• CO131 Integrative Counseling UNIT 4 The Sufficiency of Scripture By Dave Owen We who have the calling to minister to the body of Christ through counseling, are obligated, to continue our own soul care. We need to search out answers in our own lives for Gods purposes and how we fit into his kingdom plan. The only way we can help others is if we are connected to the vine, John 15:1-8. All of us are created in God’s image, that includes the attribute of emotions, and scripture helps us in the understanding of emotions, good and bad. In Proverbs 27: 19 “As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man”. Our hearts reveal so much about where we are in this journey in life. In Ecclesiastes 11:10, “So remove grief and anger from your heart and put away apain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.” The Bible is an endless source wisdom and knowledge providing a solid foundation as we seek to become who we are called to be in Christ, and to be an agent for his Kingdom. There have been so many advances through sociology and psychology leading in the diagnoses of conditions and providing definitions of problems clients face, but the treatments fall short as we see repeatedly that the secular models cannot deliver, and clients are left with broken promises. And this is the reason why counseling integration is so critical. Our creator knows us best and his guiding word reveals the key revelations of our conditions, and ignoring such, leads down another rabbit hole. We might get temporary relief as science can provide, but the healing of the soul is not addressed, leaving the client to look more a self instead of the transcendent. As the professor points out in this course, we must be willing to re- examine our believes and conclusions both on the scientific and theological side, as more and more new information comes out that can counter current believes or can provide clarity. An example of how scientific misunderstood the results of studies of children raised in broken families where parents are divorced was as follows: they found the children had many problems into adulthood causing them not to function well and not to succeed. But recent research revealed that unresolved hostility and issues in a family was found to be the main contributing factor as children mature, in their modes and feelings. This course has revealed that the Christian worldview should not be violated to be an affective integrated counselor as we seek God’s word as the superior source for answers. We should pursue new information, as it is not a threat, but should be measured through the lens of Gods revelation. And with the understanding beliefs can be revisited and examined with prayer, letting the spirit guide us. We should seek the scriptures with humility, and this is foundational, as we don’t have the mind of God and as we know from scripture, his ways are not our ways as stated in Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.” And all Scientific methods are reviewable as well, as new ways of collecting statistical data can reveal better understanding. But again, Christian worldview should not be violated when science conflicts with scripture. The Scripture is sufficient for Truth-Telling but this after we have used active listening in the counseling setting, and the trust has been established. Sociology tells people to think of themselves first and search for self-fulfillment, but this can lead to fleeting results and temporary relief and can make things worse. True healing comes from the painful truth that doesn’t hurt us but instead, it can start the healing process. People and families can be freed up once the truth comes out because family members tend to know even when things are not clear, that something is wrong, and something doesn’t add up. In the Bible, God reveals, we can find comfort in him that the world does not offer, like stated in Matthew 6:25-34, God reveals the we do not need to worry about our lives, he will meet all our needs. In Philippians 4:6-7 he tells us “ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The comfort God provides is transcendent and unexplainable through the secular worldview, as it comes to us through God’s grace and not of ourselves.

    1. Another set of questions: “Does it feel that God is for you or against you?” Another version of that is: “If your relationship to God were a temperature, what would it be?” Now, these two questions get at a more personal feeling than the first ones I gave you. These get at: Is the client feeling aligned with God? Are they feeling that God is for them or against them? Wenzel, D. (2019). CO131 Integrative Counseling. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

      1. I always feel that God is for me. When pain or trials come, I tend to feel lost. I do turn to God to wrestle with feelings of where is God.

    2. Now, from there, there’s another set of questions: “What do you believe God is doing in your life or in this situation?” Another question, “Does God care about any of this?” or, “Do you ever wonder what God thinks of all of this?” These three questions approach a person’s view of God and involvement in their life, and the answers will reveal a lot about their worldview. Again, worldviews are not something that clients really know about. Wenzel, D. (2019). CO131 Integrative Counseling. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

      1. When I see the problems of the world, I do wonder what God thinks of all this. When I get to the place that God loves the world, I can begin to make sense of how God as a loving parent would be hurt by the troubles of his children. The thought helps me to think how God is helping in these troubling situations that we seem to find ourselves in our lives when we don't talk with God as our Father.

    3. Revealing Conception of God So the first one that I use is: “Where is God in the midst of this?” or modify it slightly, “In your opinion, where is God in all of this?” or, “Does God have anything to do with all of this?” Now, these three questions are designed to get at a person’s general conception of God.

      1. In my spirit, I believe that God has much to do with my life. This is the inner dialog that I have in prayer with God to figure out what is going on in my life to sort out the good, the bad, and the ugly.

    4. We’ve been talking about what the Holy Spirit is not in the counseling process, and now it’s time to talk about what the Holy Spirit is. First of all, the Holy Spirit participates as the interpreter of life events. As a people helper, oftentimes when folks come to you for assistance, they come in to tell you a story, and as we listen to the story, we listen to the narrative of their life, we consider who the protagonists are, who the antagonists are, what the troubling spots are. The Christian counselor, the people helper who is working from a Christian worldview, is asking the question, “What is God doing?”

      1. I like listening to others to learn what God seems to be doing in their lives. I find this process is more spiritual direction than counseling.

    5. “What are the key questions?” And actually, Paul Tillich’s correlational apologetic is of some help here. Tillich liked to go to the culture and ask, “What questions is the culture asking about the topic that might guide our approach?” First of all, today, many people are wondering, “How should we think of ourselves? What attitude should we have and adopt toward ourselves?”

      1. A phrase that I get from popular culture is "be your best self." I like the idea. I think that I can use this idea to be transformed into the image of Christ with the Holy Spirit's help, of course.

    6. What is the role of confession in this process, and why is it important?

      1. Prayer is being honest to God. That helps to tell the truth to yourself and to others. Being honest to yourself is the start of a healthy relationship with yourself, others, and God.   We help people confess their sins to Jesus who doesn't condemn and brings healing. We facilitate confession and work people to accepting God's forgiveness. We ask questions, give people a chance to tell their story, ask more questions, let them tell their story again, and turn to God for help. We help people confess their sins to Jesus who doesn't condemn and brings healing.   The professor makes the work of the counselor easier by putting us in talking listening role with God doing the heavy lifting of forgiving, and restoring. I think we all need to be helping with the reconciling work of Jesus. They who have been forgiven much can help with the forgiving process.

    7. Is all truth God's truth? How do you integrate truth with a Biblical worldview?

      1. Yes, I believe all truth is God's truth wherever we find truth. It's my responsibility to vet truth through the Bible filter to have a fuller understanding of how truth and grace work in my world today.

    8. What is the nature of persons? A humanistic view of psychology, such as Carl Rogers, would say that we are inherently good, and if we put people in a positive situation and give them unconditional positive regard, they’ll make good decisions. Or how does depravity enter into the counseling process, and if we are depraved, are people inherently bad and ultimately will make bad decisions? Is there a way to balance these two seeming opposing thoughts?

      1. I like what Rogers has to say. I can salvage some good things from him. When we accept Jesus then our union with God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is placement in a transformative spiritual environment by which we can be transformed and sanctified.

      2. I never really like the idea of total depravity. It's a non starter with non Christians. I do understand that because of sin we deprave ourselves of God's presence. As a results our lives go into a slow decay. We are not totally cut off because God's image is in us, the Spirit still strives with us, we have choices to make, and world continues to grow. I feel that Romans 3:23 that we all fall short of the glory of God is honest and refreshing. It's an admission of our short coming and an opportunity to discover help, goodness, and yes, a savior mentor to guide us.

    9. I think that I will ask the questions the professor asks because he asks good questions.