The Christian Counselor's Manual

The Competent to Counsel whet my appetite for more nouthetic instruction, and thankfully the Christian Counselor’s Manual did not disappoint me in further fleshing out the biblical patterns of confrontation in nouthetic counseling. Reading this book made it easy to see how the last counselor I saw came up with his method and material, and made me thankful for the Lord’s work at reviving godly counseling in the church.?

Dr. Adams’s description of the three parties involved in counseling was initially confusing to me before it became a point of conviction. While it was eminently obvious at least the counselor and counselee needed to be present, I had failed to think of the Holy Spirit as an active participant, rather than impersonally. This was especially convicting, as I know intellectually that the Holy Spirit is the one who seals the believer, who shapes and sanctifies the believer, and yet I had forgotten that the believing counselor, without His active help, would be powerless.?

The focus on pastors particularly as counselors is, I think, warranted. While not everyone needs a specialist in law or medicine as a constant in their life, ideally everyone should be in the body of Christ. Who better to address the issues of the soul than those who are particularly equipped as ministers to the souls of men? Many of the broadly evangelical churches I know of would likely disagree with this point, or would agree in theory, but would then have a single designated pastor of counseling, who may or may not be involved in anyone’s life previous to a counseling session. The same weaknesses Adams mentions about counseling centers, can just as easily be observed in those usually large churches that separate teaching and directing from counseling.?

The chapter on hope was a massive encouragement to me. I agreed with his assessment of who needs the hope of the gospel, and how to offer it. It is a far cry from stereotypical counseling to hear someone self deprecate and then point to that deprecation realizing a real problem with a solution to be found in Christ. When he says “counselees need meaning,” and “counselees need hope,” (p 48) I immediately thought of Romans 8:28. The sufferings and hardship the counselee is going through are things which, in God’s perfect providence, have a meaning and have a point. They are a means of making us more like Christ for His glory.?

I think chapter eight was possibly my favorite. Frequently an individual simply overlooks a sin to the detriment of a relationship. The whole chapter is focused on confrontation in a loving way toward the reconciliation of a relationship. This approach requires frequent and direct communication. Although the title of the chapter does highlight discipline as well, it is clear discipline is still an effort at reconciliation through repentance. I believe it was R.C. Sproul who said that the only sin for which someone is excommunicated is for lack of repentance, and Adams echoes this view (p 54).? I am still wrestling with the phrase “reconciliation takes precedence over worship” (p 53). I can absolutely understand how he establishes the priority given his reading of Matthew 5. I could also see this in the Ordo Salutis, as God reconciles us to Himself before we respond in worship to that love. Perhaps I am being overly cautious, but I hesitate to place anything parallel to the responsibility of worship.?

Adams’s emphasis on the primacy of the source of a counselor’s knowledge (p 92) in the scriptures is an emphasis that I hope will see more traction in Christian circles. When he quotes 2 Peter 1:3, he makes clear that all we need is in the Word. I think many of the Christian counselors and pastors I know have been seduced by the siren’s song of Freudian thought. Because they think psychiatric issues are outside of their purview, they fail to act and point people toward life. It would be absurd to say that one needs to have an environmental scientist to point a dehydrated person to the nearest spring of water, and yet I have seen pastors do this to people in need of Gospel help.?

When addressing support, sympathy, and empathy, Dr. Adams reminded me of Dr. Voddie Baucham’s definition of love: “Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object.” If one is to love his neighbor, he must do something about it. It is telling that Jesus spent so many words on the parable of the good Samaritan’s action, and that James 2 highlights the futility of faith not showing up in care for others.?

Part 3 of the book seems to me to be the actual manual for care, in that Adams places the true instruction on how to counsel in the last three hundred pages. It seems that many of the situations he identifies are nuanced variants of the basic approach to counseling in identifying sin and sin’s effects, presenting the truth as it is in Christ, and then calling for the client to repent and walk in holiness. I can easily see how I will be using that approach and then consulting the Manual in the future in order to ensure I prepare for those needed nuances in the future.?

Although I am sure I will still be surprised as a pastor by some variety of sin, Dr. Adams’s work has reminded me and prepared me for the fact that there really is nothing new under the sun. It is a huge encouragement to be reminded scripturally that I am equipped for every good work. I am much more prepared to go into the spiritual warfare of counseling because of his instruction.