One of the growing dangers of the local church is the dependency on “professional” counselors. I am not talking about those who have been trained under secular humanist philosophies and practice them under the guise of “Christian”. These counselors are hazardous because they reject the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. I am speaking about those professional counselors who truly adhere to the Bible as their textbook for counseling. As our culture continually labels moral and behavioral issues as “sickness”, the push for “professional” help is on the rise. Unfortunately, many inside and outside of the church have bought into the idea that counseling should be left in the hands of those who have special training or degrees. Should this be the normal operating standard for God’s children? You won’t find any professional counselors in the Bible, but you will find plenty of godly counselors and counsel. As Christians struggle with sin and suffering, we are called to help each other through the counsel of God’s Word. Biblical counseling occurs more frequently, and often more effectively as we walk side by side, in day to day life. Christians are schooled as counselors as they learn God’s Word and experience His grace.

The following is a list of principles to consider in sharpening your personal ministry skills. The list is derived from principles taught in Instrument’s in the Redeemer’s Hand by Paul David Tripp, a resource I highly recommend to help lay people.

1. Seek to faithfully represent the message, methods and character of their King, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, your life should match your doctrine! This does not mean you are perfect, but you are walking faithfully and making progress in your Christian walk.

2. Recognize the best way to grow as a counselor is to practice on yourself first and often! Every day you have many opportunities to counsel yourself from the Scriptures to help you think and act and be motivated like a Christian.

3. Live with the keen awareness that everyday moments provide ongoing counseling opportunities. Most of those opportunities begin with the people you are closest to and see the most.

4. Understand that redemptive relationships are always about personal transformation: yours and theirs. No matter the issues, God is always working on all parties involved.

5. Don’t be shocked or caught off guard by the deceitfulness or destructive influence of sin in a person life. You understand that total depravity affects all mankind…including you!

6. Remember that people are made for worship and that all counseling issues are rooted in worship. A person will worship himself, someone or something else, or the True and Living God.

7. You unwaveringly stand on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, believing God transforms lives through the Spirit as He applies His Word.

8. Seek to have as your counseling agenda the furtherance of God’s Kingdom, not your own kingdom purposes.

9. Keep as the backdrop of all your counseling moments the major themes of Scripture: themes like Sovereignty, Grace and Glory.

10. Have a clear biblical view of suffering: be convinced that God is Sovereign over suffering, He is good in suffering, and He has a divine purpose in suffering.

11. Understand that lasting and God honoring change is a result of heart change. Therefore, in counseling the heart is always the target. When counseling, work backwards from the fruit in a person’s life (that which you can see--words, actions, attitudes) to the root (that which you cannot see--thinking, motives and desires).

12. Understand the role of desires, sinful and inordinate, in producing conflict internally and relationally.

13. Avoid making assumptions about people but rather seek to make righteous judgments based on solid and ongoing information gathering.

14. Focus on the responsibilities of the person you are counseling not on other people or their situation.

15. Always prayerfully seek to speak the truth in love, faithfully communicating the law and the gospel and the comfort and the call of God.

16. Realize you do not have all the answers and don’t be afraid to admit it, but use these opportunities as a way to go deeper in the knowledge of the Lord.

17. Be transparent, sharing personal failures and God’s faithfulness, when appropriate.

18. Accept others where they are but offer an agenda for change and accountability to help bring about Christ-like change.

19. Be faithful to stress the importance of the ministry of the local church as a primary means to bring about spiritual growth.

20. Above all else, stress the main goal of all counsel must be the glory God, regardless of results.

In his book, Tripp asserts that too often Christians act as conduits not instruments in ministering the Word to hurting people. For instance, someone comes to you to seek counsel on a matter and you immediately say, “Why don’t you talk to the pastor or church counselor, I am sure they could help you.” Many Christians are motivated (out of fear, lack of knowledge, business or laziness) to pass the buck when it comes to counseling, sending loved ones and friends to the “professionals” for help. Despite the Holy Spirit’s promised help and the sufficiency of the Word, many Christians consider themselves to be “unqualified” for the task of ministering the Word.