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We use the term "biblical discipleship counseling" for several
reasons. First, it emphasizes the fact that we are a pastoral counseling
ministry that offers biblically based advice; we are not state-licensed social
workers operating under a secular counseling model, nor are we interested in, or
competent to, prescribe medication. Instead we guide people as they seek
to apply biblical principles to their personal and spiritual problems.
Mountain Top Ministries offers a biblical counseling approach that emphasizes
grace, the exchanged life, and the character of God. This is not an integration
of the Bible and secular counseling, nor is it a Christian veneer over
humanistic principles. Instead, our counseling uses the Bible as the therapeutic
tool and reference point for addressing personal needs, relational problems, and
behavioral change. Inherent in this approach is the idea that the Bible is true,
authoritative, and sufficient. That is to say that what the Bible says is true
is, in fact, true and relevant to mankind in all societies and cultures.
Further, the Bible is authoritative in that it is the actual word of God. So,
its commands, principles, and message are not merely wise sayings, but the
actual words of the God who made the universe in general, and us in particular.
Because God made us, He knows best how we should live. Finally, Scripture is
sufficient in that mixing secular counseling trends with a biblical approach
weakens rather than strengthens the biblical model.
Unlike secular counseling, which is directed towards achieving personal
happiness, biblical counseling focuses upon growing in holiness. Sometimes what
God says is best conflicts with what we think would make us happiest. In these
cases, biblical counseling steers people towards God's call over their
happiness. Though this may sound harsh, it is based on the reality that God
truly knows and will bring about what is best for us in the long term. He knows
us better than we know ourselves, and He sees our lives from an eternal
perspective. He has both greater insight into, and a deeper desire for, our
well-being than we ourselves do. In short, then, biblical counseling is the
process of learning, believing, following, and benefiting from God's insight
into our personal and relational problems.
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