Chapter 3

​CHAPTER 3
 
RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY
 
         Though Country Bible Church recognizes biblical counseling as an effective method of caring for souls, few members are trained to provide it, nor is anyone, besides the Senior Pastor, currently offering it. Growth of the church over the last six years, has increased both the demand for and opportunity to advance biblical counseling ministry in the church. Furthermore, limited resources keep the surrounding community from obtaining professional counseling as well. The ministry project’s goal is to address both needs. 
         The biblical mandate on which the ministry project is founded was addressed in Chapter 2. It was demonstrated through a survey of Matthew 28:18–20 that the ministry project would provide an opportunity for the members of Country Bible Church to practice Jesus’ Great Commission. The call in Ephesians 4 and Colossians chapters 1 and 3 for pastors to equip members for discipleship was examined, emphasizing the responsibility to train church members to actively serve in the ministry of the Word to one another. Finally, in a survey of Romans 15, the impact of the Great Commission was modeled by a church filled with goodness, knowledge, and the ability to instruct one another. The biblical record clearly shows that the mandate given in the Great Commission can be fulfilled, in part, through a church that is actively engaged in biblical counseling.
         Chapter 3 will outline the history of biblical counseling at Country Bible and in the broader context of the Church in America. The chapter will proceed with a review of the literature on biblical counseling, emphasizing writings relevant to the ministry project. Finally, it will explore the contextual application for the ministry project derived from the historical practice and insights gained in the literature review. 
 
History of Practice
         Country Bible Church shares a long history with conservative evangelical churches. As an independent Bible church that was once affiliated with the IFCA International (formerly the Independent Fundamental Churches of America), the church has been rooted in fundamental doctrines essential to conservative, evangelical churches even today, stemming from a belief in the inerrancy of Scripture.[1] This includes the virgin birth, the exclusive salvific death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Trinity, and a convictional belief that the Bible is authoritative and sufficient for all of life. 
         In the late 1800s, this historical foundation built on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in pastoral soul carebegan to erode, as the pastorate shifted from providing biblical counsel to a secular psychotherapeutic model.[2] David Powlison’s survey of the history of biblical counseling explains that by the 1950s, “pastoral counseling drifted toward a junior version of psychotherapy.”[3] Jay Adams, a pioneer in the modern Biblical Counseling Movement, wrote in 1970, “Nearly all recent counseling books for ministers, even conservative ones, are written from the Freudian perspective in the sense that they rest largely upon the presuppositions of the Freudian ethic of non-responsibility.”[4]When Country Bible Church began in 1981, the influence of the secular psychological model on the church, Christian publishing, Christian academics, and Christian education remained strong and steadfast. “By the mid-1980s, ‘Bible-believing evangelical’ had become one flesh with ‘professional psychotherapist…’ Christian psychotherapy had joined the pastorate, missions, teaching, and medicine as legitimate callings for those young people who wanted to ‘help others’ or to ‘go into ministry.’”[5]
         Though Country Bible Church began in this context, throughout its forty-five years, the church has held fast to Scripture as the foundation of all counsel, largely because of its strength of continuity. Since its inception, only two pastors have led Country Bible Church, both influenced by the modern-day Biblical Counseling Movement. As a result, the church has enthusiastically embraced the Project Director’s proposal to develop the members in biblical counseling, regardless of the broader Church’s stance on psychotherapy.
         In God’s providence, Ralph Hathaway, the first pastor of Country Bible Church, received an advertisement about a series of lectures at Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University) on biblical counseling, an area in which Ralph struggled. One of the main speakers was Jay Adams, known as the founder of the modern Biblical Counseling Movement. Adams profoundly impacted Ralph, who began to study and implement nouthetic counseling into his ministry, exposing the method to the church he shepherded. As he continued to research biblical and pastoral counseling, he became familiar with Larry Crabb, a Christian psychologist and author, who introduced him to integrationist counseling, which he implemented moderately. 
         When the Project Director became the Senior Pastor of Country Bible Church, he picked up where Ralph Hathaway left off, committing to a more direct biblical counseling model for pastoral care. As previously noted, his undergraduate and graduate programs utilized biblical counseling curricula to teach pastoral care. His first opportunity for pastoral development arose six months after he began his pastorate when he attended the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation’s annual conference. Following this, he further developed his understanding and practice of biblical counseling through ongoing training at conferences, subscribing to the Journal of Biblical Counseling, reading books and pamphlets published by biblical counselors, and listening to interviews, podcasts, and online lectures on biblical counseling.
         A second strength the church has that makes it a good setting for the ministry project is its experience with biblical counseling. Having established personal convictions and pastoral practices of biblical counseling to care for the souls of the people of Country Bible Church, the Project Director began taking church members to biblical counseling training events and conferences and teaching the congregation biblical counseling methods and practices through Christian education classes. Further, many in the congregation have personally received counseling from the Project Director or a trusted biblical counseling center. These experiences have convinced the leadership and membership of Country Bible Church to prioritize pastoral biblical counseling over secular methods as the primary approach whenever a need or problem arises. Additionally, it has enabled the congregation to recognize the significance of soul care by thoughtfully reading and applying the Scriptures to the challenges of life.
         The church has also practiced expository preaching, where the biblical text is handled exegetically. They have been regularly discipled through the weekly preaching of God's Word, resulting in a strong belief that God continues to speak today through His Word, and an eagerness to listen to, learn from, and apply it to their lives. This public ministry of the Word has naturally fostered a desire for the private ministry of the Word through biblical counsel.
         Another strength of Country Bible Church is its culture of care and love for those who are hurting, needy, and vulnerable, which is evident in several ways. The handful of mentally handicapped people in the church are well-known and well-loved. The church has a heart for those in our county's foster care system and has been active in supporting it, even to the point of several families adopting children. Love and care are demonstrated through service activities or workdays, such as a wood-cutting day for a widow, providing meals for the sick, or serving hot meals to the homeless at the local shelter. Country Bible Church actively demonstrates patient and kind love toward the lowly and needy. This has created a safe environment where problems are disclosed, burdens are shared, and counsel is sought. 
         Country Bible Church has also started a recovery ministry called Freedom That Lasts, which equips local churches to help those struggling with addiction. Started by Jim Berg, professor of biblical counseling at Bob Jones University, it is also certified by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Country Bible Church began developing this ministry in house in 2024 and launched it in February 2025. Freedom That Lasts enables the members of Country Bible Church to come alongside those who are struggling and harmed by addiction, introduce them to Jesus’ gospel, and offer biblical hope, which has created numerous opportunities for exposure to biblical counseling.
In contrast to these strengths, certain weaknesses may affect the implementation and outcomes of the ministry project. One weakness has been the limited number of trained biblical counselors. Within the church, most counseling has typically been handled by the Senior Pastor (also the Project Director). Although other elders have met with individuals to discuss their struggles and burdens, the prevailing understanding in the church has been to first seek the Senior Pastor and, secondarily, another formally trained biblical counselor, either by traveling or securing online video counseling. 
This practice has created a stigma of professionalism—a belief that care and counseling must come exclusively from experts. The presence of untrained elders, who are ill-equipped to handle routine pastoral counseling for marriages, families, and personal struggles like anxiety, has led to them come alongside struggling members but quickly refer them to the Senior Pastor for further help. Furthermore, the counselees are reluctant to reach out to others in the church, including elders, due to the perception that only the Senior Pastor is adequately qualified to provide counseling. This practice has also discouraged those interested in ministering through counseling from doing so, believing they lack the necessary skills or qualifications to offer biblical counsel. 
Considering the strengths and weaknesses in the history of biblical counseling at Country Bible Church, the Project Director believes there is a significant need and a great opportunity to pursue the ministry project. There is sufficient familiarity with biblical counseling as a primary means of addressing the needs within the church. However, some deficiencies must be addressed for the church to become more informed and to overcome the barriers that have hindered a church-wide understanding and practice of personal care.       
 
Review of Literature
         The intent of the ministry project is to inform and equip the membership of Country Bible Church in Wallace, Michigan, in biblical counseling. The biblical counseling literature produced over the last fifty years contains a wealth of information to equip God’s people to practice biblical counseling effectively. This literature review will cover topics that will inform the ministry project presented in the unique context of Country Bible Church. It will explore the following categories: the history of biblical counseling, the theology of biblical counseling, sources designed to equip believers in biblical counseling, and the apologetics of biblical counseling.
 
Biblical Counseling Historical Literature
It would be unusual in the ministry context of this project for church members to know the name Jay Adams, though most would be familiar with the name Sigmund Freud. While teaching the history of the Biblical Counseling Movement is not foundational for training in biblical counseling, understanding the historical context of the Biblical Counseling Movement as it developed over fifty years is helpful for understanding our times, the ongoing need for biblical counseling, and the church's goal to care for its members using the resources God has provided. Learning Adams’ intentions and ambitions is essential for a church in a culture heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud and modern psychology. 
A review of the historical literature on the Biblical Counseling Movement clarifies which ideas and convictions have remained consistent throughout its history, and which may have evolved or changed over time. Comparing the stances of Adams’ with current perspectives fifty-five years later brings clarity and confidence to those who find themselves in Adams’ camp. A literature survey that examines both the continuity of and break from ideas over time will bring an understanding of shifts that have occurred. 
         Adams’ seminal work, Competent to Counsel, launched the Biblical Counseling Movement.  Published in 1970, Competent to Counsel was written in a context of loss; the church had ceded its authority to care for souls to modern psychology.[6] Adams found the church lacking in confidence in God’s Word and His resources to address the problems and needs of its people. Adams explains, “The thesis of this book is that qualified Christian counselors properly trained in the Scriptures are competent to counsel – more competent than psychiatrists or anyone else.”[7]
         From the beginning, the Biblical Counseling Movement was both polemical and educational. Adams tore down so that he could build up.[8] Headings in Competent to Counsel succinctly delineate Adams’ desire to undermine a secular psychological method: “Psychiatry Is in Trouble,” “Freud: An Enemy, not a Friend,” and “Mental Illness: A Misnomer.”[9] Adams argued elsewhere, “…when they are faithful to God, Christians must deplore any and all concepts, methods, systems, etc., that are set up in competition with God’s concepts, methods and systems. When pagan approaches are developed to do what God has given the Bible to do, these approaches must be exposed, rejected, and opposed,”[10] which is exactly what Adams did.  
         In contrast to the secular model, Adams demarcates his counseling method (branded as nouthetic counseling) as distinctly biblical, an approach that lovingly confronts individuals with the truths of Scripture to identify and address personal sin, thereby bringing about lasting change in their lives.[11] Adams devoted his life to articulating and applying this as an antidote to the secular models of care and as God’s way of sanctifying His people. Powlison summarizes nouthetic ministry this way, “The message of the nouthetic counselor centered around three things that God was supposed to offer troubled people: forgiveness for the sins identified in counseling, power to make the requisite constructive changes, and hope that every misery and trial along the way would ultimately come to a happy ending.”[12]
         To further his theology of counseling, Adams was a constant educator. He not only wrote the book on nouthetic counseling but also continued to write, lecture, teach, and establish institutions that promoted the thesis of his book. Nouthetic counseling was not only his conviction but his ministry mission. This mission quickly gained traction, and the Biblical Counseling Movement was born. As the movement expanded, critical questions regarding the lasting impact of the movement arose (and subsequently were answered): Would biblical counseling stand the test of time? Was it a reform or a fad? Could its theological convictions and methodological commitments be sustained in a secular and ecclesiastical culture permeated by secular psychology?  
         The written histories of the Biblical Counseling Movement, as presented by Powlison and Lambert, reveal that the movement has maintained its theological convictions, while undergoing some changes following the influence and leadership of Adams. Lambert differentiates between first and second-generation leaders of the Biblical Counseling Movement. Adams was the primary voice of the first-generation leadership, and Powlison of the second. Lambert explains that while he was immersed in learning biblical counseling, “reading everything I could get my hands on…and ultimately earned a PhD on the topic,” he found that there are clear similarities and differences between the two generations. The similarities being, “everyone was committed to Scripture as the source of wisdom for change, to Jesus as the source of power for change, and to the church as the central location for change.” [13]
Lambert then mentions that he discovered several differences between the two generations, sharing that he understood these differences as improvements. “The movement was not only changing but changing for the better.”[14]The book explains these improvements in detail. In summary, Lambert observes that, unlike the first generation, the second generation focused more on the reality and effects of suffering, examined the motivations behind behavior more deeply (primarily using “idols of the heart” language and application), and the counseling methodology improved by fostering more filial counselor/counselee relationships while softening a stern authoritarian approach. 
A review of the historical literature in biblical counseling reveals a movement that has gained momentum. It has grown and changed. The church has benefited from years of God’s people thinking, developing, practicing, and bearing fruit in biblical counseling, while the foundation has remained steadfast. This review will enhance the ministry project, set in a context similar to the one in which the Biblical Counseling Movement emerged—a psychological culture both within and outside the church. Many more resources are available than in 1970 when Adams first introduced nouthetic counseling, yet the language and beliefs of secular psychology continue to be prominent within the broader culture. In the Project Director’s ministry context, individuals frequently discuss mental health without referring to the wisdom of God’s Word. Casual conversations often center around self-diagnosis, using psychological terms like ADHD, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, and similar conditions. The original historical context remains largely unchanged today, and the path forward is to follow the original leaders of biblical counseling, guided by the Word of God and the Spirit of God, through teaching, prayer, and apologetics. 
 
Biblical Counseling Theological Literature
The writings of those in the Biblical Counseling Movement on biblical or systematic theology emphasize the necessity of understanding theology to effectively care for counselees. ACBC, the largest and oldest certifying organization, states in the preamble of their statement of doctrines that “counseling is fundamentally a theological task.” This preamble articulates the belief that the practical care of counseling must be built upon a solid theology.[15]This belief is reinforced in their certification process whereby three hundred of the one thousand pages of required reading from an approved list must be from the “Biblical Counseling and Theology” section.[16] As the certification process progresses, ACBC evaluates the applicant's understanding of theology by requiring them to complete a theology exam that involves writing essay responses. 
         Adams, who spearheaded the establishment of ACBC, was convinced that a biblical counselor must be “radically into studying the Scriptures” because he thought that if he were not, “he too will be deceived.”[17] Adams’ conviction was that the church throughout “the years” has been “either deceived by Satan’s counsel or has found itself in conflict with it. There is no neutral ground. Compromise or conflict are the only alternatives.”[18] Adams’ work was polemical, yet he was just as clear and convictional in defining and defending truth that would help and lead to change. He wrote his book A Theology of Christian Counseling: More Than Redemption as “an attempt to encourage theological thinking in relationship to counseling.”[19] He did so because he was convinced that “a Christian counselor… must understandall that the Scriptures say on a given topic in order to give fully biblical direction to their counselees.”[20] This book is a systematic theology for biblical counselors. 
Adams asserts that a biblical counselor needs to understand theology because biblical doctrine will significantly impact the process and application of biblical counsel.[21] As Lambert notes about Adams, Adams argues, in his superlative way, that the biblical counselor “simply cannot become involved in the attempt to change beliefs, values, attitudes, relationships, and behavior without wading neck deep in theological waters.”[22] Adams shaped the Biblical Counseling Movement with these convictions. Since then, many other authors have written on the topic of theology as it relates to biblical counseling. This review of theological literature includes the writings of biblical counselors on systematic theology and related systematic theological topics. The goal is to examine the key theological categories that best equip Christians to counsel biblically. 
         Writing nearly four decades after Adams, Lambert, then executive director of ACBC, wrote A Theology of Biblical Counseling, a book intended to build on Adams’ A Theology of Christian Counseling and further develop the systematic theology of the Biblical Counseling Movement.[23] He explains that the aim of his book is to “summarize key doctrines and show their relevance to counseling ministry.”[24] Following Adams’ theological convictions, Lambert emphasizes the necessity for biblical counselors to be theologians, arguing that “the foundation for counseling ministry is expressly theological.”[25] From the beginning, the Biblical Counseling Movement has emphasized sound doctrine and training in theology and continues to do so.
         A survey of theological works written for biblical counselors reveals common emphases in systematic theological topics. The two primary works that have been written are those mentioned above by Adams and Lambert, both systematic theologies aimed at biblical counseling. They also share many similar topics in systematic theology, including Scripture, God, Man, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Sin, Salvation, Church, and Eschatology.[26] Many works written by biblical counselors align closely with systematic theology topics, effectively defining and applying theology. Applying the doctrine of the church, Powlison wrote Speaking Truth in Love, and T. Dale Johnson, Jr. The Church as a Culture of Care.[27] Applying the doctrine of Scripture, T. Dale Johnson edited Sufficiency: Historic Essays on the Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling and editors John MacArthur and Wayne Mack published Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically.[28] These are just a few books written to apply systematic theology, and they demonstrate the theological strength of the Biblical Counseling Movement.[29]
         To achieve certification from various biblical counseling organizations, there is a common emphasis on theological training, however the extent of that training differs.[30] A survey of biblical counseling training courses offers significant practical and methodological training, but little systematic theological training. For instance, Faith Counseling Ministries (FCM) offers many practical lectures in biblical counseling methodology, including, “Why Counsel?,” “Building Loving Involvement...,” and “Gathering Relevant Data...” FCM also offers a few lectures on theological topics, such as “Progressive Sanctification,” but these are rare.[31] Only when FCM begins to prepare their students for the ACBC exam (the fifth track in their training program) do they focus on systematic theology. At this stage, the students are leaving biblical counseling training and entering the certification process. 
         The ministry project will focus on biblical counseling training for layman. The review of literature reveals a strong theological emphasis in the Biblical Counseling Movement. It has also demonstrated the practical application of systematic theology to biblical counseling. Furthermore, it highlights a distinction in the level of theological weight given to lay counseling training and the certification of biblical counselors. 
 
 
Biblical Counseling Equipping Literature
         From its inception, the Biblical Counseling Movement has been an equipping one, as its “father,” Adams not only argued his case for nouthetic counseling but also labored to equip the church to be competent in counseling. He was instrumental in founding two institutions that trained biblical counselors.[32] Other leaders in this movement taught in biblical counseling institutions or in colleges and seminaries that trained future ministers in biblical counseling.[33]Most of the biblical counseling books that are published are written with the goal of equipping others in biblical counseling. Sometimes this is explicit. For instance, MacArthur and Mack released Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically, Mack wrote A Practical Guide for Effective Biblical Counseling, and Amy Baker produced Caring for the Souls of Children: A Biblical Counselor’s Manual.[34] Other works are commonly used in colleges, seminaries, and biblical counseling training centers to equip biblical counselors, such as Paul David Tripp’s Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change, Powlison’s Seeing with New Eyes, and Stuart Scott and Heath Lambert’s Counseling the Hard Cases.[35]  
         For the purpose of the ministry project, this literature review provides a survey of works written to equip the equippers—to teach ministry leaders how to equip others for biblical counseling. These are sources that would function as a curriculum to help equip a church or individual for the ministry of biblical counseling. The ministry project will likewise teach a class designed to equip the members of Country Bible Church in biblical counseling. 
         MacArthur and Mack’s Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically was written as a “potential textbook” to teach biblical counseling to those training for ministry in college or seminary.[36] The book is comprehensive, detailing the history, theology, and practical guidance in biblical counseling. Of particular interest is Chapter 17, written by William W. Goode, entitled “Biblical Counseling and the Church.”[37] Goode writes about starting a biblical counseling ministry in a church, which involves extensive training consisting of forty hours of lectures, twenty-two hours of counseling observation, and extensive reading (one to two thousand pages). 
         Biblical Counseling and the Church: God’s Care Through God’s People, edited by Bob Kellemen and Kevin Carson, was written with a conviction that “God calls all of us to be biblical counselors.”[38] The authors build a comprehensive case in favor of lay Christians being equipped to counsel, rather than just trained professionals. Parts one through three present this vision in the context of small groups and conflict resolution. Part four is titled, “Equipping Biblical Counselors.” Most of this part of the book deals with launching various counseling ministries, but one chapter is dedicated to the process of equipping. Written by Ron and Tim Allchin, the authors lay a proper foundation for launching a biblical counseling ministry. The section on equipping is general and brief, simply encouraging formal training for equipping rather than local church-based training.[39] This is understandable, as this part of the book primarily focuses on establishing biblical counseling ministries. Yet, it was counterintuitive to the book’s aim of encouraging all Christians to counsel. 
         Equipping Biblical Counselors: A Guide to Discipling Believers for One-Another Ministry by Bob Kellemen shares a similar goal to the previous source. Kellemen envisions every member being a disciple-maker and committed to ‘one-another’ ministry. This entails a four-step process. First, envisioning God’s great vision of the Church where everyone is a disciple maker. Second, enlisting leaders who will learn to develop these disciple-makers. Third, equipping the leaders properly to perform this ministry. Fourth, empowering this ministry with solid organization and oversight. Kellemen’s approach to equipping involves substantial training in theology and methodology, presented over a two-year period. These equipped ministers become qualified as they understand and are committed to God’s Word, display Christlike character, develop competent counseling skills, and are anchored in a Christian community.[40]Kellemen explains that this formal training generally takes one hundred hours, including lectures, labs, and counseling observations, but not including the additional opportunities and responsibilities of reading assignments and miscellaneous meetings.[41]
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands is recommended or required reading in many biblical counseling training institutions. Tripp follows standard biblical counseling training, writing on theological topics such as salvation, discipleship, sin, and sanctification, as well as methodological topics including compassion, data gathering, interpreting data, admonishing, and homework. He presents this information in a clear and practical style. A facilitator and participant’s guide has been published to further develop the content, to help churches “equip people for personal growth and ministry.”[42]
Three other works are worth mentioning. Dr. Nicolas Ellen’s Every Christian a Counselor equips biblical counselors as part of the mission of the church, the fulfillment of the Great Commission.[43] Ellen lays out a theological foundation and moves to the biblical model of change (realization to replacement). His later chapters are unique in the literature, not just offering a methodology (the “8 C’s of biblical counseling”) but organizational structures (job descriptions, consent forms, and discipleship pathways).
John Henderson’s Equipped to Counsel, published by the Association of Biblical Counselors, is used in their certification program.[44] This work is a comprehensive curriculum comprised of thirty-eight lessons. Unique to Henderson’s approach is his methodology in teaching, in which each chapter contains a teaching section, a case study, an application, a discussion, an exercise, and prayer. 
Sue Nicewander’s Building a Counseling Ministry Without Killing the Pastor presents a model of collaboration among local churches in building a counseling ministry.[45] Using this method, several churches would share resources to equip biblical counselors. 
 
Biblical Counseling Apologetics Literature
         Adams’ Competent to Counsel was a call to restore biblical counseling to the church that also served as an apologetic for biblical counseling. As a polemic, the book exposes the worldly wisdom of secular counseling and undermines its influence, presenting the antithesis to promote the return to the Bible as sufficient for life and godliness. This approach is common in the works reviewed in this chapter. The authors of these works regularly engaged in biblical counseling apologetics, defending the Bible as God’s merciful instrument for life-change while seeking to expose the worldly foundations of secular psychology. 
         Lou Priolo’s book, Presuppositions of Biblical Counseling, presents an apologetic for biblical counseling as his fourth listed presupposition of biblical counseling. He writes, “The Bible is the only complete and authoritative textbook written specifically to provide the answers to both man’s behavioral problems and the means for man’s behavioral changes.”[46] From there, he exposes the weaknesses of the psychological model as he perceives it. He argues that the Bible should be considered a textbook for counseling. ACBC demonstrates this presupposition that Priolo writes about. Their website explains their mission: “We seek to strengthen the Church to speak the truth in love by providing a quality training and certification process, a global network of like-minded individuals and institutions, and a source of practical and biblical resources for the Church.”[47] One way they accomplish this is through a biblical counseling apologetic. For example, they have a series of booklets grouped together as “The Biblical Evaluation Series.”[48] Titles in this series include Understanding EMDR, The Duluth Model, and Trauma-Informed Counseling.[49] There are more targeted works that focus exclusively on the unbiblical foundations and methods of secular psychology, such as Ed Bulkley’s Why Christians Can’t Trust Psychology and Richard Ganz’s PsychoBabble: The Failure of Modern Psychology—and the Biblical Alternative.[50]
 
Contextual Application
         The history of practice and the review of literature revealed three opportunities for contextual application. First, these sections confirmed the need and opportunity in the ministry setting to equip church members in biblical counseling. Much of the literature pointed to a common weakness in churches: an emphasis on exclusive pastoral counseling that neglects to equip the congregation for personal care through counseling. This was presented as a deficient ecclesiology, as pastors fail to equip church members for ministry, and church members do not fulfill their roles as servants to one another. The solution proposed in these works was for church leadership to equip church members to care for one another through biblical counsel. This was motivated not by pragmatic needs, but by a clear expectation laid out in Scripture. The review of literature reinforced the information gathered in chapter 2, indicating that biblical counseling is a ministry of the Great Commission, presented to the entire church as their responsibility. The members of Country Bible Church would benefit from a clear calling to one-another ministry through biblical counseling, as well as an opportunity to be equipped for this ministry. 
         Second, developing and teaching a curriculum on biblical counseling will provide an opportunity for members of Country Bible Church to grow in their biblical literacy and theological depth. The literature review indicated a high intensity of training in biblical counseling. This is because biblical counseling is not merely a skill to learn; it also entails in-depth growth in theology. Biblical counseling must be rooted in Scripture. Although most introductory courses lack substantial theological training, there remains a consistent push to be people of the Word and to deepen their understanding of it. A strong curriculum will incorporate solid theology and exemplify counsel based on biblical teachings. It will also continuously encourage further growth in Scripture and theology. The literature review and survey of biblical counseling training centers revealed that well-developed counseling ministries offer training significantly longer than the twelve-week curriculum of the ministry project. Moreover, they often guide participants toward formal certification through a biblical counseling certifying ministry. The history of practice and the literature review suggest that the intensity of training will mean that the ministry project will only lay a foundation, requiring years of continuation to build the structure.
         The third opportunity is for members of Country Bible Church to learn how to discern the erroneous foundations and methods of secular psychology. This will strengthen their confidence in the Bible as a trustworthy source of guidance, in contrast to the worldview and approaches of secular psychology. This initiative would offer a way to counter the significant sway secular psychology holds over culture, which impacts the church. Furthermore, it would encourage a deeper faith in the provision God has established in His Word, through the ministry of His Spirit, and through prayer for lasting change and growth. 
 
Conclusion
         Chapter 3 presented the history of biblical counseling at Country Bible Church, reviewed the literature relevant to the ministry project, and drew conclusions from the historical overview and literature review that apply to the ministry project. The next chapter will build upon this one by presenting the implementation strategy. Specifically, it will outline the practical steps for equipping church members in biblical counseling, addressing the identified need to overcome the stigma of professionalization and expand congregational involvement in soul care.


[1] IFCA International is a network of like-minded churches that partner together for gospel ministry. Founded in 1930, it is “a movement of churches and believers from around the world who are committed to biblical ministry in an effort to enhance the strength of the Church by proclaiming biblical truth, equipping individual believers, and defending fundamental doctrine to accomplish the Great Commission.” IFCA International, “What is IFCA?” IFCA International, https://www.ifca.org/what-is-ifca/what-is-ifca.
 

[2] David Powlison, The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2010), 22. Powlison’s first chapter lays the case for this drift. He writes, “Professional jurisdiction over Americans’ problems in living gradually passed from the religious pastorate to various medical and quasi-medical professions: psychiatry, neurology, social work, and clinical psychology.” He continues, “Emotional behavioral ills of the soul that once registered dislocations in a moral agent’s relationships to God and neighbor were reenvisioned as symptomatic of a patient’s mental and emotional illness. Worry, grumbling, unbelief, lovelessness, strife, vicious habit, and deceit came to be seen through different eyes, as neurotic anxiety, depression, inferiority complex, alienation, social maladjustment, addiction, and unconscious ego defense. Hospital, clinic, and office displaced church and community as the locus of care.”
 

[3] Powlison, 24.
 

[4] Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), 18.

 
[5] Powlison, 205.

[6] Powlison, 42. Powlison explains, “Adams thought pastoral jurisdiction over personal problems had been abandoned and forfeited by diffident, inept pastors and had been seized by expansionist mental health professionals.” 
 

[7] Adams, 18.
 

[8] Powlison, 33. In a denominational discussion on theology, well before the publishing of Competent to Counsel, Powlison presented Adams as “militant.” Adams was, “…a controversialist out to define and magnify differences, not as a diplomat out to blur or reconcile differences.” Adams explained specifically why he pushed against the psychological methods of his day: “Their systems begin and end with man. [They] fail to take into consideration man’s basic relationship with God through Christ, neglect God’s law, and know nothing of the power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and sanctification. Their presuppositional stance must be rejected totally.” Adams, xviii.
 

[9] Adams, 1, 15, 28.
 

[10] Jay E. Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), ix.

 
[11] Adams, Competent to Counsel, 22. Adams articulates nouthetic counseling in Chapter 4 of his book Competent to Counsel. As a Reformed Christian minister, he believed that God the Spirit would work in the lives of His people by the common means of redemptive grace: the Word of God, the sacraments, prayer, and fellowship with God’s people. These are the “principal vehicles through which he brings such changes.”
 

[12] Powlison, 22.

[13] Heath Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 24. 

 
[14] Ibid.

[15] From the preamble: “The work of understanding the problems which require counseling and of helping people with those problems is theological work requiring theological faithfulness in order to accomplish that effectiveness which honors the triune God. Because theological faithfulness is a necessity in counseling, it is required of this association to articulate our convictions in this regard.” “Standards of Doctrine,” ACBC, https://biblicalcounseling.com/positions/standards-of-doctrine/.

 
[16] In this “Approved Reading List,” ACBC cite orthodox and conservative evangelical systematic theology works such as Charles Ryrie’s Basic Theology and Millard Erickson’s Christian Theology. These works are in depth and thorough in their articulation of systematic theology. https://acbcdigitalresources.s3.
us-west-2.amazonaws.com/resources/Approved+Reading+List+(2025+Revision).pdf.

[17] Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling, 9.

 
[18] Ibid., 7.

 
[19] Ibid., 10.

 
[20] Ibid., 12. 

 
[21] Ibid., 14.
 

[22] Lambert, 35.
 

[23] Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 33. 

 
[24] Ibid., 315.
 

[25] Ibid.
 

[26] Nicolas Ellen, Theological Building Blocks for Biblical Counseling (The Woodlands, TX: Expository Counseling Center Press, 2020), 12–17. Nicolas Ellen offers a broader range of topics, listing eighteen categories of essential doctrines.

[27] David Powlison, Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2005). T. Dale Johnson Jr., The Church as a Culture of Care: Finding Hope in Biblical Community (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2023). 

 
[28] T. Dale Johnson Jr., ed., Sufficiency: Historic Essays on the Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling (Spring Hill, TN: Transformative Faith Publishers, 2021). 
 

[29] The literature applying systematic theology to biblical counseling is significant. Most of these works are not specific in applying one named theological topic (as Johnson’s book Sufficiency: Historic Essays on the Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling does) but rather apply systematic theology more broadly. For instance, Edward T. Welch’s When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997) is part theology proper, part anthropology, part hamartiology, and part soteriology (dealing with sanctification especially).

 
[30] ACBC requires theological reading and tests for theological aptitude. “Certification Process,” ACBC, https://biblicalcounseling.com/training/certification/. The Association of Biblical Counselors has a similar requirement. “Requirements and Supervision Handbook,” Association of Biblical Counselors, https://christiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ABC2-Requirements-and-Supervision-Handbook.pdf.
 

[31] The Project Director attended three tracks offered by FCM. Though the seminars are highly practical in training biblical counselors, they are laced with applied theology, not devoid of it. The distinction between biblical counseling training and certification is in the intensity of theological training. For certification, the student must have a high enough understanding of systematic theology to articulate it in an exam. This is not so with training. 
 

[32] The Christian Counseling and Education Foundation began with the purpose of training in biblical counseling and the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors was started to formally certify biblical counselors.
 

[33] For example, Powlison was the Executive Director of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, Wayne Mack taught at The Master’s University, and Lambert was the Director of the ACBC. All these institutions were a source of biblical counseling training. 

[34] Wayne Mack, A Practical Guide for Effective Biblical Counseling (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997). Amy Baker, ed., Caring for the Souls of Children: A Biblical Counselor’s Manual (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2020). 
 

[35] Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change(Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002). David Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003). Stuart Scott and Heath Lambert, eds., Counseling the Hard Cases: True Stories Illustrating the Sufficiency of God’s Resources in Scripture (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2012). 
 

[36] MacArthur and Mack, vii.

[37] William W. Goode was the Senior Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana for over twenty years. He co-founded Faith Baptist Counseling Ministries, a biblical counseling ministry and training center. He was also the Executive Director of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. 
 

[38] Bob Kellemen and Kevin Carson, eds., Biblical Counseling and the Church: God’s Care Through God’s People (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 18.
 

[39] The authors recommend ACBC, the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, Faith Church, the International Association of Biblical Counselors, the Institute of Biblical Counseling & Discipleship, and the Biblical Counseling Center. 
 

[40] In the book, Kellemen encourages adaptability in curriculum. His personal curriculum is laid out in two books: Bob Kellemen, Gospel-Centered Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014) for theological training and Bob Kellemen, Gospel Conversations (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015) for methodological training. 
 

[41] Bob Kellemen, Equipping Biblical Counselors: A Guide to Discipling Believers for One-Another Ministry, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), 256.
 

[42] Tripp, iii.

 
[43] Nicolas Ellen, Every Christian a Counselor: A Redemptive View of Care (The Woodlands, TX: Expository Counseling Center Press, 2023).
 

[44] John Henderson, Equipped to Counsel: A Training Program in Biblical Counseling—Leader’s Guide, 2nd ed. (Fort Worth: Association of Biblical Counselors, 2020).
 

[45] Sue Nicewander, Building a Church Counseling Ministry Without Killing the Pastor (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, 2018).
 

[46] Lou Priolo, Presuppositions of Biblical Counseling (Conway, AR: Grace & Truth Books, 2023), 27.

[47] ACBC Mission Statement, https://biblicalcounseling.com/about/.
 

[48] “Biblical Solutions,” ACBC, https://biblicalcounseling.com/biblicalsolutions/.

 
[49] Rhenn Cherry, Understanding EMDR: A Biblical Evaluation for Counselors (La Grange, KY: ACBC, 2024), Emily Stahly, The Duluth Model: A Biblical Evaluation for Counselors (La Grange, KY: ACBC, 2024), Ernie Baker, Trauma-Informed Counseling: A Biblical Evaluation for Counselors (La Grange, KY: ACBC, 2025).

 
[50] Ed Bulkley, Why Christians Can’t Trust Psychology (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1993), Richard Ganz, PsychoBabble: The Failure of Modern Psychology—and the Biblical Alternative (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993).