Everyone’s a Counselor

The word counseling can be overwhelming. It brings to mind things like electric shock treatments, psychotropic medications, long sessions of therapeutic adjustments, or psychotherapy. Ever since the secularists have begun using the word to indicate years of specialized training and esoteric knowledge, Christians have shied away from counseling, especially “difficult” cases. But counseling is actually very simple. Along with everything else, the Bible talks about counseling, using terms such as comfort, sharing wisdom, helping others sort out their difficulties, exhorting, encouraging, and restoring. In the Bible, counseling means to help your brother or your sister walk with God in a more effective and efficient way. Counseling means speaking into someone’s life to help spur them on to godliness.

Most Christians are eager to minister to others in this way but are working in a vacuum. They don’t know where to start or what they should be doing. They have never taken a course or been given any formal training in how to help others in an intentional and focused way.

Into this vacuum comes the Center for Biblical Counseling (CBC). The CBC is introducing a thirty hour conference, to be held on one Friday evening and the following Saturday in February (1, 2), March (1, 2), and April (5, 6) for a total of thirty hours of counseling training. The conference will cover the very basics of Biblical counseling which will include topics such as: what Biblical Counseling is, how to gather data, how to use the data to love your neighbor, how to bring the topic of God and the Bible up to someone who doesn’t know God, introduction to communication, the depths of the heart and the heart’s role in the change process, marriage, family, child discipline, etc.

In addition to lectures, there will be opportunities ask questions and to observe actual counseling sessions on video.

If you are interested or have questions, feel free to check out our web site, call (208-596-6372), or write (mike@cbcmoscow.com).

Cost/Registration

We want as many people as possible to attend this conference, so we are not charging for it. However, we appreciate any contributions to help cover costs. We suggest $5.00 per talk or $150 for the whole conference, both per person. Of course, if you want to contribute more, please feel free. Click here to register.

NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counselors)

It is our intention to ask NANC to certify this conference as part of Phase 1 of their certification process. However, they have not given their blessing as yet.

Prospective Schedule of Sessions

February 1

6:00 PM—Psychology and Christian Counseling (history)

7:00 PM—What is Biblical Counseling?

8:00 PM—Qualifications of Biblical Counseling: Who You Should Be

February 2

9:00 AM—Change and Spiritual Growth in Biblical Counseling

10:00 AM —A Word about Theology and the Bible

11:00 AM —Love: A Counseling Context

1:00 PM —Know: Gather Relevant Data and Evaluate the Problem Biblically

2:00 PM —Speak: Talk About God

3:00 PM — Do: Provide Biblical Instruction and Assign Practical Homework

4:00 PM—Counseling Video Observation

 

March 1

6:00 PM—Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

7:00 PM—Temptation

8:00 PM—Confession of Sin

March 2

9:00 AM—Conflict Resolution

10:00 AM —Communication

11:00 AM —Guilt  and Forgiveness

1:00 PM —Church Discipline

2:00 PM —Choices,

3:00 PM —  Habits, and Addictions

4:00 PM—Counseling Video Observation

 

April 5

6:00 PM—Counseling People Who have Physical Illness

7:00 PM—Counseling People who are Taking Psychological Drugs

8:00 PM—Shame

April 6

9:00 AM—Depression

10:00 AM —Anger

11:00 AM —Knowing God’s Will

1:00 PM —Marriage Counseling — The Context

2:00 PM —Husband Roles

3:00 PM — Wife Roles

4:00 PM—Counseling Video Observation