Well friends, it's been almost a year since my last post...time flies when you're having fun! There have been lots of life changes since the last time I posted anything, but one of the biggest is....I finally started grad school! I'm pursuing a Masters degree in Biblical Counseling from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and have been learning some great stuff in the lectures and reading that I would love to share with you sometime. But for now, I get extra credit for publishing a book review on my blog, so if y'all are interested in counseling at all, this book was an interesting summary of the history of the counseling movement in the last 44 years and how it has changed.
Lambert, Heath. The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams. Wheaton: Crossway,
2012.
Initial Stages of Biblical Counseling
Lambert begins by saying that counseling is synonymous with
ministry, and points out that counseling is a theological task. He goes on
speak of the history of biblical counseling. The first era of counseling discussed
is that of the Puritans. Lambert remarks,
The Puritans took counseling seriously. They didn’t call it counseling, but they believed that ministry was important, and they began a particularly rich period in theological thought regarding personal ministry of the Word. (25)
After the Puritans, there was a long period where
counseling was neglected. After this period of neglect, in 1970 Jay Adams
published a book that highlighted the historical view that counseling should be
a ministry within the church because it was a theological task. Because a
worldly view of counseling had permeated the church, Adams needed to critique
and break down the secular approach, while instructing people on how to view
counseling through the lens of Scripture and teaching that all Christians were
competent to counsel and ordained ministers were mandated to counsel. Lambert
states,
In Adams’s system, God is the fundamental reality, sin is the fundamental problem, and redemption in Christ is the fundamental solution. Therefore, the Christian minister operating in the context of the local church is called to the task of helping people with their problems, of mediating God’s truth to people, and of walking alongside them in the struggle to put off sin and put on obedience. (43)
How Counselors Think About Counseling
In the next section of the book, Lambert identifies two
major areas that he feels Jay Adams missed in his works, but also shows how
second generation counselors have built upon Adams’ foundation to give a more
complete understanding of the counseling process.
The first area of weakness in Adams’ teaching on how to
think about counseling is a lack of the acknowledgement of and appreciation for
suffering and how to address that in the life of the counselee. Without a
biblical understanding of suffering, counseling may seem unloving, legalistic,
and harsh. It is important to note that the second generation of counselors are
not seeking to minimize the role of personal sin, but to balance a biblical view
of sin and suffering. Powlison, Tripp, and Welch have all been influential in emphasizing
the understanding of suffering.
The next area that Lambert feels Adams needed to build upon
is motivation, the reasons behind the behavior of a counselee. Lambert suggests
that Adams was very focused on behavior without regard for the motivating
factors. Powlison played a big role in the shift in thinking of second
generation counselors when he taught that people are worshippers and worship is
what motivates human actions. Powlison also introduced the metaphor “idols of
the heart,” which has been widely adopted by second generation counselors.
How Counselors Do Counseling
Lambert goes on to speak of counseling methodology, first
listing consistencies over the years. The three consistencies outlined are:
information gathering, instruction and implementation. Lambert then portrays
how the second generation of counselors have sought to develop Adams’
methodology further into a more biblical view of counseling. Lambert writes,
The most significant area of Adams’s methodology that needed advancement was understanding of the counseling relationship. Adams’s approach to the relationship between counselee and counselor was relatively formal and authoritative in nature. (87)
He goes on to talk about how Adams’
approach is not commended anywhere in Scripture. Powlison made the initial
adjustment to Adams’ methodology by focusing on the relationship with the
counselee. The second generation of counselors have developed the methodology
of counseling in teaching that counseling should be familial, affectionate,
sacrificial, person-oriented, viewing the counselor as a fellow sinner and sufferer,
and addressing suffering before sin. Lambert likens Adams’ methodology to Job’s
counselors who ministered in an unhelpful way.
How Counselors Talk About Counseling
This section of the book focused on the apologetics of
counseling and how counselors interact with those with differing views on
counseling models. There were several examples cited of how Adams attempted to
speak about counseling with those of differing viewpoints, but Lambert explains
that Adams eventually decided that would not be a part of his ministry. The
second generation of counselors have attempted to engage others, but Lambert believes,
…this effort at engagement may continue to be the hardest area for biblical counselors to develop. There are at least two reasons for this. First, the sharp dividing lines between the movements make conversation difficult…Second, most biblical counselors simply are not willing to devote their ministries to intellectual defenses of the movement. (120)
How Counselors Think About the Bible
The question Lambert seeks to answer in this section of the
book is whether there is a difference in the beliefs about the sufficiency of
Scripture between “traditional biblical counseling” (TBC) and “progressive
biblical counseling” (PBC). In looking at various writings from Mack, Powlison,
Adams, and others, Lambert concludes,
Though some believe there has been disagreement among counselors concerning Scripture’s sufficiency, in truth this is one of the main areas where there has been no change in the last twenty years. In the actual advancement of the biblical counseling movement, Scripture – far from being a source of division – is actually a source of unity. (137)
Area in Need of Advancement
The second generation of biblical counselors have focused
much time on developing the “idols of the heart” metaphor, but Lambert argues
that this is one major area still in need of major advancement. Although the
focus on idols has been beneficial, there is still a lack of understanding and
teaching on the belief that idols are the result of a deeper motivation for
self-exaltation, which is consistent with what the Bible teaches about idolatry
in both the Old and New Testament.
Conclusion
Lambert concludes this writing by challenging the third
generation of counselors to be thankful for the advances of the first and
second generations of counselors, and to be diligent in growing in theology and
methodology so that even greater advances will be made to conform more closely
to God’s Word in the realm of biblical counseling.
