Twitter/X
On X/Twitter, a biblical counselor suggested that weaknesses and errors in the biblical counseling movement cannot be isolated simply to the “movement.” Instead, he argued,
We can trace errors in counseling back to the local church and the pulpit: biblical preaching shapes biblical counseling.
Agreement and Development: 3 Agreements
I agree with those premises. In fact, I would go further.
- A church’s biblical theology shapes its biblical shepherding and one-another ministry.
- The pulpit ministry of the Word shapes the personal ministry of the Word.
- A church’s biblical theology shapes its biblical counseling.
6 Concerns
That X commentator and I would likely disagree on the nature of that unbiblical preaching and theology. As I consider the landscape of the Evangelical world, here are half-a-dozen samplers of the unbiblical theology/teaching/preaching that leads to unbiblical counseling/soul care:
- Unbiblical theological anthropology that misunderstands the Bible’s teaching on the embodied-soul and comprehensive care for the whole person. (This is not a neuroscience issue; this is a theological anthropology issue.)
- Unbiblical teaching on emotions that misunderstands the God-given nature, purpose, value, and function of emotions.
- Unbiblical teaching on suffering that misunderstands and minimizes the groaning and lamenting that results from life lived in a fallen world as we long for the redemption of our bodies, and that misunderstands the intricate interrelated interaction of body/soul as the whole person endures suffering and evil in a fallen world in a fallen, finite, frail body.
- Unbiblical theological soteriology that misunderstand the Bible’s teaching on the embodied nature of sanctification.
- Unbiblical teaching on compassion, comfort, and empathy that misunderstands the Bible’s teaching on caring like Christ, rather than caring like Job’s miserable counselors.
- Unbiblical teaching on the relational nature of shepherding and one-another ministry that misunderstands the dual calling that Paul highlighted when he said he was delighted to share not only the gospel but his very own soul because he loved people so dearly (1 Thess. 2:7-8).
What Could We Do?
Biblical Theology: I believe that if seminaries taught a more robust theological anthropology, then many of these theological and practical errors would be corrected—both in the pulpit ministry of the Word and in the personal ministry of the Word.
Church History: I believe that if seminaries taught the history of pastoral/congregational soul care, then many of these theological and practical errors would be corrected—both in the pulpit ministry of the Word and in the personal ministry of the Word. Historically, pastors saw themselves as soul physicians of embodied-souls. Historically, the church cared compassionately and comprehensively to the whole person.
Further Context
I explore ten of these concerns in my book, Consider Your Counsel: Addressing Ten Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling.
I explore the need for theological-saturated biblical counseling here: 6 Biblical Counseling Convictions.
Join the Conversation
What do you think?
What correlations do you see between preaching (the pulpit ministry of the Word) and counseling (the personal ministry of the Word)?
What correlations do you see between theological anthropology and embodied-soul care?
What errors in the pulpit and in theology do you see leading to errors in biblical embodied-soul care?
