The calling to help plant a church is one of the most exciting and daunting callings God places on a person. Whether it be a young man called to pastor, a woman called to assist and support, or a family called to uproot their lives and invest in a new community, church planting is a marvelously daunting call. Yet, the tried-and-true adage “God equips the called” provides a source of great encouragement to those who desire to give themselves to the good work of planting churches in areas lacking healthy churches.
Many established local churches and para-church organizations make it their mission to equip the called, and many of them do a fantastic job in casting vision, providing personalized training, and ongoing support to church planters and their families. Many church planting organizations, working alongside to support churches, are used by God to equip planters to learn the tradecraft of understanding neighborhoods, involving themselves in communities, and sowing the Gospel seed broadly. These skills, and many more, are practically helpful to church planting, whether it be in the US or abroad.
While many of these tools (e.g., administrative skills, learning the neighborhood, finding a location to gather, etc.) are necessary in the planter’s toolbelt, biblical counseling may not come to the planter’s mind as an essential tool, worthy of attention and consideration. However, a new church planter does a major disservice to his future church plant if he does not incorporate biblical counseling into the culture of this new work. In fact, he is not just doing himself and his future church a disservice; he is depriving his church one of the greatest discipleship tools at his disposal: counseling the Word!
Many consider the Apostle Paul the church planter of all church planters. In Paul’s final address to the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38), the reader is informed by the type of ministry Paul conducted, a ministry of admonition. Verse 31 says, “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.”The Greek term translated as “admonish,” νουθετέω (noutheteó), means to warn, correct, or instruct. The noun form, “nouthesia,” inspired Jay Adams, the founder of the modern biblical counseling movement, to coin the term “nouthetic counseling,” which he describes as a loving confrontation out of deep concern to help individuals make changes that God requires.1See https://nouthetic.org/about/what-is-nouthetic-counseling/ and Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970). In other words, nouthetic counseling, now commonly known as biblical counseling, was an essential element of Paul’s time in Ephesus, particularly in his ministry to the Ephesian church. He conducted this type of counsel for years on end, “night and day.” If you want to plant a church like Paul planted a church, the ministry of the Word must be central to the church’s body life, in both public (preaching) and private settings (counseling).
Biblical counseling is the intensive application of Scripture to the problems people face, with the distinct purpose of glorifying God and helping saints progress in their sanctification. Biblical counseling takes seriously the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This glorious passage bolsters the confidence of pastors as they herald the Word in pulpits. Like pastors, biblical counselors also confidently teach the Word, albeit in a different venue than preaching. Due to a common belief and conviction in the power of God and His Word to transform lives, both pastors and biblical counselors alike prayerfully depend on the Spirit to minister the authoritative and sufficient Word of God to souls, whether that would be in the counseling room or in the pews. So, if you are going to plant a church that preaches the Word, why would you not also counsel the Word? If it is sufficient to address people and their concerns from the pulpit, why is it not sufficient to address people and their concerns from the pastor’s office?
Peter’s words in 2 Peter 1:3 help solidify the conviction that the Bible is sufficient to help people with the problems they face in life. He says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him…”. Peter’s writings remind us that God has granted His children all things for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him, Jesus Christ. The knowledge we have of Him comes to us through God’s inspired Word!
Having briefly established the sufficiency and instrumentality of Scripture in counseling, let me make a plea to church planters: “Make sure you and your church planting team are equipped to counsel people through the problems of life using the Bible.” No sound and healthy church would send out a planter without knowing how to “Preach the Word.” Thus, neither should they send out a church planter who does not know how to “Counsel the Word.” Let me briefly discuss several reasons why church planters should take the necessary time to ensure they are ready to counsel biblically.
First, biblical counseling shows the efficacy and utility of God’s Word in the face of human problems (Psalm 19:7-11). Although the Bible is written for us, and not to us as its original audience, it addresses our problems in a far more substantial, comprehensive, and truthful way than any other counseling methodology because it is the Word of the Living God. The new sheep in a new flock should know that the Shepherd speaks to them today; He speaks to them in their deepest pains and most confounding situations (John 10:14-28; Psalm 23; Hebrews 13:20-21). Biblical counseling demonstrates the power of God’s Word for hope and change amidst our problems, as the psalmist says, “This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me” (Psalm 119:50).
Second, biblical counseling will improve your preaching. I would find it odd to encounter a church planter who does not love preaching. Preaching is a glorious practice reserved for the church. While the world gives TED Talks and lectures, the people of God preach and hear the preaching of the Word of God. Biblical counseling, while distinct from preaching, shares many similarities, primarily in its content (the Bible), audience (God’s people), means (understanding and applying the Bible), and goal (growing in spiritual maturity). Biblical counseling compels one to think specifically about how biblical passages are applied, and how spiritual transformation actually occurs. How does a person change? The biblical counselor must grapple with and answer this question, and they do so by helping the counselees apply the Word of God to their lives in specific ways (Ephesians 4:20-32). If you want to preach for change, biblical counseling will help you improve and grow in that.
Third, biblical counseling helps produce mature disciples. God is the One who matures us in our faith, but He works primarily through the Scriptures to accomplish this maturation (John 17:17). All churches need mature believers who are willing and want to serve and make disciples. What church planter does not need more men and women serving? What church planter does not need more people to bear the discipling load (Galatians 6:1-5)? What church planter does not need more members who serve the body selflessly and sacrificially (Philippians 2:1-5)? If you want mature Christians in your congregation, help them grow into the likeness of Christ through the specific, private application of Scripture in counseling.
Fourth, biblical counseling allows you to offer your community an additional missional means. Mental health concerns have become more apparent in our therapeutic culture in the last several years. Consequentially, as the need for psychological care has increased, so has the number of professionals; however, their counsel is many times unbiblical or even antibiblical (Colossians 2:8, 23; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16). While many theories and counseling methodologies abound, only truths rooted in Scripture can address the depth of the human soul, supernaturally enabling the soul to love Christ above all else. If you want to push back spiritual darkness and introduce missional light, plant a church that counsels biblically.
Dear church planter, make sure you and your church planting team are prepared to care for the souls of your future flock by learning to counsel the Word. Doing so is easier today than ever before. Para-church organizations like the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors stand ready to walk you through a three-phase certification process that will surely stretch you theologically and pastorally, equipping you to be a more competent handler of the Word.
Preach the Word – yes! Memorize the Word – yes! Commune around the Word – yes! But let us also take seriously the task of counseling the Word.
