"Biblical Counseling" Movement

[Kevin]

I am in a church right now that is very big into the Biblical Counseling movement (NANC, CCEF). At first, I was very excited about this movement, as they taught some very clear biblical principles that I had never heard in Fundamentalism, and they applied God's word to their lives, which I had also not done in Fundamentalism.

However, I am concerned by a few of the basic tenets of the movement. They might not say these outright, but they are implied which I know by experience in IFB world can be just as important (or more important).
1. There is no such thing as mental illness, it is simply your conscience reacting to guilt or sin.
2. The Bible is the "sole authority" for life - prooftext is "everything we need for life and godliness" - I think the Bible should be the main but not the only
3. The idea that I must do something to grow and be more like Christ - I am not an advocate of apathetic Christianity, but the emphasis on giving counselees homework to do followed by consequences if they don't complete has alerted my IFB meter.
4. The constant push in church to give more, serve more, la da da da da. - maybe I am just getting apathetic?

I was interested in people's opinion of this form of counseling. Is this just fundie theology stretching out to evangelicalism? There are some great aspects of this counseling, but also some things that give me pause as well.

[Scorpio]

(01-13-2011 03:21 PM)Kevin Wrote:  .......my IFB meter.

We call that "fundar" around here. Fundy radar.
And I would say if you have experience in the IFB movement and your "fundar" is going off, be very careful.
I'm not an expert on everything but those items you listed out sound very fundy to me.

[Tony Mel]

(01-13-2011 03:21 PM)Kevin Wrote:  I am in a church right now that is very big into the Biblical Counseling movement (NANC, CCEF). At first, I was very excited about this movement, as they taught some very clear biblical principles that I had never heard in Fundamentalism, and they applied God's word to their lives, which I had also not done in Fundamentalism.

However, I am concerned by a few of the basic tenets of the movement. They might not say these outright, but they are implied which I know by experience in IFB world can be just as important (or more important).
1. There is no such thing as mental illness, it is simply your conscience reacting to guilt or sin.
2. The Bible is the "sole authority" for life - prooftext is "everything we need for life and godliness" - I think the Bible should be the main but not the only
3. The idea that I must do something to grow and be more like Christ - I am not an advocate of apathetic Christianity, but the emphasis on giving counselees homework to do followed by consequences if they don't complete has alerted my IFB meter.
4. The constant push in church to give more, serve more, la da da da da. - maybe I am just getting apathetic?

Fundy. I learned about Jay Adams and his Nouthetics in Fundy U. It is not only based on works sanctification, but there is crass ignorance about what psychology can, and cannot, do. I would avoid it as much as I could.

[Clint]

(01-13-2011 03:21 PM)Kevin Wrote:  1) There is no such thing as mental illness, it is simply your conscience reacting to guilt or sin.

This is the saddest part, and the thing that sticks out to me. In their rejection of the "evil Freud" (and in pure ignorance), fundies and their ilk forget that sometimes people genuinely do have pschological problems that are not part of "the flesh". All too often this goes hand in hand with a disdain for folks with those psycholgical problems, too

[Naomi]

(01-13-2011 03:21 PM)Kevin Wrote:  I am in a church right now that is very big into the Biblical Counseling movement (NANC, CCEF).

I don't know your exact church, but, BTDT and your fundar is there for a reason--to protect you. At least for the church I was in, they were a lot closer to fundies (albeit brands differ around the country) than "evangelicals," although it looks more subtle today if you don't know their history.

Sometimes you learn more about what's really OK by dissenting instead of complying. (Imagine that.) If you thought it were OK to take medication for a mental illness, would the pastor and the counselors be fine with that? If you thought it were OK to smoke, but a counselor thought it was wrong, would they respect your conscience and Christian liberty on the issue? Or would you have to give up smoking to be right with God? (Sound familiar?) In my experience with those counselors, intellectual disagreement is given lip-service--until you do it. I'd say that's a sign you could be dealing with something unhealthy.

[Tony Mel]

(01-13-2011 06:02 PM)Naomi Wrote:  Sometimes you learn more about what's really OK by dissenting instead of complying. (Imagine that.)

Wow.

[Michelle]

My first issue with fundamentalism concerned counseling. After losing my parents and a grandparent, I was either punished for my behavior in class (imagine a 7 year old acting out! What a bad kid!) or when I was older and asked the pastor what I should do about my depression he told me to pray more and since I wasn't having devotionals that was probably my biggest issue. Argh.

[IFB No More]

Are there any differences between CCEF and NANC? Kevin, my present church is a big user of CCEF materials.
While I haven't encountered any of the legalist-points you stated (varies by local church), what is the main problem with "nouthetic counseling"?

Naomi, I see this attitude (counselor saying "No") happening among many non-fundy groups, especially charismatic mega-churches. While the "senior pastor" has very little to say about how Christians should lead their daily lives, the same cannot be said for the small-groups, which range from open-minded to rank-fundy. My friend was prohibited from dating till she was 21 - she broke this rule and was stripped of her leadership positions in youth ministry.

[Faith]

Run! All Christian counseling did for me was add another layer of guilt and shame.

[Phatchick]

As a person who has been mentally ill (and on meds for it) you do not want to get me started on item #1. BTDT, and it is one of the cruelest things the fundy church did to me, not just treat me like a sinful pariah but try to scare me out of going to the people who were best qualified to help me. I have nothing but contempt for "christian counselors" and advise those I know are suffering to avoid them like the plauge. IMO, you're better off talking to your doctor and having him/her recommend a competent therapist.