Rosewood
Center,
a Christian Ministry of Prayer, Counseling, Training and Healing
Biblical Counseling Basis
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Each counselor has a perspective with regard to how he/she approaches the service they offer to others. As Christian counselors, we are called by God to be instruments of Jesus Christ in the prayer and counseling ministry. Therefore, spirit-filled intercessory prayer is a regular part of the counseling process, prayer for inner healing will be used when appropriate, and the spiritual growth necessary for salvation and healing will be encouraged. Biblical principles, as well as sound psychological and spiritual methods, will be employed in the counseling process. ROSEWOOD CENTER'S THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE We will trust in God for sanctification and transformation to occur in those we serve. In this regard, we understand that ‘all is gift’ and our weakness is our strength. We encourage remembrance of past sinfulness, because through it we are able to minister to others. We can never erase the past. Instead, we need to celebrate it! We die and are made perfect through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, but inner salvation must become manifest (visible) in our outward lives. It is for this reason the Church exists, and within it the ministry of the counselor. We were not naturally born and raised by ourselves, without fathers and mothers, so also spiritually we are not slain and reborn without the ministry of the Body of Christ. The evangelical base for transformation is found in three areas. The first is the unbelieving heart of the believer. Once conversion has occurred, there is a process of growing into the fullness of salvation – or becoming whole. The second is how we see God. We usually envision God in the same way as we experience our parents, and until we are free from that, our relationship with God will be hampered. Finally, the third area is found in the constant propensity of the Christian to fall back to striving by human effort. Our minds and spirits know the free gift of salvation, but our hearts retain their habit to earn love by performing, and this is a very common block among born again Christians to experiencing full transformation. We have come to know that God gives all law, in order that we might live in blessedness. Furthermore, just as laws of nature and science cannot be broken without consequences, so the same is true of spiritual laws. Some things are forever truth no matter what our minds in their arrogance may be tempted to think. Therefore, we hold to the existence of this eternal truth. The central power and necessity of forgiveness in the process of healing and transformation comes from the Law of God. It is the key to breaking the cycle of destruction created by sin. Though some sins can be cleansed without conscious effort, others require recognition and confession. The power of forgiveness is found in the blood of Jesus, and this great tool must be used in the process of cleansing the heart. Frequently resentments lie beneath the surface of the mind and heart – maybe they originated in the womb or at birth or from reactions to things done or left undone by parents. In any case, forgiveness brings to rest the individual and the problem. Breaking the cycle occurs not just through forgiveness, but through death on the cross. Change happens when the cycle of hatred is broken and transformed by love. Jesus died for us; and when we accept this for a specific part of our character structure, it sinks into the depths (as Jesus did for three days in the tomb) for as long as necessary before it emerges in a new and resurrected form. Whatever in us is of the old nature is not at rest, what God builds is at rest. In order to reach this, we must go through the time of inner death. We need people who stand by us during this time and care for us. A Christian counselor or other Christian friend may fill this role. We must remember that just as Jesus came back to the same wounded body after the grave, so do we. Also, we can never take credit for our own death and resurrection. It happens by God’s power and in God’s perfect time for each individual. Although Jesus Christ accomplishes all transformation, both the counselor and the person seeking counseling must open to the Holy Spirit to see what is pertinent to personal transformation in his or her daily journey toward God. Usually in the Body of Christ those around us are our first counselors, but sometimes a person of special insight is needed – one who sees beyond events and circumstances by God’s gift and grace, but never with blame. In general, a Christian counselor is a friend who ministers to another. The Christian counselor is just the assistant who calls the individual to listen to the Spirit working in his or her life. The primary difference between Christian counseling and psychological counseling is that we don’t have to make the other grow – that is God’s work. In all things, we give God the glory. Transformation is complete only when we treasure everything in our life and praise God from a full heart for it. We see that whatever happened to us was a blessing in disguise, either sent or at least allowed by God. God’s will for each of us is to transform, through Jesus Christ, our dust and ashes to love and joy, our ugliness to beauty, and our weakness to strength. |
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curtis@rosewoodcenter.com with
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