In the lectures he gave to counseling students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary earlier this month, David Powlison made reference to talks he gave on campus last year. I found them last night and thought I'd provide the links for others interested in biblical counseling. Both of the talks are based on Ephesians 4:15 and address the informal ministry of the Word in the context of friendships and family relationships.
In his talk with Southern students earlier this month Powlison made the point that there are three aspects of the ministry of the Word. There is public ministry (preaching and teaching), private ministry (personal devotions and Bible study), and interpersonal ministry that consists of skillfully helping each other to interpret our lives in terms of a biblical frame of reference as well as to lay hold of our riches in Christ so that we can respond to trials and temptations in godly ways. I think Powlison is right in noting that while there is great emphasis in evangelicalism on the public and private dimensions, the third aspect is woefully neglected. It's not enough to merely sit under solid preaching once a week and have our daily quiet time. God's plan for growing us includes our bringing the gospel to bear on each others' lives through our daily conversation.
"Christ the Conversationalist" [stream][download]
"Counseling is the Church" [stream][download]
Related Tags: David Powlison, CCEF, Southern Seminary, biblical counseling, Ephesians, discipleship, Bible, Christianity
2 comments:
Thanks for these links. I am a counselor who making a shift while serving at a SBC church and has found Powlison to be encouraging and thought provoking. Looks like I will be marking your blog to return. Have you read any of Larry Crabb?
David
Hello, David. I'm glad you stopped by. I'm always glad to make the acquaintance of others who share my interest in counseling issues. I'm sure you'll find the audios profitable. I'd love to hear your impressions after you've listened to them.
Yes, I've read Crabb but the most recent work I've read is his Connecting. I've been encouraged by the direction he has been moving in - seeking to restore counseling to the body of Christ and to have theological categories play a greater role in his theory building and practice.
Are you familiar with the Journal of Biblical Counseling of which Powlison is the editor? It's a subperb resource.
I hope we can have further dialogue about these important matters. I look forward to reading more at your blog.
Keith
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