Sin And Grace : Christian Counseling

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).

At the beginning of the semester, the framework for professional clinical counseling was presented during the class session. The objective was to study what the world calls “counseling” and how it is designed to provide the correct treatment to these people. The professional clinical model calls for a trained professional to handle the catharsis of the client in a controlled environment on the basis of a fiduciary relationship. Deliberate and guided questions are asked from the therapist to encourage catharsis. Once the professional compiles sufficient evidence via resources and intuitivism, a treatment plan would be prescribed. The client has a choice of accepting the treatment or

Mark McMinn’s (1996) book, Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling, is a comprehensive discussion of how the knowledge of psychology, theology, and personal Christian spirituality should be integrated during counseling sessions. McMinn (1996) contributes a plethora of information on how Christian counselors can incorporate various spiritual disciplines and religious interventions into counseling procedures. Prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption are six basic tenets of faith that McMinn (1996) explores and assists the reader with comprehending. Throughout the text, realistic scenarios are presented in the “What If This Happened?” section along with practical methods on how to assimilate various concepts in order to bring faith and balance in the therapy session.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Julian of Norwich stated “God looks at human sinfulness and brokenness 'with pity and not blame. '” She went on to say “and by the same judgment I understood that sinners sometimes deserve blame and wrath and I could not see these two in God.” Instead of blame and wrath there was something else. That something else is grace, the invisible working of God. Grace is “a power that is deeper than sin, that heals all wounds, a love that binds humanity to God forever.” Grace opens us to our true self, the sinner we have become, and the good creation made in the image of God we were meant to be. It opens our eyes allowing us to see that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that God is waiting for us to receive it. Grace is our hope reminding us that “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners and that proves God’s love for us…For we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” The work of grace awaken in us this understanding, reconciling us to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, washing away our sin, and allowing us to walk in new life and in right relationship with God. On our own, we have no hope of finding or knowing righteousness or what it means to be the good creation of God, and so this creates the necessity for divine grace.

In today’s society many disorders may arise. Some of these issues include eating disorders, anxiety, gender-identity disorders, depression, addictions, and many others. However, there is another issue that brings individuals in the counseling setting, and that is the issue of sex and sexuality. Issues stemming from sex and sexuality can arise from same-sex attraction, pornography, infidelity, hormonal issues, and/or negative, inadequate beliefs and perceptions concerning sexuality. Licensed professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, etc…, are trained and usually prepared for these types of disorders, however, certain types of counselors, licensed or not, are not trained in this area. There are various distorted views on sexuality, and these distorted views are across the board. So it begs the question are Christian counselors equipped to handle these types of disorders and many others. If so, what models do they follow in order to help an individual struggling with these issues? This critique will interview a Christian counselor/Addition specialist concerning her viewpoint on human sexuality and her personal model for decision-making in dealing with individuals who struggle in the area of sexuality and/or in any of the other aforementioned areas.