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JBC 28:1 (2014): 38-52

Common Ground and Course

Corrections: An Essay Review of
Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling
by WINSTON T. SMITH

Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling1 (CCBC) is a unique contribution to the

study and practice of biblical counseling and deserves careful reading. It was
written by more than forty leaders in biblical counseling and provides a rare
survey of the landscape from numerous vantage points. The book was produced
by the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC) and is one of their many initiatives
to promote excellence and unity in biblical counseling (p. 427).2 The
introduction states that somewhere along the line we were not as careful and
proactive about working together. Silos of individual ministries became larger
andby administrative necessitymore isolated (p. 13). Symbolic of its aims,
all proceeds from the sales of the book will be given to the BCC rather than the
individual contributors.
CCBCs diverse authorship provides an opportunity to benefit from the
various perspectives of prominent pastors and leaders, and also enables us to gain
an overview of biblical counseling. Naturally, readers should note the common
themes of the movement, but should be alert to tensions as well. How do the
authors weigh the various elements of counseling, such as listening, empathizing,
teaching, or assigning homework? What are their differences in vocabulary, and
Winston Smith (MDiv) counsels and teaches at CCEF. He is the author of Marriage Matters: Extraordinary
Change through Ordinary Moments.
1
James MacDonald, Bob Kellemen, Stephen Viars, editors, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2013), 480 pages.
2
Readers interested in the BCC can read its missional, confessional, and doctrinal statements, respectively, in the three appendices of the book.

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39

are those differences substantive? Do they assume different starting points on

issues, such as the role of the counselor and the nature of peoples problems? How
do they define and work toward their counseling goals? And be on the lookout
for what isnt addressed. Are there important aspects of counseling that arent
mentioned or perhaps only receive sparse treatment?
As one who shares the authors commitment to biblical counseling, this review
seeks to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this survey of the whole. There
is much to be encouraged about. CCBC shows how biblical counseling has grown
tremendously in its understanding of the Bible, people, and the process of change.
However, like all growing movements, there are tensions to resolve and areas where
more dialogue and study are needed. Therefore, this essay review aims to highlight
areas in CCBC that demonstrate the positive developments within biblical
counseling, as well as those areas where more reflection and growth is needed.
Overview
The book is divided into two equal parts and is organized much like a systematic
theology text. The first half offers A Practical Theology of Biblical Counseling.
These chapters explore theological categories that form the foundation of biblical
counselingthe Trinity, the nature and use of Scripture, the problem of sin, the
person and work of Christ, and the process of sanctification. The second half offers
A Practical Methodology of Biblical Counseling. These chapters explore the
practice of biblical counseling, and range widely from counseling practice in the
local church, to matters of multiculturalism, to the nuts and bolts of methodology.
Unlike most systematic theologies, CCBC is written in an easygoing style and with
non-technical language that makes it accessible to any reader.
Lets now take a more in-depth look at the strengths of the book.
Positive Developments within the Biblical Counseling Movement
Among the positive developments in the biblical counseling movement, I will
focus on two: the strong emphasis on how counseling is Christ-centered, and a
biblical hermeneutic that views the Bible as a narrative, not as a cookbook.
1. Biblical counseling centers on Jesus Christ. A common criticism of biblical
counselors is that they apply Scripture to counselees lives in wooden, behavioristic,
and even harsh ways. The first two words of the books titleChrist-Centered
are a direct response to this charge. The central tenet of CCBC is that Christ must
have the same position in the aims and methodology of counseling as he does in
the Bible itself. This creates a framework for biblical counseling that is inherently
personal and relational, since to be centered on Christ means that counseling

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is about a person and a relationship, not simply a system of doctrine or a strategy

for living.
The first four chapters lay this foundation well by focusing on the person and
ministry of Christ as the Redeemer. He is described as one who comes in humility
to love the poor, the brokenhearted, and the captive. His ministry provides the
counselor with a pattern of insightful and lively interaction. The personal nature
of Jesus ministry is further developed by exploring the role of the Holy Spirit and
the Trinity in the life of the Christian. God has revealed himself as three persons
existing in perfect harmony and union. The counseling process is an intentional
participation in the extension of that love into the life of the believer. Counselor
and counselee strive to walk in the wisdom, fellowship, and love of the Trinity.

To be centered on Christ means that

counseling is about a person and a
relationship, not simply a system of doctrine
or a strategy for living.
More specifically, chapter three explores the person of the Holy Spirit as
the ultimate agent of change and growth. The Spirit is the believers primary
counselor. Therefore, biblical counseling is inherently interpersonal, not because
biblical counselors simply adopt an interpersonal stance, but because of the Holy
Spirits necessary involvement in the process. The authors quote Eric Johnson,
If the Holy Spirit is the primary counselor, then biblical
counseling is not merely a dialogue between a counselor and
a counselee. Rather, it is a trialogue in which a counselor
participates in the Spirits work already underway with the
counselee. (p. 52)
What could be more personal or relational? At the heart of biblical counseling is a
conversation between counselor, counselee, and God himself. Biblical counseling,
if it is counseling worthy of that title, always points beyond itself to the person
of Christ, seeking to lead others into authentic and transformational interactions
with him.
2. Biblical counselors approach the Bible as a narrative, not a cookbook. A
common criticism of biblical counselors is that they approach the Bible as if it is
composed of disconnected verses or recipes to be organized by counseling topic.

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41

CBCCs most direct response to this one-problem-one-verse-one-solution (p.

75) is chapter five, The Grand Narrative of the Bible. Interestingly, the chapter
is itself a story that illustrates the difference between a wooden use of Scripture
and one that utilizes the Bible as the unfolding story of salvation. The story is
about a woman who has just abandoned her husband and two young children
because she cant stand the pressures of being a wife and mother. She meets
two counselors.
The first points her to specific verses on marriage in 1 Corinthians 7. He
exhorts her to pick up her cross and follow Jesus, and ends with:
I love how wonderfully simple the Scripture makes our lives.
I think you have your answer. Youre miserable because youre
disobeying Gods Word. If you obey, life will be well and you
will probably feel a lot better too. Are there other questions on
your mind we can answer? (p. 79)
The Bible is simple. The Christian is to obey. Obedience produces well-being.
This counsel exemplifies a simplistic and unwise way of using the Bible
in counseling.
The second counselor points out that specific verses arent always helpful
without an understanding of the broader story of the Bible. He explains, God
wrote it more like a storybook than an encyclopedia (p. 80). He goes on to
develop how marriage was designed to reflect Gods own love for his people
through Jesus. He encourages the woman to find hope and direction in this.
The true reason for marriage has God in the middle . . . You
can help tell the amazing story of Christ and the church in your
attitude and affection toward your husband. God designed your
marriage to serve an end far greater than itself. (p. 84)
Christ is the groom who loves both her and the church, and that larger truth
frames biblical principles and commands. In the end, she is convinced that she
should return to her family. Of course, in the span of one chapter, it is difficult to
adequately illustrate a truly thoughtful and careful use of Scripture with a tired
and embittered counselee. But, the contrast between the two approaches is clear,
and one that biblical counselors must take seriously.
There are several other strengths of the book. It gives practical advice about
how local churches can implement counseling ministries. It thoughtfully engages
the complexities of the mind-body connection, and it deals helpfully with the
emotional life of the Christian, rather than discounting emotional experience.
Lets now move to a discussion of the areas where further development is needed.

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Areas Where Further Development Is Needed

There are strengths and weaknesses within each matter I will discuss, so I will
spend more time and care here. I will discuss three areas: the doctrine of the
sufficiency of Scripture, the view of personal sin, and the view of formal training.
1. How is the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture handled? Chapter six is one
of the most important chapters of the book as its purpose is to demonstrate that
the Bible is an all-sufficient foundation for counseling. I will carefully interact
with this chapter, first pointing out its strengths.
It begins by establishing the relevancy of Scripture to all of life. We learn
about the son of one of the authors who struggles daily with numerous physical
challenges: blindness, chronic pain, and learning disabilities. The chapter provides
a compelling account of how this courageous young man faces life with faith and
joy through his relationship with Christ. The point of the illustration is that
though this young mans challenges are not specifically addressed in the Bible,
his experience of suffering and the invitation to live by faith are addressed there.
Whether our problems are a product of nature (disease or the limitations of our
physical bodies) or nurture (being sinned against in the past or present by others),
the Bible speaks to those experiences. Scripture provides a comprehensive lens
for understanding our problems and guiding us into fruitful relationship with
God. This chapter reminds us that we are created in the image of God for
relationship with him, and how we respond to our life experience reveals the
nature of that relationship. Whatever challenges we face in life, we face them
as those who, by design, are spiritual creatures to whom the Bible speaks with
comprehensive scope.
The chapter then goes on to talk more directly about the sufficiency of
Scripture. The authors quote Wayne Grudems useful summary:
The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all
the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage
of redemptive history, and that it now contains everything we
need God to tell us for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and
for obeying him perfectly. (p. 92)
In other words, Scripture is a complete revelation of everything needed for
salvation and life with God. After briefly describing the doctrines Reformation
origins, CCBC applies it to several critical categories, explaining that the Bible
contains all we need.
t
The Bible has all we need to draw us to Christ
t
The Bible has all we need to order our affections

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43

t
The Bible has all we need to explain our identity in Jesus

t
The Bible has all we need to reveal our motivations
t
The Bible has all we need to change us into the image of Christ
t
The Bible has all we need to find our hope in eternity
Each section demonstrates the richness of Gods Word in accomplishing
these tasks.

Acknowledging Scripture as the

Christians unique and supreme source
of revelation does not mean that it is
intended to operate alone.
The chapter goes on to vigorously critique secular psychology. The Bible
should not simply help us to filter out the errors of secular psychology, but
should actively provide categories for understanding and addressing counseling
issues. Yes, and amen. In the face of unknown and, in some cases, unknowable
medical or other influences, people often turn uncritically to secular psychology
for direction. That is a valid concern. Christians, including those who counsel
others, must be especially careful in interacting with secular psychology so that
we do not adopt frameworks or methods that are antithetical to the Bible.
Though the chapter does a good job of explaining the Bibles comprehensive
scope as it speaks to us as Gods image bearers, it runs into several difficulties
as it seeks to apply the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture to issues of
counseling. For example, the authors appear at points to pit special revelation
(Scripture) against all other extrabiblical knowledge and all other ways that God
reveals himself. Throughout CCBC, but especially in chapter six, it is easy to get
the impression that the Bible is not simply the supreme source of wisdom, but
the only source of knowledgeas if the knowledge and information explicitly
imparted by Scripture is the only thing necessary for biblical counseling. As we
have seen, the heading for each section in the chapter begins with the phrase,
The Bible has all we need to . . . followed by the category being addressed
ordering our affections, revealing our motivations, and so forth.
Of course the Bible does contain everything we are required to know in order
to grow in these areas. And the Bible teaches us how to interpret life, giving us
orienting categories. But does Scripture tell us everything that a counselor ought

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to know to counsel well? I dont think it does. As in preaching or parenting, as

in worship or missions, counseling calls for many kinds of knowledge within the
framing authority of Scripture.
As Keith Mathison is careful to point out in his book, The Shape of Sola
Scriptura, There is a difference between saying that Scripture is the only source
of revelation needed for the Christian faith and life and saying that Scripture
is the only thing needed for the Christian faith and life [italics mine].3 In other
words, acknowledging Scripture as the Christians unique and supreme source
of revelation does not mean that it is intended to operate alone. For instance,
Mathison points out that the church itself is necessary for Christian faith and
life. We need each other. The Bible does not preach or counsel by itself, but God
intends for the church to interpret and teach the Bible as a wise community in
continuity with the regula fidei, or rule of faith, provided by the apostles.
And, we must go one step further than Keith Mathison. While Scripture
is, indeed, supreme and unique, it is not the only form of necessary revelation.
Apologist and philosopher Cornelius Van Til noted that general revelation is
necessary in a way that is analogous to the way that special revelation is necessary.
Van Til argues that apart from general revelation, special revelation is unknowable
as special revelation. For example, we must learn a language (general revelation)
in order to understand Scripture (special revelation). And we must reflect on life
experience in a fallen world (general revelation) so that God may then speak to
us meaningfully and redemptively about the curse of sin and salvation in Christ
(special revelation). So when we read the Bible, we necessarily bring with us things
revealed to us through our own broken experiencesour sorrows, griefs, slavery to
sin, addictions, etc. And it is these experiences, in large part, that make the Bibles
promises of forgiveness, restoration, and freedom in Christ meaningful. All of life
bears witness to Godwhen we see life truly, with biblically enlightened eyes. It
is into this context of general revelation that God speaks redemptively, helping
us to interpret our fallen existence and directing us to salvation in Christ through
his Word, the Bible. Extrabiblical informationof many kindsis always an
integral part of biblical counseling.
The Bible then becomes a lens through which we gain the wisdom to
interpret all of our experiences and things observed in the world. This has broad
implications. Biblical counseling must be careful that we do not denigrate the
wide-ranging wisdom and life experience that are necessary for skilled biblical
counseling. Putting it in the most practical terms possible, there is a meaningful
3

Keith Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura (Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 2001), 257-258.

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45

difference between receiving counsel for depression from an eighteen-year-old

who can read the Bible and a sixty-year-old biblical counselor who has been
counseling for thirty years. The sixty-year-old has specialized in ministering to
those with depression, and has personally struggled with loss and sorrow. Of
course, the authors of chapter six would immediately agree. Yet, they suggest
a tension between the Bible and what is learned through experience. They
direct us to careful study of the Bible using extrabiblical sources, including
grammatical-historical analysis, systematics, and historical theology. But it is
only briefly suggested that something might be gleaned from other sources,
and there is no indication that there is any kind of psychology but secular
psychology.
Again, part of the value of CCBC is that it helps us to recognize trends within
the movement as a whole so that we can have a dialogue and move forward
together. This chapter reflects the reality of this trend: biblical counseling
remains in a largely defensive posture toward psychology. And that reality has
both kept the biblical counseling movement from being self-conscious about
the way it already interacts with extrabiblical data and from participating
in the construction of a truly Christian understanding of personsthat is,
a careful study of human behavior and a detailed psychology that aligns with
biblical reality.
The sufficiency of Scripture is a very important doctrine. But it does not
provide any more guidance in how to bring a biblical framework to the discipline
of studying people and their problems than those who say, All truth is Gods
truth. Both are truebut as slogans, they are truisms, and not useful. The
larger questions that face all of us are: How can we learn from extrabiblical data
using the Bible as our authoritative interpretive grid? How do we as counselors
bring our knowledge of ourselves, our observations about life, and our case
wisdom together with our knowledge of Scripture? How do Christians and
the church practice the scientific study of human behavior? If psychology is
the study and understanding of people, then a true psychology will be candidly
Christian, not secular. So what does a biblical psychology look like in practice?
It is important to defend Scriptures centrality. Then, it is also important to
show how it works out in understanding all the variables of peoples problems.
2. The view of personal sin and its place in counseling method. The second
area of CCBC where further development is needed is the view of personal sin.
Sinfulness is one of the key variables in the human equation. A truly biblical
understanding of people and their problems features the reality of sin and its

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pervasive effects. Secularity inevitably misunderstands people and problems,

and so never points to Christ as the true Savior from what is actually wrong.
But how sin and its dynamics are understood inevitably sets the course for how
counseling matters are understood and addressed. As noted above, the first
eight chapters of CCBC seek to move biblical counseling away from a simplistic
one-verse-per-problem approach, to a more relational approach in which the
Bible is read more as a narrative with Christ at its center. It is with special
interest, then, that we read chapter nine, The Problem of Sin. How does
using the Bible in a more relational and narrative way change the way biblical
counselors think and talk about sin?
The method that unfolds here and throughout the rest of the book is
that sin is understood as more than behavioral transgression. It is a pervasive
characteristic that corrupts every aspect of our being and at its deepest level is
an idolatrous commitment to self rather than God. We order our lives around
something other than God. Idolatry language helps us to understand that
our sinful behaviors are always relational, always flowing out of our devotion
to things, or persons, or experiences that serve as gods. Rather than finding
redemption and fullness of life in Christ, we look to find satisfaction elsewhere,
in some element of the creation rather than the Creator. In other words, the
problem of sin is understood in the relational terms of idolatry, just as the
solution, Christ, is understood in relational terms.
This reflects a positive development in biblical counseling since its modern
inception by Jay Adams. It deepens both our understanding of our problems as well
as our life in Christ. Another seemingly positive development is the recognition that
though all problems are related in some way to sin and its curse, not all counseling
issues are related directly to personal sin. Though sin is the core human problem
and every instance of human suffering and misery is ultimately the result of sin,
these sources of pain are not necessarily the result of an individuals personal sin.
Sometimes we do suffer the consequences of personal sinful behavior, but we also
suffer because we are sinned against by others, and because the world misleads us
and beguiles us. Furthermore, sins curse is manifested in the natural realm through
disease, losses, decay, natural disasters, and death itself. In other words, the suffering
that often brings people to counseling isnt always directly related to their own sin.
However, as quickly as this more nuanced groundwork is laid, the chapter
moves to a more detailed exploration of the multifaceted nature of personal
sin. A summary of the section headings in the remainder of the chapter makes
these points:

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47

t
Sin is both inborn and behavioral

t
Sin is unbelief and rebellion
t
Sin is desiring both forbidden objects and good things too much
t
Sin is both concealed (in the heart) and external
t
Sin is both commission and omission
t
Sin is both rational and irrational
Of course, these are all critical aspects of personal sin that we must thoroughly
understand to both live and counsel wiselybut it is not the only perspective on
our fallen human condition.
The powerful realities of being sinned against and living in a broken world
receive mention in this chapter, but there is little development there or throughout
the rest of the book. As our fallen condition is explored, we hear relatively little
about shame, or pain, or fear, or loss, or weakness, or ignorance, or betrayal.
When these elements do receive attention it is largely within the context of the
ongoing need to examine ones thoughts and motives. So, as the book moves
from theological foundations to methodology, the focus largely narrows to the
treatment of personal sin. Brief caveats appear in almost every chaptere.g.,
not all sin is personal, we are sinned against, we live in a broken world. And yet,
counseling activity is almost always directed toward personal sin.
The emphasis on personal sin continues through most of Part 2, the
methodological section of the book. The chapters that form the methodological
core (chapters 22-25) major on the identification of idols and the process of
repentance and forgiveness. With such heavy focus on these, the relational stance
of the counselor is diminished. It seems to be more of a means to an end, like
the prolegomena to identifying and dismantling idolatry rather than a genuine
expression of understanding and compassion.
Likewise, it seems significant that the chapters that focus on suffering and on
emotions make up two of the last three chapters of the book. If the dominant focus
of biblical counseling is to locate and address personal sin, then our emotions and
our experience of suffering are not fundamental theological categories like those
that appear in the first half of the book. They are only secondary methodological
considerations.
That said, the chapters on suffering and emotions are quite good. The
Ministry of Soul Care for People Who Suffer (Chapter 26) is especially careful
and wise. The Biblical Understanding and Treatment of Emotions (Chapter
27) shows notable development of the understanding of emotions within biblical
counseling. But consider the difference it would make if suffering and emotions

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were treated as fundamental theological categories for counseling. When listening

to a sufferer we might be more quickly inclined to sympathy and less likely to
listen for emotional expressions that may reflect sin. In the narrative of Scripture,
suffering and emotions are no less prominent than sin and, clearly, emotional
distress is almost always relevant to counseling issues even when sin is not.
By way of a music analogy, if personal sin is the root note of a chord, once
the root note is struck, the third, fifth, and seventh notes naturally follow. Other
notes are discordant or represent minor themes. If the root note of the chord is
personal sin, then the following third, fifth, and seventh notes will followlocate
the sin (or idol), repent of the sin, replace it with godly behavior. This is a proper
and important sequence, generally speaking. But the Bible also provides us with
other important ways for understanding the human condition and our fallen
nature. Each aspect enriches our counseling. For instance, the Apostle Paul prays
for the Ephesians that they may grasp how wide and long and high and deep is
the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may
be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph 3:1819). People in their
fallen condition need a better knowledge and experience of Gods love in Christ.
If the root note of my counseling model is How does this person need to know
Christs love? then the many different forms of love in all of its multivariate glory
appear as options. Love listens. Love weeps. Love rejoices. Love comforts. Love
covers shame. Love dispels ignorance. Love imparts wisdom. Love sees the good.
Love encourages. None of these necessarily require the identification of sin. And
when sin does need to be identified, then love points out sin in a particular way. For
example, the clear-minded, trustworthy fairness and gentleness of Matthew 7:15
is certainly the preferred starting point, and the more disciplinary kinds of reproof
for the headstrong and unruly are employed only as necessary. In counseling,
I have many goals in mind, including In what ways is this person sinning?
But the identification of sin will not necessarily be the most immediate or most
important need.
Ultimate causes do not necessarily direct us to the most immediate need in a
particular counseling moment. This distinction is of great importance for biblical
counseling. Addressing sin is a prominent note in the chord of biblical ministry, but
it does not determine the key for every counseling situation. For biblical counseling
to be truly biblical, it must incorporate all aspects of how Scripture identifies
problems. We must work hard to deepen and nuance our understanding of both
our fallen condition and how redemption works so that our approach to counseling
is equally nuanced and careful.

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3. The view of gifting and calling. The reticence of CCBC to expand beyond
pre-existing categories (like personal sin) also impacts its view of who is qualified to
do counseling ministry. By emphasizing what is called the sameness of the gospel,
the specific gifting and qualifications of would-be counselors are deemphasized.
Chapter ten, The Centrality of the Gospel, starts well. It nicely unpacks the
rich nature of the gospel and seeks to avoid being simplistic by highlighting the
themes of kingdom, cross, and grace. But what stands out most, and what the
author spends the most time emphasizing, is the sameness of the gospel, the way
the gospel is to be applied by all people (Christians), to all other people, and to all
problems. He explores the sameness of the gospel under these headings:
t
The same gospel for everyone
t
The same goal of Christian growth and maturity
t
The same sin that warrants death
t
The same love that redeems
t
The same faith and repentance that draws us to Christ
These broad unifying aspects of the gospel are briefly applied to an imaginary
person named John who has struggled for many years with an addiction to
pornography. The chapter explains that the gospel invites us to see ourselves as
having more in common with John than we might think. Though we may not
struggle with an addiction to pornography, we can all relate to being driven by
the same kinds of desires and fears. We all share the same goal of growing in love.
We are all undeserving of Gods forgiveness. We all need the same Savior.
Using Johns enslavement to pornography as an example, this chapter
demonstrates how biblical counseling seeks to avoid describing problems using
terminology such as addiction. Such terms suggest unique categories of human
experience and specialized approaches to problems that do not fit clearly within
a Christian worldview. Many biblical counselors would be wary of any approach
or method that might suggest John needs something that cant be derived directly
from Scripture or to suggest that someone with special training should be involved.
Some might even be reluctant to use the word addiction. The author writes,
Broadly speaking, we tend to think that we need a different
set of skills and know-how for each type of personal issue and
person. Without being overly simplistic, by knowing that the
gospel addresses every circumstance and every sufferer and
sinner, we, as Gods people, can bear each others burdens with
confidence. (p. 158)
The author later writes, There is nothing within us that makes us competent to

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help John. Rather, our competence comes from God. He has made us competent
as ministers of a new covenant (p. 162). Generally, biblical counselors root
themselves in this understanding of sameness in order to give hope, not to be
simplistic. They want to be careful not to accept cultural understandings of
problems that would segregate the psychological from the spiritual, or would
separate the struggler from church community. Biblical counseling is rightly wary
of distinctions that both create defined experts and defined categories of people

While affirming that every member of the

body has a call to mutual ministry and care,
we must recognize that special equipping
and training are necessary and good.
that appear to fall outside of biblical purview. But the emphasis on sameness can
be harmful where meaningful distinctions do exist and must be recognized to
provide wise counsel and care. There are meaningful gradations in the severity of
our problems. And counselors have, as well, differing levels of gifting, training,
experience, and calling.
For instance, the Christian who has problems saying no to a late night
bowl of ice cream two to three times a week does have something in common
with a heroin addict. Both are driven by appetite. Both are deceived by the
promise of short-term pleasures and ignore the long-term effects. The list goes
on. But they are different in significant ways as well. They require different
levels of skilled care. They need two different contexts in order to find hope.
The late-night snacker is not experiencing anything like the kind of ecstasy the
heroin addict experiences, will not experience the same kind of excruciating
physiological withdrawal symptoms, and is not as likely to be living in the same
kind of relational wreckage that the heroin addict has created. And whereas the
snacker will probably do well with one session of counseling per week, the heroin
addict probably will not, and may even require some form of residential facility
to initially break the addictive cycle.
Likewise, there are meaningful gradations in our ability to minister to others.
We are one body, with one head, and one Spirit. But even though we share so
much in common, not all of the members are the same. All do not share the
same function. Hands are not a blessing to the body when they try to function

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51

as feet. Biblical categories of gifting and calling, wisdom and experience, seem
to drop out of the picture in CCBC. While affirming that every member of
the body has a call to mutual ministry and care, we must recognize that special
equipping and training are necessary and good for addressing more difficult
problems and situations. It simply is not the case that every Christian is equally
called or equipped to minister to every other Christian with a counseling need
in the same way. Expertise in exegeting the Bible does not make one an expert in
exegeting particular people or problems, or equip them with the skills necessary
to help others with severe, even life-threatening problems. Christians with
eating disorders, extremes of scrupulosity or license, criminal behaviors, severe
addictions, self-harm and suicidal tendencies, extreme or chronic suffering,
unrepentant sin, or bipolar disorder can certainly be loved wisely by every
Christian in their life, but that is not to say that every other Christian in their life
should believe that they have the knowledge and training necessary to provide
primary care for them.
The danger for biblical counseling and the church is that the fear of
professionalism leads to a dangerous leveling of both our fallen condition and the
gifting and calling of the body. It seems that our instinct to focus on sameness
is, at times, more of a reaction against secular psychology and culture rather than
a careful reading of Scripture. In doing so, we undervalue expertise and wisdom,
and treat the wounds of Gods people lightly.
Expertise, experience, gifting and education do make a difference.
Biblical Counseling Is at Its Best When It Is Proactive
CCBC reveals where biblical counselors find common ground. Biblical counselings
strength is its unshakable conviction that Scripture and Christ are relevant to all
of life, even lifes most enigmatic and terrible problems. If counselors dont hold
the Bible in the highest esteem, then they dont reflect the Bibles own view of
itselfGods own view of his Word. CCBC reminds us of essential truths. CCBC
shows us that biblical counseling continues to grow as a movement where Christs
love is increasingly understood and applied wisely to those in need.
CCBC also reveals where course corrections are needed. I think that biblical
counseling tends to stall out when it gets more defensive and less proactive about
developing a richly Christian psychological understanding. CCBC does not
suggest how we might continue to construct a detailed Christian understanding
of people, and it offers no guidance in how to interact constructively with secular
psychologies. The sufficiency of Scripture is used in a way that seems to create a
tension between special revelation and extrabiblical knowledge.

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COMMON GROUND AND COURSE CORRECTIONS | SMITH

Similarly, CCBC describes an anthropology that focuses on personal sin to the

relative neglect of other aspects of life in a fallen world. By focusing on Scriptures
unique contribution here, it fails to speak biblically to other aspects of life in a
fallen worldthings that secular psychologies are alert to (e.g., suffering and
socialization). Scripture is highly alert to these things, and invites us to develop
our Christian understanding. The neglect of situational variables is unfortunate
because the first five chapters lay a groundwork that promises a richer and more
balanced approach.
And finally, the universal relevance of core Christian truths and the universal
call for all of us to minister wisely to one another do not stand alone. We are also
called to recognize that counseling wisdom has many gradations, and all people
are not equally qualified to deal with all problems.
CCBC makes an important contribution to biblical counseling. It is an
encouragement to see and celebrate how biblical counseling has developed over
the last forty years. I also trust that our movement can continue to mature and
grow as we explore the tensions as well as the unity.