Sin And Grace : Christian Counseling

Christian counseling is all about integrating psychology, theology and spirituality into counselor and clients lives. Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling gives insight into how these three perspectives can be used to help individuals identify certain aspects of their lives that might be enhanced when the counselor includes spirituality into their counseling sessions. We also see how important it is for the counselor to be in touch with their own spirituality so that

In the book Rediscovering the Power of Repentance and Forgiveness, Dr. Leah Coulter seeks to challenge the conventional Christian approach to forgiveness. Conventional Christianity approaches forgiveness as a Christian duty, and, in many ways, this has been unfair to the victims who have almost been condemned for seeking justice rather than simply forgetting. She asks, "From an all too common Christian view, why must the weight and responsibility of forgiveness be placed on the sinned-against instead of the sinner's repentance?" (Coulter). Therefore, she focuses extensively on the idea of repentance and the duty of the sinner to repent. However, that is not to suggest that Coulter abandons the idea that forgiveness is a Christian imperative, but she attempts to place it within its Jewish context, and demonstrate how other facets of historical Judaism inform the practice of forgiveness and repentance.

Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by Mark R. McMinn (McMinn, 1996) covers a Christian counselor's life in and out of counseling sessions. McMinn's book is dedicated to recognizing and developing the relationship between counseling and Christian faith rather than a dry Theology. This resource work divides the discussion into 8 chapters, each addressing a vital aspect of Christian psychological counseling and each having a section outlining challenges, methods and anticipated outcomes. The first chapter is co-written with James C. Wilhoit and stresses the importance of the counseling/faith relationship while presenting various challenges confronting the counselor and possible approaches to facing those challenges. The second chapter enumerates the Christian faith's major

In the book Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling by Mark McMinn (2011), he explores the simultaneous integration of psychology, theology, and spirituality in the counseling relationship. McMinn (2011), stresses the importance of this skill throughout the text and offers insightful and effective ways to manage this. In order to further breakdown this information, McMinn (2011) discusses and evaluates six religious intervention strategies: prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. Furthermore, he

It is important to develop a biblically based theory of Christian counseling that integrates psychology, spirituality, and theology. This model must be flexible enough to incorporate non-believers, while attempting to gently facilitate a personal relationship with God in both believers and non-believers alike. It is the author’s intent to develop an integrative theory by using techniques proved valid by science, in conjunction with theological truth. This integrated approach will take into account personality structure, motivation, development, and worldview to devise a plan of change for clients. This process

Chapter two starts off with the author talk about his education of true christian counseling before settling on one called the discipleship approach (Collins, 23). Readers explore some people-helper principals; starting with “the helper.” This principal starts out citing Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia in which Paul instructed the leaders there to “restore” the individuals who were apparently struggling with sin and other issues (23). Paul instructs that only those who are spiritual may help the struggling individuals so that the struggling individuals may get the real help they need by means of healthy, loving caring relationships. In principal two, we learn how to help people that can be difficult to penetrate

McMinn, M. (2011). Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling (p. 254). Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.

Throughout the last year with my middle school students we had a lot of conversations about the graces that you receive when you go to confession. From that has led into conversations about how God will always forgive us but it better not to sin at all as we will not be the same. As I was reading “And God Said What” by Margaret Ralph her symbolism of comparing eating to sinning is just the metaphor I need to help my students understand the consequences of sin. She states, “We can be forgiven sin, but we are not, by forgiveness, returned to the state of being we had before we sinned.” She goes on to say, “Through sin we grow in our knowledge of evil. Knowledge of sin affects our ideas of ourselves, or perceptions of others, and our relationship

The King James Version of the Bible, Retrieved on January 28, 2015 from 2 Corinthians 5: 16-

Ron Hawkins and Tim Clinton (2015), The New Christian Counselor: A Fresh Biblical & Transformational Approach book, is a resourceful guide for Christian counselors. Hawkins and Clinton (2015) state, “that the discipline of Christian Counseling is growing into a solid and substantiated multifaceted scriptural discipline of wide-reaching distinction” (p. 5). Furthermore, the definition of what Christian counseling is has changed over time.

Will a counselor ever be too sensitive to confront a counselee about their sin? A counselor is trained to bias in all situations regardless of their personal belief but there will be situations where a counselor may not be able to tolerate the discussion of a certain sin and that is the first step of a counselor being cautions, being self-aware of their tolerance level of consuming the problems of others. A counselor should always remain within the realm of professionalism when dealing with any clients. There is an ethical and moral obligation that counselors must abide by. In the even that a counselor feels that they are not adequate to assist a client they should refer them to someone else. A Christian counselor, if allowed, should open up

Dr. Larry Crabb’s book “Effective Biblical Counseling: A Model for Helping Caring Christians Become Capable Counselor” Crabb, (1977), this book models how counseling can be gracefully integrated into implementation of the local church. The Goal of Christian Counseling that Dr. Crabb states within his book Crabb, (1977), is “any approach to counseling that is truly biblical will work most effectively when carried out into the context of a local body of believers” (pg. 13). As Dr. Crabb states within his book that “The goal of biblical counseling is to promote Christian maturity, to help people enter into a richer experience of worship and a more effective life of service” (pg. 31), This allows them grow

In Chapter 10 of Rudolph K. Sanders’ book, Christian Counseling Ethics: A Handbook for Psychologists, Therapists and Pastors, Mark Yarhouse, Jill Kays and Stanton Jones discuss the “sexual minority” as it pertains to the field of professional counseling. This group is defined as “individuals with same sex attractions or behavior, regardless of self-identification” (Sanders, et. al., 2013, p. 252). By looking at counseling the homosexual community through its etiology, standards by which a counselor should proceed with treatment, and the options a client has on deciding treatment options, we can be better prepared as Christian counselors to be better prepared in serving the needs of others.

There are many different methods that exist for using the Bible in counseling. One should determine, with the discernment of the Holy Spirit, which methods to use in each situation. However, in order to be

It is also vital to look at Wilson’s view on the practice of forgiveness and how if an individual decides to ignore it, it can place a road block in their process of change. She believes that God speaks about forgiveness for the following reasons:” (1) we are all sinners with whom to relate so we’ll need to become skillful forgivers (2) God makes forgiveness a centerpiece of our healing process because living in un-forgiveness is so much worse (Wilson, 2001).