If you look out at your church, how many of your flock still have a regular therapist outside of your biblical counseling? Are there those who are addressing their problems through medication? Or do they attribute their issues to a diagnosis of some kind?
There’s a common issue we are seeing among churches, and especially in the younger generations, that they would rather turn to earthly wisdom than to Scripture to address the problem areas in their life.
Thankfully, my guest has over 50 years of experience in this space and firmly believes that we need to return back to the basics in order to solve it. Dr. Jim Berg is an author, speaker, professor of biblical counseling at BJU Seminary, and founder of Freedom That Lasts, a ministry devoted to equipping churches to counsel those who are hurting or addicted. His certifications include a Master of Arts in Theology, a Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling, and ACBC certification.
In this episode, Jim shares about the dangers of putting our faith in a therapeutic culture, why the answer lies in returning to the basics of our belief, what our souls are toiling over, and much more.
Listen in!
Resources:
- Connect with Jim on his website
- (BOOK) Basics for Believers: An Introduction to Christian Growth
- (BOOK) God is More Than Enough: Foundations for a Quiet Soul
- (BOOK) Changed into His Image: God’s Plan for Transforming Your Life
- (BOOK) Taking Time to Change: An Interactive Study Guide for Changed Into His Image
- (BOOK) Overcoming Your Addiction God’s Way
- Freedom That Lasts
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Blueprint Model™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
- You cannot fix a soul problem by treating the body. Guilt, anger, hatred, shame, and more are all soul problems. In order to fix them, we must address them at a soul level. Medication and therapy may make you feel better momentarily, it is not addressing to root issue.
- The battle lies between you and God, not you and your emotions or addiction. We can often fall into the trap that we are fighting against our addiction or sinful feelings. When in reality, we are fighting against God and who will be on the throne in our lives.
- We have to start with knowing the truth about God, ourselves, and our world. Without an accurate view of any one of these, we will arrive at an incorrect treatment plan and, even worse, an incorrect belief. This is why it is so important to begin with the basics and correct any flawed thinking before we take any additional steps to repair our souls.
Meet Jim
Dr. Jim Berg is an author, speaker, professor of biblical counseling at BJU Seminary, and founder of Freedom That Lasts, a ministry devoted to equipping churches to counsel those who are hurting or addicted. His certifications include a Master of Arts in Theology, a Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling, and ACBC certification. Jim’s wife, Pat, also shares in his passion for counseling and is a certified biblical counselor with ACBC with a marriage and family specialization. Together, they have traveled around the world speaking to believers on the topics of marriage, parenting, spiritual growth, leadership development, discipleship, and biblical counseling.
