency of Christ.”
“One thing I’ve always appreciated about David Powlison was the way he held his convictions. He had strong beliefs, but those beliefs were tempered with the humility to know that he could learn much from others who may disagree.”
“Take a look at Powlison’s endorsement for Eric Johnson’s Foundations of Counseling. While some in the BC world have charged Eric with being unfaithful, this is what David had to say:”
“Eric Johnson is resolutely fair-minded…He seeks accurate understanding and takes no shortcuts. He takes others seriously, even when he disagrees…Eric makes criticism easy to hear and makes vigorous argument in the pursuit of wisdom a delight!” – David Powlison
“What a beautiful fruit-of-the-spirit filled, beatitude-filled way to engage. David Powlison understood that approaches to counseling, while important, are not gospel-level issues. He could worship and fellowship alongside those who disagreed with him.”
My Comment on Nate’s Thread
I know Eric Johnson very well. I knew David Powlison very well. Here’s my comment on Nate’s X (Twitter) thread.
“Eric Johnson and David Powlison have been two of the best models of Christlikeness, gentleness, maturity, humility, and academic/biblical excellence.”
Two Similar Posts
For some of my recent thoughts on how we interact in the biblical counseling world, you might be interested in Are We Reasonable or Unreasonable in Our Interactions in the Biblical Counseling Movement?
For my thoughts on David’s Powlison’s humility see Worshipful Winsome Wisdom: A Tribute to Dr. Davie Powlison—1949-2019.
