Discipleship Counseling

Discipleship Counseling

By Jake Kohl

 

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss three themes on a book by Neil T. Anderson on discipleship counseling. The paper first briefly summarizes the book and then discusses three basic themes mentioned in the book.

Summary

The book Discipleship Counseling by Dr. Neil T Anderson is a book based on biblical mental health from a Christian perspective. It provides a foundation for the counselor, the counselee and how God is rooted into the process of recovery. Discipleship Counseling has a theological basis and breaks down a seven step process called, The Steps to Freedom in Christ. This seven step process is a system that is being used all over the world for people to break free from the issues they have with themselves and with God. The book emphasizes that scripture is the only source of truth that holds the standard above all other truths.  Dr. Anderson stresses that the message and method of counseling must be based on the finished work of Jesus Christ and that we must rely on the Holy Spirit to work through us as the counselor to the counselee, and vice versa; as a unity. Dr. Anderson breaks down each step and offers excellent views that are backed by the Word of God. Finally freedom in Christ is the ultimate goal and can be achieved following the steps presented and through the support of the Christian community.

 Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a necessary deity in life that would promote a healthy way of living. Not only does unforgiveness lead to anger and hate, but it can affect spiritual growth and maturity in the Lord.  According to Worthington & Scherer, “Unforgiveness has been framed as a stress reaction (Worthington & Scherer, 2004). Our emotional state can be affected when we hold onto the things that have been done to us negatively. Forgiveness is an act of love and yet many people do not know how to forgive. It is a process that can take a lifetime if a person doesn’t know how to deal with letting go of the pain that someone else may have caused us. According to Dr. Neil T. Anderson, “many people do not want to forgive because they want revenge.” (Anderson, 2003) This is faulty thinking at its best. Until we can realize that forgiveness is a selfless act of love given to us by God, we will forever be bound by the chains of torment.  Another reason forgiveness is associated with health is through anger. Anger is an emotion that can affect our thinking and cause undue stress on our heart and mind. Anger has been defined as an emotional response to a perceived mistreatment that may range in intensity from irritation to rage, and hostility as a set of negative attitudes, beliefs, and appraisals concerning others as likely sources of frustration, mistreatment, and provocation (Smith, 1992). In response to Dr. Neil T. Anderson’s book, Discipleship Counseling (2003), it is agreeable with the belief that we must all face the need to forgive by forgiving yourself and God first and then allowing God to transform the life of an individual’s heart one at a time. When we realize that we are harming ourselves as seen above; physically, emotionally, and psychologically we can then know that spiritually we will be strengthened in growth and maturity in the Lord. The Bible states that While Jesus was teaching in Capernaum, he was approached by one of his leading disciples with a question on forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus how often he was to forgive a "brother" who had sinned against him, and offered up the number "seven" as a possible answer. Jesus waved off Peter's guess, responding: "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:22, NKJV) According to the Bible, forgiveness should not be offered in a way that denies the reality of sin or ignores the fact of a transgression. Rather, the Bible teaches that flawed, sinful human beings do not have the moral right to hold grudges or bitterness toward others and that granting forgiveness puts one on the road to achieving peace and emotional balance as well as discerning the mind of Christ. (Tubbs, 2001)

Pride

Most secular psychologist agree that pride is a positive, self-conscious emotion arising from achievements that can be attributed to one’s abilities or efforts (M. Lewis, 1997; Tangney, 1999; Tracy & Robins, 2004a, 2007a). However, according to Dr. Neil T. Anderson, pride is a killer (p 294) The Bible says in Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. The Bible also states that there are two kinds of pride, one, selfish pride, which is sin. Proverbs 8:13 (RSV) "Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate." This pride is what generally gets people in trouble. God deserves all the glory and when man takes credit and boasts of his accomplishments, this is a selfish pride, whereas the other healthy form of pride is a good pride. It is a pride that is based on others who are living in obedience to God. God tells man to be humble. Dr. Anderson states that pride, rebellion and self-sufficiency are global consequences of the Fall and common to all humanity. (p 297) Every human is carnally minded and every human is susceptible to having pride. We all fall, and usually if one can look back before the fall, he will generally find a heaping mound of pride. Pride causes division among others, while being humble creates a loving bond between man and God. Jesus gave an example of being humble; His statement,” not my will, but yours” (Luke 22:42), is an excellent example of his love towards us. He could have been full of pride and said, it is my will and I choose this….  However, it wasn’t the case. Finally, Dr. Anderson shows excellent support when dealing with the issue of pride. The steps he has put in place are ones that can hold to excellent results if practiced. Healing indeed follows humility. James 4:6 illustrates for us how God views our pride. We must hold ourselves accountable, humble ourselves and be that which God has called us to be. Pride can sicken the heart and cause deception within the mind and thus causing much faultier thinking to occur. It is a process that can dig you deeper in the grave if not caught and dealt with appropriately.

Deception

Being deceived can make one feel angry once it has been revealed that deception is relevant. Satan is 

the father of lies and deception and even as Christians, that place is just as real as it is for anyone else.

 According to Dr. Anderson deception is a lie that we believe. This fundamental truth is the absolute 

truth when we are faced with a lie. According to Dr. Anderson, “… our lives should be transparent 

 before God and honest with others.” (p240) He further states that, “Anything less and we are living a 
lie.” (p240) If we can lie to another person; we are deceiving them, and if we lie to ourselves, we are

 deceiving ourselves. Our minds are blinded by Satan, and he keeps us in bondage by deception.

 (p241) The feeling associated with a lie is that of fear, another attribute that coincides with Satan.

 When Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent in the garden, one of the feelings that came upon 

them was fear. They hid themselves from God. This deception by the serpent was based on a lie; a lie 

that was believed to be truth and in this lie, humankind fell into a sinful nature, which ushered in not 

just by nature but now by nurture. Satan speaks to our mind and deceives us through the mental 

aspect. At the same time, God also speaks to our hearts which is often confused with the mind. There 

is a constant battle for the mind; a spiritual battle that is going on all around mankind, all the time. 

According to Dr. Anderson,” … the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” (p242)

 Deception must be battled against with truth, and that truth is God. This is a major reason why it is 

important to study scripture and to have it written on the hearts of His followers. We must be ready to

 give an account for the faith we have in Christ; this is truth and truth will set free those that are 

 captive and tormented through the lie. Deception can cause many to stumble and fall and many when

 they fall cannot get back up. It is seen throughout the Christian world, right into our own homes the 

works of deception, the works of Satan, keeping God’s children in bondage and prying into the lives 

of the children of man and women. We will continue to be bound unless we pray that the eyes are 

opened to the truth in Him. Until this time occurs, there will always be a need to have counselors.

 Lies and deception causes other hurts in our society, right down to unforgiveness and pride. We

 speak lies into existence and believe the lies we tell others, only to deceive not only others, but

 ourselves as well. According to Dr. Anderson, we must expose the lie and affirm the truth, but we 

must first choose truth.

References

Anderson, N.T. (2003). Discipleship Counseling. Ventura, CA: Regal Books.

Lewis, M. (2000). Self-conscious emotions: Embarrassment, pride, shame, and guilt. In

M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed.; pp.

623-636). New York: Guilford Press.

Smith, T. W. (1992). Hostility and health: Current status of a psychosomatic hypothesis. Health

Psychology, 11, 139–150.

Tangney, J. P. (1999). The self-conscious emotions: Shame, guilt, embarrassment and

pride. In T. Dalgleish & M. J. Power (Eds.), Handbook of cognition and emotion

(pp. 541-568). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2004a). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A

theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 103-125.

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007a). Emerging insights into the nature and function of

pride. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 147-150.

Tubbs, B. (2001, July 31). What does the bible say about forgiveness. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/what-does-the-bible-say-about-forgiveness-a135828

Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Scherer, M. (2004). Forgiveness is an emotion-focused coping strategy

that can reduce health risks and promote health resilience: Theory, review, and hypotheses.

Psychology and Health, 19, 385–405.