Even though Biblical counseling looks much better than
psychological counseling, we wonder if the Biblical counseling
movement should be shut down. We [the Bobgans] have given reasons
for our concern in our book Against Biblical Counseling:
For the Bible.
We have even said that the movement might cease to exist if its
unbiblical props were removed. The first prop holding up the
movement is the grossly unbiblical practice of charging fees.
There is no justifiable reason to charge for such counsel. We
say categorically that any Biblical counseling ministry that
charges a price is unbiblical. Yes, "the labourer
is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7), and "the labourer
is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:18). Paul even argued
that as he had sown spiritual things, should he not also reap
carnal things (1 Corinthians 9:11). Nevertheless, he also said:
"What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the
gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge,
that I abuse not my power in the gospel" (1 Corinthians
9:18). Peter wrote to the elders: "Feed the flock of God
which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre,
but of a ready mind" (1 Peter 5:2).
Whether one agrees with the way Biblical counseling is conducted
or not, it is nevertheless a ministry. It is designed to minister
the Word of God empowered by the Holy Spirit by one who knows
Christ to one who will receive it. It is unbiblical to require a
direct charge for such a ministry. There is no example in
Scripture that justifies charging a fee for ministering the Word
of God by the grace of God to a brother or sister in Christ.
Someone might protest that a minister is paid a salary. But that
is a false analogy. The true analogy would be charging someone
for attending church or for being visited in the hospital. We
hope no one would even think of doing that!
This pay for service makes any Biblical counseling grossly
unbiblical. Imagine someone going to a Biblical counseling center
for ministry concerning a life issue? Let's say that the
conversation and direction are Biblical. Can you imagine at the
end a prayer, an Amen, and then a bill for services? Would Paul
or the disciples have done such a thing? Absolutely not!
A simoniac is "a person who practices simony," and
simony is "the buying or
selling of sacred or spiritual things." Charging fees for
counseling is one example of charging for a church ministry.
Another example of simony is the sale of indulgences in the Roman
Catholic church. The Catholic church was selling and people
thought they were buying their way to heaven.
Filthy lucre (1 Peter 5:2) is the great financial fuel that
drives both the psychological and Biblical counseling movements.
Without the charging of fees or the hope of receiving payments in
the future for those being trained, the Biblical counseling
movement would be decimated. If every Biblical counselor stopped
directly charging and receiving fees, it would literally cripple
the movement as it currently exists.
The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF)
receives about $500,000 annually for counseling fees. No one
knows how much is received annually by all the so-called Biblical
counselors in or out of churches across America. It is obviously
a huge sum of money. The direct charging and receiving of money
for ministry is just one of many factors in which Biblical
counselors parrot psychological counselors. It is a disgrace and
a shame for the church to sit silently and permit such a blight
to exist in her midst.
While many of the organizations and individuals in the Biblical
counseling movement will give lip service to the fact that
charging fees for such a ministry as counseling is unbiblical, we
know of none that makes a serious issue of it, probably in order
not to offend the many leaders in the movement who charge or
encourage contributions.
The second prop of the Biblical counseling movement is the
separated-from-the-church counseling centers, some of which exist
in church buildings. Here again, most in the movement will agree
that a separated-from-the-church Biblical counseling center is
unbiblical. Yet, none will make this an issue of separation. And,
as a matter of fact, some of the most visible leaders in the
movement have such separated-from-the-church centers.
The third prop of the movement is the vocabulary. The three
main vocabulary words of the movement are counselee, counselor,
and counseling or some
variation of each. In our [the Bobgan's] book Against
Biblical Counseling: For the Bible, we review the use of
the words counsel, counselor, and counselee
in both the Old and New Testaments.
Obviously, the Bible usages of the words translated as counsel, counsellor,
and counsels do have shades
of meaning. However, in no instance does the use of those words
justify what is currently practiced in the Biblical counseling
movement.
We are not saying that these are the only words and examples
associated with counseling in the Old and New Testaments. What we
are saying is that there is no counseling found in the Bible as
it is presently conducted by most of those who call themselves
Biblical counselors. One cannot use the definition of the above
words to defend the common practice of contemporary Biblical
counseling.
Neither the Old nor the New Testament has an equivalent word for counselee.
In fact, the English word counselee did not show up in a
dictionary until 1934. The definition of counselee
in the Oxford English Dictionary is "One who
receives professional counseling (esp. in Psychol)." No wonder it is nowhere in the Bible. Psychological
counseling created the need for a word to designate those
receiving "professional counseling." Yet Biblical
counselors faithfully call their recipients
"counselees." Those who charge fees should be honest
enough to call them "customers."
Our society places great value on the position of counselor,
probably even higher than that of pastor, evangelist, or teacher.
If the common name for a psychotherapist were "advisor"
and the activity were called "advising," those would
probably be the very words adopted by the church. Instead of
"Biblical counselors," there would be "Biblical
advisors" doing "Biblical advising." If those
terms sound dull and flat, it's because the powerful status
symbol is counselor, not advisor.
While those who call themselves "Biblical counselors"
may be operating according to Scripture to some degree, they do
so not within a position delineated in
Scripture, because the Bible does not present the position of the
contemporary counselor. If they do minister Biblically to another
believer, they do so simply as a fellow believer or within
ordained ministries presented in Scripture, such as an
evangelist, pastor, teacher, elder, or deacon.
It is sad that such a well-intentioned movement with many
Biblically astute leaders would hesitate to make a serious issue
about the charging of fees and separated-from-the-church
counseling centers -- worse yet, to be unwilling to rebuke leaders
in the movement who are in violation of such clear Biblical
doctrines.
Moreover, it is grievous that few in the movement recognize that
in the main the Biblical counseling movement is merely a
reflection of the psychological counseling movement. When will
the leaders who know better at least cry a halt to the unbiblical
practice of charging fees? And, how can those who know better
Biblically justify their silence?
For too long now, we have heard the cries of those who have been
financially pillaged by those who practice Biblical counseling as
a profession instead of a ministry. We can understand why those
on the take will not do anything about stopping their personal
income, but those who know better and do not make a serious issue
of it are also to be held accountable. Those who seek such
ministry are the ones who suffer most. They suffer first and
foremost because of their situations, but the suffering is
compounded and amplified by the charging of fees. The one who
ministers becomes worse than a paid friend by reducing
relationship in the Body of Christ to a commercial transaction.
Imagine what it would be like if pastors, elders, and other
fellow members of the Body of Christ were to charge fees for
ministering God's grace to one another just like the
fee-for-service Biblical counselors. There would be
fee-for-service worship services, fee-for-service Bible class and
Sunday school, fee-for-service hospital visitations,
fee-for-service prayer, fee-for-service funerals, baptisms,
marriages, etc. Before or after providing each service, the
provider would ask, "Will you pay by cash, check or credit
card?"
Would anyone in his right mind do such a thing? Never! If it were
not for the fact that fee-for-service Biblical counseling is
merely a reflection of professional psychological counseling, it
would never have happened in the first place.
While there is Biblical justification for pastors to be paid a
salary by the local church, there is no Biblical justification
for fee-for-ministry arrangements. Yet, shepherds of the sheep
not only give their approval by silence, but many also send their
sheep out to fee-for-service counselors. Many have reneged on
their calling to care for the sheep and to equip members of the
Body of Christ to minister God's grace to one another, and they
approve directly or indirectly the financial fleecing of their
sheep.
Perhaps it is time for those who have been charged fees for
Biblical counseling to follow Matthew 18 and confront those who
sinned against them by charging money for ministry. While
restitution may not be possible, there should at least be
confession, repentance, and forgiveness.
How dare those so-called Biblical counselors extract fees from
those whose lives are already torn up? How dare they reduce
mutual care in the Body of Christ to a paid relationship? And,
how can those who know better stand by as hirelings fleece the
sheep? All of them, those who charge and those leaders who are
quiet about it, are guilty for exploiting poor souls who reach
out for help. Those who stand guilty include the entire faculty
at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where CCEF
is connected. To our knowledge, not even one professor there has
protested this despicable practice.
While BCF is clear in its official statements about not charging
for Biblical counseling, they are guilty of not being serious
enough about the charging issue to critique by name individuals
and organizations who do. Charging is a serious violation of
Scripture and is practiced by many who are BCF trained. BCF needs
to stop playing politics regarding the charging issue and make
more than a passing comment about it at their workshops.
Prediction: BCF will continue to downplay their position on
charging at workshops and will never publicly name even one
individual or organization involved in this grossly unbiblical
practice.
The replacement for psychological counseling is not Biblical counseling. It is ministering the Word of God to each other in love, patience, and forbearance. It is believers being equipped through the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Moreover, the Lord Himself eliminates the need for a psychologist or Biblical counselor. He has given His Word, His Son, and His Spirit to both create and nourish the Body of Christ and the individuals members thereof. The care of souls belongs in the church as a natural function of the Body of Christ as believers are equipped with the Word, walk in the Spirit, and communicate love and truth to one another in all matters of life. The Biblical counseling movement may need to cease in order to enhance these possibilities.
* This report has been adapted and/or excerpted from an article by the same name from the July-August 1997, PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries, 4137 Primavera Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110.
