The iMonk on Mental Illness in the Church

A man that is increasingly becoming more and more of a hero to me, Michael Spencer, also known as “The Internet Monk“, has just posted a great article on the “demonic-ness” of mental illness.  It’s a discussion on the spiritual dimensions involved in mental illness.  I think he accurately deconstructs the flaws in the traditional fundamentalistic naivete in the church concerning mental illness, though the article admittedly lacks any positive contribution to the discussion (“positive” of course being in the sense of contributing answers to questions, not in a moral sense).  He deconstructs well without constructing an alternative viewpoint on how we should navigate these tricky waters.  I think most Christians are beginning to see the dissonance between the answers we’ve been offered and reality.  We need answers on how to construct a perspective on these issues.

For a potential synthesis and perspective on these issues, one can consult an article I wrote a while ago on this issue, and the subsequent discussion.  Admittedly, I’ve shifted a bit on this issue, and I wouldn’t necessarily hold to all that I wrote in the article, but nonetheless, it is a contribution to the discussion.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Paul Tripp, Beauty, & Counseling

I had to read the first big section of Paul David Tripp’s book Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands for my “Introduction to Helping Relationships” class with Ed Welch. I’ve heard how amazing this book is, but I had no idea. I’m so used to seeing and hearing the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF) “heat-thorns-cross-fruit” model, that it’s so refreshing to get more articulations of this CCEF brand of Biblical Counseling. Diversity in communication is one more sign of the truth in the perspective I’m learning here at Westminster. When systems of thought rely on their models more than their substance and reality, that is a sign of an inadequate perspective on things that won’t actually help anyone.

In September, I’m teaching at my church. It’s at an event called “First Friday Fundamentals”. FFF is a monthly event where we take a topic, look how the “world” and “secular” culture looks at it, then a person delivers the Biblical view on it. September’s topic is “Beauty”. To begin thinking throuhg the teaching, I’ve had to arrive at a definition of “Beauty”. Here’s what I’ve got so far: Beauty is Transcendent Complexity expressed simply (thoughts, anyone?).

This past weekend, we had a professor from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary come do a training session for the Counseling Ministry at my church. It was great. It was non-Integratoinsist and Biblically-based, but it still seemed a bit more “we just need to get people obeying better” than I like. For those familiar with Biblical Counseling, it seemed like a toned down version of Jay Adams’ “Nouthetic Counseling”. He seemed to be trying to integrate Adams’ theory with CCEF’s models, but I don’t know that it was entirely successfully done. Anyway, one thing he kept saying was, “complexity is a myth. Love God; love others – that’s it. Counseling just got a whole lot simpler, didn’t it? No one having issues is doing both of those things well. Help others do those things. That’s it.”

Eh, I don’t know.

I know what he’s trying to say, and I guess I agree with it mostly, but it’s just not “beautiful” enough to be the fullest truth, I guess. There’s not enough of the complexity of life and God and the heart represented in those statements. Tripp in Instruments gets it, I think. The heart is a complex, unsearchable thing, but its Maker has spoken and made it plain. That doesn’t make counseling or the heart any more clear cut and black and white, it only makes it do-able by trusting that One who has spoken – the Sovereign One who sweeps us up in that story of redemption, who transforms others by His Word. Tripp gives four ideas involved in Biblical Counseling: Love, Know, Speak, Do. These are not steps or phases, they are four facets of the same diamond that maybe done at the same time, in a progression, or slowly, one at a time. “Love, Know, Speak, Do” is a simple formulation, but it’s full of complexity and transcendence which makes it beautiful—representative of the One who works in that way.

Just some thoughts as I go through this program. Final thought: get the book, read it, glean from it, and help others.

Ed Welch on Recasting People in the Gospel

This is a piece from a recent lecture in my “Intro to Helping Relationships” class with Ed Welch.  The audio is really hard to make out, so I’m sorry for the low-quality, but it’s still worth checking out.

Ed Welch – Recast the Story (click here)

The basic idea is this: one of the ways we can use Scripture in counseling is by retelling people’s story within the context of the Gospel.  In this audio, he uses the example of a woman dealing with a rape in her past and the shape that comes with it.  He tells her story of shame, abuse, and rejection; then he retells it within the context of those themes within the story of Scripture and the Gospel.  He tries to sweep her up into a much larger story of redemption to show how her abuse and shame might fit into a larger context.  He goes on to tell the girl raped that God has come in the Gospel and hasn’t just forgiven her sins, but has clothed her in acceptance and purity.  It was amazing moment from one of the foremost Biblical Counselors today.  It’s less than 5 minutes long, so hopefully you have a few minutes to spare.  I hope this edifies you and your ministry.