Foothills Church Introduction to Biblical Counseling Spring 2014 Sundays: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Todd Hardin, DMin.

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1 Foothills Church Introduction to Biblical Counseling Spring 2014 Sundays: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Todd Hardin, DMin. Instructor Information: Dr. Todd Hardin (865) Welcome to Intro to Biblical Counseling My name is Todd Hardin and I will serve as your professor in this course. I am the Pastor of Counseling at Grace Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee where I direct the church s Charis in Action Counseling Center ( charis/counseling.asp). It is my prayer that God will use this course as an important step in your training to become ambassadors of Christ used by God in reorienting disoriented people through the gospel ministry of reconciliation. This course will be challenging, but if you are diligent, I think you will find it to be an extremely rewarding experience in that it will foster your own spiritual growth as well as begin equipping you to minister more effectively to those in your church or ministry setting. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the address above. is the best way to get in contact with me as I am often in counseling sessions and cannot always answer my phone. Once again, welcome to the class and I look forward to walking with each of you over the coming semester Purpose of the Course: At its very core, biblical counseling is a ministry of reconciliation that seeks to reorient disoriented people to God through the cross of Christ (2 Cor 5:18-20). Since God calls all believers to this ministry, this course has been designed to help everyone grow in their ability to minister in the church, a professional setting, or in everyday life. Since the course focuses on discipleship, it seeks to help students deepen their practical theology as they become more familiar with the sanctification process, both within themselves and those to whom they minister.

2 Course Description: As ministers of reconciliation, we are to be God s glory reflectors. This means that we are to bring hope to troubled people by reflecting the light of the gospel into the hidden places of their souls. The problem is, most of us do not shine as brightly as we should, and as such, one of the primary aims of this course is increasing these glory reflecting capacities. Although we will learn many things about the biblical counseling process, the overall goal is to help you become a more effective minister of reconciliation by guiding you into a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. Such a lofty aim remains nebulous unless combined with a plan for its achievement. As a result, we will be using various ways of promoting your spiritual growth over the semester. We will use reflection papers and other activities to help you increase your glory capacity. Prerequisites: None. Course Objectives: 1. Students will learn how to conceptualize: people, their problems, and the solution to these problems through the lens of a Christian worldview. 2. Students will develop a biblical understanding of the root causes of a variety of common soul care maladies. 3. Students will become familiar with the faith tradition s contribution to contemporary biblical soul care and how this tradition differs from current secular models. 4. Students will become familiar with initial counseling policies, procedures, and tasks performed by the church-based, biblical counselor. 5. Students will apply a basic model of biblical counseling through guided learning activities. Course Format: The class will consist of both a lecture and a laboratory component. Each class will begin with the instructor discussing the week s material followed by a short question and answer session. After the question and answer session, the class will take a brief break and the second half of the class will include a group activity in which students can apply the material in practical ways that will help them in their own discipleship as well as in counseling others. 2

3 Academic Integrity: Since biblical counseling is a community project, student collaboration is encouraged. For example, it is often helpful to gather into groups of two to four students and discuss the questions that arise from your reading of Cross Talk or from the lecture material and class discussions. While we encourage group participation, the response papers should reflect your own processing of this information. This is because one of the greatest skills that good counselors possess is the ability to reflect deeply upon their own souls. These articles have been written to encourage such reflection and you will not get the most out of this course if you do not do your own work on these assignments. Policy: The instructor is very generous regarding attendance. However, if you miss too many classes, you will have a difficult time participating in the laboratory exercises. As a result, attendance if vital. To pass the course, one must attend 9 of the 12 sessions. In addition to the attendance requirements, students are expected to turn in their assignments on a timely basis. Unless approved by the professor, papers turned in two weeks past the due date will not be accepted. Punctuality is another important item. The instructor will begin and end the class on time. If you are going to be late, simply come into the class by causing as little distraction as possible. It is also necessary to end on time so as to be considerate of the church s childcare workers. Grading Scheme: This class is a pass/fail class. In order to pass the class, a student must turn in all of the written work by the end of class. Response papers and the final paper will be commented upon and returned with a completed grade assigned. The seven characteristics of an Intro to Biblical Counseling course graduate: 1. One who comes to class 2. One who participates in class 3. One who reads the assigned readings 4. One who turns in the response papers 5. One who turns in the final paper 3

4 Administrative Items: 6. One who grows in his or her love for the Lord 7. One who grows in his or her love for others The response papers are to be submitted electronically via . The filename for the response papers should reflect the student s last name, first initial and the response paper number. For example: hardint2 (this would be Todd Hardin s second response paper). Students must make sure that they use the response paper number and not the week of class. An example of the filename for the final paper is: hardintfp. Readings: The address for all electronic submissions is: thardin@sbts.edu. The following texts are required for this course: Emlet, Michael R. Crosstalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, Hardin, Todd. Introduction to Biblical Counseling Supplemental Text (Can be ordered from Connie Willis at: cwillis@gracebc.org). Additional Resources: The Bible Besides the required textbooks, you will need: Johnson, Eric. L. How to Meditate Experientially: Savoring God and His Love and Truths (provided by the professor). 4

5 Course Calendar: Dates Topics Activities Readings (Due on this Date) Assignments (Due on this Date) 2/23 What is the history of soul care and how does it influence our biblical counseling? Introductions Review of Syllabus 3/2 What is a worldview and why does it matter? Emlet (1-2) Meditation article Of Candlesticks and Christian Counselees article Eph 1:1-14 (1) 3/9 What is biblical counseling? Emlet (3) Renewing the Gate article Eph 1:15-23 (2) 3/16 How can we become more biblical in our counseling? Emlet (4) How to become a more biblical counselor article Eph 2:1-10 (3) 5

6 Dates Topics Activities Readings (Due on this Date) Assignments (Due on this Date) 3/23 Troubling Story: How do we understand our person? Emlet (5) Reading God s People article Eph 2:11-22 (4) 3/30 Troubling Story: How do we locate our person on the spiritual development continuum? Emlet (6) Shepherding People Struggling with Addictions article Eph 3:1-13 (5) 4/6 Redemptive Encounters: How do we identify with suffering? Emlet (7) Injecting the Light of H-O- P-E article Eph 3:14-21 (6) 4/13 (not meeting on Easter 4/20) Redemptive Encounters: How do we confront sin? Emlet (8) When Fear Steals a Blessing Article Eph 4:1-16 Presentations (7) 6

7 Dates Topics Activities Readings (Due on this Date) Assignments (Due on this Date) 4/27 Transforming Story: How do we help chart a Gospel-centered course? Emlet (9) The A-B-C s of Ministering to the Situationally Depressed article Eph 4:17-32 (8) 5/4 Transforming Story: How can we put it all together in an actual counseling session? Emlet (10) Fall Festival Fiasco article Eph 5:1-14 (9) 5/11 How can we take care of ourselves as counselors? Emlet (11) Glorifying God by Diving Deeper article Eph 5:15-6:9 (10) Course Requirements: 5/18 Actual Counseling Session Watch Counseling Video Class Discussion Class Discussions Eph 6:10-24 Final paper due Applying the principles from class are essential if you desire to increase your competence as a counselor. Each class will consist of a lecture that will explain my specific approach to biblical counseling. These lectures will not be monologues; instead, I will encourage discussion throughout our lecture time. Besides my lectures, you will also participate in two additional group discussions. First, we will spend a portion of our time each week discussing a particular article that I have written. These articles are designed to help you think more deeply about 7

8 yourself and your involvement in the counseling process. Second, we will also spend a portion of our time in groups discussing a particular aspect of how the change process intersects with specific problems in living. This activity will tie in Emlet s text in helping you apply his theoretical framework in real counseling situations. Reflective Response Papers One of the most important things you can ever accomplish as a biblical counselor is to become better aware of your own inner heart dynamics. In this class, you will be undertaking an activity of self-examination designed to promulgate this awareness. Over the course of the semester, you will be submitting ten reflective response papers. These papers will cover your meditation on the book of Ephesians. I have divided Ephesians into ten sections. Although I do not want this activity to be a mechanical process, I have found that having a little structure helps shape the activity. As such, here is a rough procedural outline for this activity: Before working on the reflective response papers: 1. Read and understand Johnson s article on meditation. This will provide you with an idea of getting your heart in the right frame before you begin meditating. 2. Below, I have summarized an article written by Joel Beeke. In this article, Beeke summarizes a basic method that one can use for conducting soul work. I have not given you the actual article because the Puritans can be hard to understand and Beeke s summary will give you a pretty good idea of one way to approach the assigned task. In other words, the following section will give you a good set of guidelines to follow. Beeke s guidelines that he synthesized from the Puritans: 1. Pray - and ask God to focus your mind on the task at hand. One helpful thing I often do is to personalize a Psalm and lift it up to the Lord as a prayer. This helps me get into a more worshipful mindset before diving into the Scripture. 2. Read - Read the Scriptures, then select a verse or doctrine upon which to meditate. Here is where you can also think about specific Scriptures that relate to things going on in your life or the life of a loved one. 3. Memorize - Memorize the selected verse(s), or some aspect of the subject, to stimulate meditation, strengthen faith, and serve as a means of divine guidance. (Don t make this an absolute necessity, but to spend some time rolling it over in your mind). 4. Reflect - Fix your thoughts on the Scripture or a scriptural subject without prying further than God has revealed. Use your memory to focus on all that Scripture has to say about your subject. Consider past sermons and other edifying books. 5. Connect - your thinking with your affections. Stir up affections, such as love, desire, hope, courage, gratitude, zeal, and joy, to glorify God. Hold soliloquies with your own soul (in other words, have a conversation with your own soul). Include complaints against 8

9 yourself because of your inabilities and shortcomings, and spread before God your spiritual longings. Believe that He will help you. 6. Apply - Now, following your arousal of memory, judgment, and affections, apply your meditations to yourself to arouse your soul to duty and comfort, and to restrain your soul from sin. 7. Examine - Examine yourself for your own growth in grace. Reflect on the past and ask, What have I done? Look to the future, asking, What am I resolved to do, by God s grace? 8. Resolve - Next, turn your applications into resolutions. (What must you resolve to DO in response to what you have experienced through God s word?) 9. Pray - Conclude with prayer, thanksgiving, and Psalm singing. 10. Rest - Finally, don t shift too quickly from meditation to engagement with things of this world, lest, as Thomas Gouge advised, thereby thou suddenly quench that spiritual heart which hath in that exercise been kindled in thine heart. After engaging in this activity, write a one-page, double-spaced reflection paper that addresses the following issues: What I learned about God What I learned about myself What God is calling me to do How I plan to follow through in obedience to God s calling Final Paper In addition to your reflective response papers, you will also turn in a final paper that summarizes the things you have learned about God, yourself, and the counseling process. Pay particularly close attention to things that God has shown you over the course of the semester that relate to how this class has changed your understanding of counseling. In your paper, make sure you address how you would fill in these blanks. These may be separate sections of your paper: 1. Before the class, I thought counseling was about 2. Now that I have taken this course, I now believe that counseling 3. This course has most affected me in that by completing it, I 4. This course has most affected those I love and minister to in that it These papers should be between two and five double-spaced pages. I want you to use this assignment to reflect, summarize, and explain how God has changed your soul during our time together. These papers are due on the last night of class. 9

10 Disclaimer: While we will be discussing counseling issues in the context of the class, the class is not a substitute for personal counseling. If you want to receive counseling, please call the counseling center at Counseling is best conducted in a controlled environment. As such, hallway how about discussions with the instructor will not give him the necessary information to help you with your problem. Although Dr. Hardin will be happy to answer questions pertaining to the class, please call the counseling center if you desire an appointment with him to discuss a personal counseling issue. God bless, and welcome to Intro to Biblical Counseling 10