Biblical Counseling Basics

Biblical Counseling Basics: Roots, Beliefs, and Future, Jeremy Lelek

Having taken two biblical counselling* subjects over the last 2 years with the CCEF, I was very interested to turn to this offering by Lelek, which has come from his PhD study as well as 20 years counselling experience in private practice.

While probably aimed more to those in more professional biblical counselling roles, there is much to offer for someone like me who is highly committed to the concept of biblical counselling, mostly in casual and informal settings, and keen to gain experience, wisdom and insight.

Lelek starts by examining the history and context of biblical soul care. Starting with Adam and Eve who were counselled by God, he moves through to the reformers and the early proponents of modern biblical counselling. It is a helpful framework and introduction, although I suspect those with existing knowledge of the main people operating in the field today would find this easier to follow that someone entirely new to the area.

The central and main section of the book looks at the beliefs and practices of biblical counselling. He addresses the central role of the bible to counselling, as well as the attributes of God the Father, Son and Spirit that influence our counsel. He notes how our theology of humanity drives the way we approach people, as well as promoting the key role that the church should play in the counsel of its people. There is so much of value here, it is hard to know what to share, so I will concentrate on two areas:

1. Chapter 6 (Counseling with God in Mind) contained a list of attributes belonging to God alone and then attributes also bestowed on humanity, and the implications of both for counselling was absolute gold. Each attribute (such as God’s omnipresence and omnipotence, or love, mercy and truth), was explained and then applied to the example of a broken marriage to show how God’s character and living word can illustrate truth, help and grace in the counselling context.

2. Chapter 14 (The Counselor and Counseling Methods) had the compelling observation that a counsellor is like a farmer, who plants truth and wait for harvest. In addition, the list of ways a counsellor should operate: humility, gentleness, patience, service and obedient to God’s word, was a helpful caution to ensure that no counsellor thinks of themselves more highly than the people they speak to. Of great help was the extensive list on methods to employ in counselling, with almost 30 principles with scriptural support, including:

• instilling hope centred in the gospel of Jesus
• identifying a person’s habitual response patterns and encouraging new habits
• praying
• fostering insight and understanding
• examining motives (the heart)
• developing an accurate self-image
• offering words of hope
• speaking redemptively, and much more.

Lelek finishes the book with a look to the future, mostly addressing how we unite a view of the sufficiency of scripture, yet are also willing to see wisdom in extrabiblical data such as modern psychological research, science and discovery. An appendix on how the biblical counsellor can care for the non-Christian in a loving, helpful and winsome way and perhaps share their faith in Christ is also very instructive.

I realise my head is very much in the biblical counselling space at the moment, and this is not a book that will appeal to everyone. But for anyone involved in Christian soul care, be it officially as a counsellor or psychologist, a pastor trying to care for congregation members, or even someone like me who tries to apply the overarching principles informally, there is a great deal of wisdom and benefit here. Lalek has given those with a heart for biblical counselling a rich theology to underpin their understanding, and numerous scriptural and God-honouring ways to apply principles and concepts to counselling practice.

I’ll finish with Lelek’s own concluding words:

“God’s Word contains everything humanity needs for life and godliness… No book, no empirical discovery, no theoretical idea, no human method will ever hold a candle to the radiance that shines forth from Scripture as is pertains to the human experience. My prayer is that pastors, parishioners, and professionals within the body of Christ would aim to become wiser stewards of God’s Word as it applies to the mental, emotional, and relational maladies of others… God has spoken, and what he has said matters. This has been the primary presupposition of biblical counseling since its inception, and may it continue to be a resounding anthem forevermore.”

*note the US spelling is counseling and the Australian is counselling. I try to stick with the two ‘l’s for my own writing but quote others with the spelling they use.