Here are some highlights from Dr. Charles Solomon’s book entitled, “Discipling the Desperate: The Spirit’s Ministry to Hurting Believers.”

Dr. Solomon believes that although we define our ministry as counseling, it should actually be called clinical discipleship. Dr. Solomon starts out by stating that “The Church’s dependence upon programs, and lack of emphasis on discipleship, resulted in mass referrals to those trained in psychology.”

This is a brief taste of Dr. John Ernest Best’s book entitled, “Exchanged Lives! Stories of People Who Discovered That They Were Eagles and How to Soar by Their Union with Christ.” These stories, for the most part, are from the many people he and his staff have counselled at Exchanged Life Ministries Texas, in the Dallas area. This book and many other resources can be purchased at www.abundantlivingresources.org.

I recently read “When Friends Ask for Help: Biblical Advice on Counseling Friends in Need” by Dr. Harold Sala. In the preface, we read the following:

“More advice is given by friends than by all the psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors put together. And why not? Who is in a better position to give advice than a friend?”

Dr. Solomon points out that not until there is a demand is the supply appreciated. A client must be in the position of need in order for them to be open to our message. In order to find that need, we need to listen to the client first, and make certain we don’t move right in to teaching.

I believe that the key verse in this lecture can be found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where Paul writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

Message: Spirituotherapy has a sanctification perspective, in that it helps people grow spiritually. It focuses on the Keswick model, which applies the Galatians 2:20 message.

Dr. Woodward points out that counseling skills allow us to listen, guide, and facilitate the process. 

Dr. Woodward points out that some Christian theologians believe that man is just body and soul. This is called a dichotomous view of man.

Pastor Shaw notes that the focus of biblical counseling must be Christ-centered, as many Christian counseling approaches do have a tendency to focus on psychology as the center or obedience to the Bible as the center.

In this lecture, Dr. Woodward discusses the four phases of counseling using the GFI approach. Specifically, the first phase is salvation, as the Holy Spirit needs to be involved thereafter.

It is interesting to note that Dr. Solomon points out that rejection is not the reason that we need to go to the cross. The flesh is the causative agent and rejection is the fruit. It is the flesh that needs to be brought to the cross.

Dr. Woodward uses this session to discuss the various Christian counseling approaches because he wants us to be able to see where the Grace Fellowship International (GFI) model fits in with the rest of the models that we will be exposed to throughout our ministry.

There are some forms of Christian counseling that rely on the principles of psychology combined with the Scriptures as the basis for guiding their clients through life’s challenges.

The goal now is to guide the client into a position where he can transition from his “self” being the controller and source of his life, to that of Christ being the controller and source of his life.

As discussed in the previous blog, in the trichotomous model of man, the essential makeup of man is shown to the client using what Dr. Solomon refers to as the Wheel Diagram, divided into three sections, consisting of the client’s spirit, soul, and body.

Dr. Solomon’s model of counseling is focused on helping believers appropriate their union with Christ, experientially.

In a world filled with competing counseling models, it’s not uncommon to find contrasting views on what “biblical” or “Christian” counseling truly means. Searching for answers can feel overwhelming, and the terms alone—“biblical counseling” versus “Christian counseling”—can spark endless debates on how, or whether, secular counseling methodologies fit within a Christian framework. Yet through this search, we can find clarity. Siang-Yang Tan, a respected voice in Christian counseling, has described three major approaches: 1) the non-integrative paradigm, 2) the manipulative paradigm, and 3) the non-manipulative paradigm