I have found Christian Counseling to be helpful during some points of my life. I have also struggled trying to figure out what I should believe regarding counseling.

My background:

In 1991 while attending The Master’s College (in California after being discharged from the Army), I took several Counseling classes from a “Biblical” viewpoint. This viewpoint taught that God’s Word, The Bible, provided the information and instruction that we as Christians need to deal with lifes problems.

I liked the classes so much (very Biblical and practical) that I decided to pursue my Masters Degree in Counseling. I settled on AGTS (Assemblies of God Theological Seminary). At the time I felt that not only do they believe in the Inspired Word of God, but that they also believed that the Holy Spirit was actually able to work in our lives in miraculous ways.

What I discovered is not what I expected: The courses at the time were taught to prepare students to get licensed and counsel in secular settings. There was very little Biblical content. Infact, I remember during one class that the students were in general agreement that a counselor should NOT share their faith with their counselee’s. Almost all of the students were Christians who just happened to counsel, not Christians who practiced Biblical Counseling. It was and is my belief that a change of our natures (when we receive Christ as our Savior) is essential for true in-depth, permanent change.

I struggled off and on for the next three years at AGTS with these issues. I later worked at “Teen Challenge”: a live in Christian Discipleship program aimed at helping Christians to break free from addictions to Drugs and Alcohol. At the end of my 3 year stay at Teen Challenge (and being the main counselor there) I decided to return to AGTS and finish my Master of Divinity (which I did in 2001).

I have found that many Christians are hurting and in need of love and compassion… and instruction from God’s Word. Counseling is Good… when it is based upon God’s Word the Bible, and is led by a believer who is committed to God’s truth.

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