November Topic of the Month: Counseling

My interest is not in how we can develop a "counseling ministry," where the church hires a counselor to provide help for difficult issues. I'm concerned that the church has come to rely on professional counselors to help people with spiritual, emotional or relational problems. Given the complexities of today's problems, there is no doubt a place for them. But it is usually costly to get this professional help. Furthermore, I wonder how many issues could have been addressed by fellow believers if the church was better geared to help. That's what I want to explore this month: How can believers in churches be better equipped to counsel one another? I plan to look at a philosophy of counseling, and then provide some resources for counseling people.