Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Love and Counsel

Published by

Matt Stone

2007-02-18

Where does love sit within Christian counseling theory?

This morning something hit me, if Christian counseling is to be called Christian then love needs to be at the core of not only the practice but the actual counseling theory. Yeah, sounds obvious, I know, but read on.

I was reflecting on some articles I had been tasked with reading as part of my counseling course at Morling College. They focussed on different models of Christian counseling and, as intended, they certainly got me thinking. Not sure if in the way it was intended but we’ll see. You see, of the four models identified in the main article, I found them all vaguely dissatisfying in terms of their core assumptions which I will summarize briefly as the effectiveness of: language assimilation, hope, the guidance of the Word and the power of the Spirit.

Each theory had serious limitations, especially when considered in counseling situations involving non-Christians or marginal Christians. And yes, you guessed it, those situations are my primary interest. So I was thinking Spirit and Word, Spirit and Word … ah, power and wisdom … that reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:24, “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God”, then immediately after that I considered the climax of Paul’s letter, 1 Corinthians 13:13, when he declares “And now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Love. In my own experience, knowing that you are loved by God unconditionally has a transformational impact, one that can go to the core of your identity. And forgiveness of self is an important aspect of self healing. And if we are to be known for nothing else as Christian counselors I think it should be exceptional love.

Hope is powerful, but healing can sometime be elusive. Love can be shown immediately. The Word and the Spirit, do they not point away from themselves to the Loving One? And meeting people where they are at, is love not behind such motivation also?

I still have to think on this some more but I am finding it an interesting thread to follow.

Note: This thread, College Reflections, is to be submitted for assessment as part of my coursework in The Foundations of Christian Counseling at Morling College at the end of Semester 1, 2007. If you would like to speak to me about
issues I raise in this thread, but are concerned about privacy, please
email me privately instead of leaving a public comment.

Tags Love, Psychology

4 responses to “Love and Counsel”

Sun Warrior

2007-02-18

You might want to add to Paul…
Wisdom, Truth and Love are the same thing.
Theory like to break down the whole and analyze.
The problem of adding more mind, the modern mind, to a spiritual institution that already has its fair share.
The answers quite often come without studying, if we ask. I get scared when theories create their own prisons of what is possible from Spirit.

LikeLike

Reply
Dana Ames

2007-02-19

Your thoughts make a great deal of sense. I don’t know how one can be “at home in one’s own skin” without knowing to the bones that one is loved/accepted by God.
Dana

LikeLike

Reply
fernando

2007-02-21

Very telling thoughts. I hope you keep blogging through this subject.
My experience, both of my semesters of “Pastoral Care” studies and my brief experience under Christian Counselling bring to mind a real lack of both trinitarian theology and also a sense of “faith, hope and love.”

LikeLike

Reply
Matt Stone

2007-02-21

Your comments on lack of trinitarian theology grabbed my attention Fernando.
I will have to ponder that further as the course progresses. It dove tails with my musings about the place of the Spirit in all this. A primary objection I had to the Spirit based model I mentioned above is that it seems to contain an inherent assumption that it is the counselor who brings the Spirit to the counseling relationship, particularly when the client is a non-Christian.
That raises questions for me in terms of how you approach the spiritual experiences of non-Christian clients. Do you demonize them? Sadly I fear that happens all too often if my reading of deliverance ministry style counseling is in any way representative.
I think more thought needs to be spared for the role of God’s providence and the movement of God’s Spirit beyond the church ghetto. Your drawing attention to trinitarian issues as well is duly noted.

LikeLike

Reply