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The Hiring Gap

When I graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with my Master’s degree in Counseling, I was fortunate to be already plugged into a church that was eager to have a counselor join the staff. To some, it may not have been the most attractive job offer: come create your own job for no money. However, what was hidden underneath the seeming lack was a gem of opportunity.

Working in the church setting (under the supervision of a contract supervisor) gave me the opportunity to do the kind of counseling I wanted to do in the context where I had hoped to do it. Most of my fellow graduates went out into the secular mental health field, disillusioned because there were no “church jobs” out there. There is an unfortunate hiring gap that prevents trained Christian professionals from actually entering into the church setting after graduation. There are very few (if any) churches that are actively seeking to hire graduates, so an overwhelming majority are lost to the church for good. Some may resurface in private practice years down the road, but many do not return to a Christian practice and few actually work within the church’s walls where counseling would be most accessible.

Instead of working at an agency (with endless bureaucracy, high staff and client turnover and job requirements continually added to your load), I got to work for the church and fulfill the calling God had given me. I had my own office (given to me for free), worked when I wanted to work and got to be co-workers with the church staff rather than become an unknown cog in a giant agency wheel. Most Christian counselors have to work years in a secular agency to gain hours towards licensure prior to starting their own practice. And those that make it to the private practice stage often have to take out small business loans to fund the first year of overhead costs while they get their business up and running.

When we first launched New Hope Christian Counseling, my pastor and I walked through the church offices, at the time located on the first floor of a multi-family house that was converted for that purpose. We looked at various options for client entry, waiting area space and office space and ultimately decided that his current office was the most private. No questions asked, that office was given to me. We made a cute little “waiting area” in the pseudo-kitchen and it worked. The opportunity given to me was a win-win: I avoided having to work in a setting where I did not belong and had the chance to launch my dream without the burden of overhead costs, and the church got a staff member with professional training that could uniquely meet the needs of the congregation and the larger community.

Most pastors don’t think they can afford to hire another staff member. But you don’t need money to bring Church Therapy to your church. You need a belief in the counseling process. You need willingness to prioritize mental health and incorporate professional treatment into the process of discipleship in your church. You need people who need emotional support. And you need to be comfortable enough with your own emotional health that you aren’t threatened by the presence of a counselor.

Counseling generates revenue. There are a variety of ways to do that, as I have described in this earlier article. Whether you can afford to pay a full salary, a half salary, or no salary at all, you can bring a professional Christian counselor on your staff. I am available for consultation with churches who are interested in exploring how to bring this model into their church setting. I am also working to establish a Residency Program, placing graduates of licensure-track Christian counseling Master’s programs into churches that are looking to create jobs for them. If you are interested in consultation services or finding out more about the Residency Program, comment below or send me an email at newhope@ecic.tv.

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A Different Kind of Silence

There has been a lot of talk lately about the silent suffering of those in the Church who are battling mental illness. The hurting are often voiceless, their experiences kept hidden from view so as to keep the Church looking all put together. While Jesus’ own ministry gathered a pretty rough-around-the-edges crowd, the American Church today seems to strive for the opposite. Those who don’t fit the mold are cast aside and left to find Jesus by themselves.

On blogs like this one and on podcasts like CXMH, many have begun to speak out in order to raise awareness about mental health issues. These forums allow stories to be told, myths to be dispelled and dialogue to be engaged. This is much needed to decrease stigma within the Church, so that we stop blaming those who are suffering. Those who have been muted are now able to test the waters of authenticity in hopes of not being shamed back into silence once again.

Today I am calling for a different kind of silence. I am asking my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to respond with silence as those who were once voiceless begin to speak. Many rush to fix, critique or blame those who express their suffering. Some even do it using Scripture to shame and harm the very ones to whom God extends grace and hope. What if we, who do not face a daily battle with mental illness, simply responded with silence to those who do? What if we just listened? What if we were simply present and didn’t run away from the suffering? What if we just offered a supportive nod or a warm embrace? What if we wrote down for ourselves every verse in the Bible that advises a tight rein on the tongue and applied it to ourselves?

If we took a voluntary vow of silence and listened to those who now speak out to share their stories, what kind of spiritual and physical healing could take place? Might some chains be broken loose as we follow Christ’s example in accepting those around us without condemnation? How might the American Church change if we all followed the wisdom of Proverbs 17:28: “Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent”?

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When Pastors Need Help

Church leadership comes with pressure. Eyes are watching how you handle yourself. People are evaluating your performance. Those whom you serve can become critical and judgmental when they disagree with your preaching or ministry. Admission of sin can lead to the loss of your job. So what do you do when you need mental health treatment and you have a church to lead?

Establish Weekly Accountability and Support

If you are a pastor or ministry leader and you do not have a clear list of people with whom you can be 100% honest, you are on your way to a major fall. Sin can trap us all, and the only way to avoid snares is to catch them early. Most problems don’t start out as major problems. Who are you calling when you are tempted in an area that has owned you before? Who do you lean on when you have a discouraging day? Who do you tell when you have thoughts you would rather not say aloud?

Once you have established who those people are (could be as few as 2-3), then you need to have regularly scheduled times that you talk. You can’t wait until you feel the need to reach out. Church leaders need weekly check-ins. Most of the time when a problem is in its earliest stages of formation, those who know you best will spot something that is off. My best friend is more than happy to call me out when needed, and often in ways I did not see myself. We all have blind spots, so we need people who are hearing our detailed thoughts and getting a weekly report on our actions.

Seek Help Outside Your Circles

When your closest friends spot red flags, it may be time to seek additional help. If that discouraging day turns into a few weeks of despair, your friends will hopefully spot that pattern and encourage you to talk to a professional. Don’t put that off and simply wait for things to get better or return to “normal.” Chances are there are things you need to work through, and if you have never been to counseling then it’s a great time to start exploring all that lies underneath the surface.

That being said, pastors cannot always seek mental health treatment or counseling in their local communities. These counseling practices might be the referral sources for parishioners of the church, and a pastor may feel unsafe talking to someone closely tied to the church. Don’t hesitate to drive an hour to get to counseling. It’s worth it and you will not regret getting the help as early as possible when you notice a problem. There are also some online counseling options now, which can help you connect with a counselor completely outside your sphere of influence.

Be Willing to Walk Away

If fear of losing your job or your ministry is causing you to solve your own problems in secret, you have an even bigger problem than you think. You need to be willing to lay even the ministry to which you have been called at the foot of the cross and walk away. If your stress level is so high that you are struggling to function through a day, or if you are so depressed that you are having fleeting thoughts of suicide, it is time to step away from ministry for a season. If you keep going and try to push through your problems without seeking help, you are far more likely to become disqualified for the long-term. Taking a 6-month or year-long leave of absence to take care of your mental health is a lot better than reaching a point where you can no longer serve as a leader at all.

You are not a superhero, nor are you called to save the world. Pastors and church leaders must take care of themselves and their families first. If you take time away from ministry for a season, God may show you some broken places that need healing. Or he may reveal to you some new next steps in your calling. When you attend to your needs and seek help from God and others, you are making a physical and spiritual decision to choose to live in health. Satan is eager to devour you in any way he can, so don’t give him room to work by ignoring your own mental health.

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Counseling, Evangelism and Discipleship Part 1

Yesterday I held the first Freedom Workshop of 2017: “Understanding Mental Illness.” We had such a great time, thanks to all who came out! Listening in on some of the group discussions got me so pumped, as people talked through the physical, psychological and spiritual issues related to mental health. One point I heard in the discussion was related to the role of the counselor: should he or she be someone who evangelizes to the client, guiding a non-believer into faith? Or is that not the role of the counselor? What about those who are already following Christ? What is the role of counseling in the discipleship process?

We know that pastors are called to evangelize and disciple. This is an incredibly important job! In the Church Therapy model, pastors are able to freely serve in these ways and church therapists are able to function in a different role. Without this model, when pastors are also trying to provide counseling, the roles become much more complex and the lines are blurry. When someone needs mental health care and they seek out a counselor, they may or may not also be exploring faith questions.

In Part 1, we will explore three reasons why a counselor/therapist should not also take on the role of evangelist. Next week, we’ll do Part 2, exploring ways that counselors can play an important role in the discipleship process for those who are already following Christ. So let’s take a look at why counselors should not be in the role of evangelist with clients who are not Christians:

Vulnerability and Power

In a counseling situation, there is an automatic power dynamic present. This is not created by the particular counselor or client, it is inherent in the relationship which is one-sided. The counselor is viewed as the “expert” (whether or not he/she is actually skilled) and the client is the one in need. In normal healthy relationships, there is a mutual give and take, where both parties give sometimes and take at other times. In a healthy therapeutic relationship, the boundaries and ethical guidelines keep the one-sidedness healthy even though that would be imbalanced in a “real life” scenario. The fact that the counselor and client are not friends, but rather have a professional relationship that has specific limits, means that the counselor has a tremendous amount of power. The client is coming in vulnerable, sharing deep emotions and experiences (while the counselor does not share deeply at all). The counselor seemingly provides the guidance and help, doing all of the emotional supporting of the client.

Because of this power dynamic, the counselor simply cannot also play the role of an evangelist because the client is too vulnerable. To take advantage of this situation would really not allow the person to freely consider his or her beliefs. The counselor’s desire for the client to convert, and the power that the counselor has over the client to guide his/her choices, sets up a forced system in which the client may say “yes” without being truly free to say “no.” The client may be unaware of this lack of freedom, but over time it will reveal itself and could actually be detrimental to the client’s spiritual journey in the long run.

Bait and Switch

Another reason that a counselor cannot also play the role of evangelist is that it could be a “bait and switch” kind of scenario. “Come to our office, we offer free counseling!” may be the tagline. People who are in need, and possibly lacking in finances or health insurance, may be drawn into this counseling ministry believing that it will help them work through their emotional issues. If the counseling ministry sign read, “Come to our office, we want to convert you!” some might not enter. But that is typically not the advertisement, thus creating a bait and switch. Your church is advertising mental health services when it is really offering Bible study and personal evangelism. Now, even if we truly believe deep down in our hearts that the only way for people to get well is to follow Jesus (true, by the way, for one’s spiritual life, but not true for the symptoms of a mental illness which often persist even for the Christian), it is unethical to lure people into your office with the wrong set of assumptions about what will take place there.

Respect for the Journey

The spiritual journey does not always occur in a linear fashion. (Step 1: Have problems in your life and realize you can’t do it on your own. Step 2: Turn your life over to Jesus. Step 3: Get better from all your problems.) An evangelist has one goal: share the Gospel to win souls for Christ. A counselor’s goal is to meet a person where he/she is at, working collaboratively on the goals the client sets for him/herself. We cannot have an agenda going in. Instead, we must respect the journey of the client. If he/she wants to explore spiritual issues, then by all means (but without an agenda), help them explore. We do not need to get antsy about this — the Holy Spirit is more than able to draw the client to Him when that person is ready. Let’s lay that burden down and trust the Lord to lead them in their journey, while we as counselors simply come alongside as a fellow explorer.

If the client does some spiritual exploring and decides that they want to know more about Jesus, the counselor should at that point connect the client with a local church. They can attend services and the pastor can help them learn to study the Bible. The counselor can continue to be involved to do the work of healing the emotional issues that created the need for mental health services. Over time, these services may not be needed if the positive support of the church creates an adequate social system that meets the client’s needs. In the case of chronic/persistent mental illness, the counselor will likely remain a support in addition to other positive social supports.

Stay tuned for next week’s conversation about how the counselor can play an important role in the discipleship process for those who have already given their lives to Christ.

 

 

 

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NEW Pastor Training Video: Making Referrals Work

Unless you are using the Church Therapy model and have an on-staff counselor at your church, most likely the pastor will refer parishioners to a nearby counselor or agency. Unfortunately, these referrals often fall apart because the counselor’s caseload is full, or they do not take a particular health insurance or they do not see clients of certain ages, etc. In this Pastor Training Video, I help pastors (or lay leaders or Christian friends) learn how to make sure that the referrals they make actually turn into people getting the help they need. Thanks for watching!

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Counsel Vs. Therapy

I have frequently heard pastors and lay leaders in the Church assert that it is the role of everyone in the Church to provide counsel. Christians cite verses that describe “godly counsel,” such as Psalm 37:30 (“The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong”) and Proverbs 27:9 (“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense”) in supporting their notion.

When I recently saw a tweet that again made the statement that all in the Church should provide counsel, it reminded me of what many in the biblical counseling movement have said about pastors and their competence to counsel. These verses suggest that godliness is the fundamental requirement for becoming someone who can provide wise and helpful counsel.

Note that I have not yet used the term “counseling” and I have certainly not used the term “therapy.” Why? Because these terms refer to specific treatments provided in mental health situations. And it is simply not the same thing as godly counsel.

Allow me to define some terms. “Counsel” is often referred to in the Bible as “advice.” Certainly there is a sense that wisdom and godliness provide a Christian with some discernment in a variety of situations. If a friend confides in you about a struggle she is going through, you might provide some wise counsel to her that would support God’s words in the Bible. You may have experienced a similar situation in life and you could offer advice from your own experience.

“Counseling” or “therapy” as I am using the terms here is specifically NOT centered around advice-giving. While discernment is necessary, it is a different level of emotional discernment used by trained and licensed clinicians in mental health service delivery. Therapy offers a place for a person to work through an emotional problem for herself, with a trained guide who possesses skills such as Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. An understanding of family systems and biological/psychological factors that influence our emotions is also a necessary skill. These factors along with spiritual wisdom and understanding are essential for providing mental health care and seeing the person in a holistic manner.

For comparison’s sake, let’s consider a scenario in which a person has a sore back. A close friend could perhaps give a basic back massage to ease the pain for the moment. But a physical therapist would have training and skills necessary to repair an injury. When anxiety, depression, trauma, Bipolar Disorder or other brain dysfunctions are present, godly advice simply will not provide the right kind of response. And in fact, it may do more harm than good as it often reinforces wrong ideas that make a person feel that their symptoms are a result of a lack of faith. I would argue that this type of response is actually not even godly advice at all as it creates wrong assumptions about God and illness. It is not based in spiritual or biological truth.

Can all pastors and godly followers of Jesus provide counsel? Assuming they possess wisdom demonstrated in the way they live their lives, yes. Can all pastors and godly followers of Jesus provide therapy for mental health problems? No. It is time for pastors and Christians to stop using these terms interchangeably so that people who need medical and psychological care can receive it freely with no stigma attached. And it is time for trained, licensed Christian counselors and therapists to actively provide these services where people seek them: in the Church.