by Dr. John Babler, Chairman & Professor, MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary College
FSM Advisory Board
When I first started taking classes in psychology and sociology, I was intrigued by the various empirical studies we read in my undergraduate classes. For example, I found it intriguing that one study showed that when one of the researchers entered an elevator and stayed facing the rear wall rather than turning around, most of other people would do the same, even though it was counter to the cultural norm. Even then I was not sure of the significance of such research, but as I have always enjoyed studying people, I found it interesting. As I continued my undergraduate studies and received my bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in both psychology and sociology, I reflected on God's call in my life to ministry. I ultimately decided to continue my studies in the behavioral sciences and use them, along with my theological training, to best help those struggling with the challenges of life.
I entered a dual master’s degree program at a seminary majoring in social work and received a degree in church social services from the seminary as well as a secular master’s in social work from a state university. Yes, I was trained as an integrationist. At that time, the only thing I knew about Jay Adams was what I had been told: his approach was simplistic, and I needed to stay away from it. I pursued licensure and ultimately was licensed as a clinical social worker. I attempted to integrate the best of the world's wisdom with my theological convictions and the Bible, but in reflection, I recognize that even though I was theologically trained and walking with the Lord in ministry, there was little theology or Bible in my counseling. If the latest continuing education workshop or method I encountered in a journal made logical sense, was not clearly contrary to Scripture, and seemed as though it would be effective, that's what I would focus on—at least until the next new and better approach came along.
When I was in the process of seeking a second level of state licensure, God confronted me with the importance of ministering Scripture. Even though I was a seminary graduate, the idea of ministering Scripture was something foreign to me. I read the Bible. I studied it and attempted to understand it but had not considered or been taught the importance of ministering it to others. I began looking at Scripture differently, more as a book to be applied, not just studied. Through this process God showed me two things: first, how effective and liberating it was to minister His words through the pages of Scripture rather than the dead thoughts and ideas of humans. Second, I recognized the biblical teaching on the sufficiency and superiority of Scripture. I found the Bible teaches that God's Word is indeed sufficient for the counseling task as well as superior to anything the world has to offer.
Since that time, I have spent over thirty years teaching ministry-based evangelism and biblical counseling based on the nouthetic counseling principles that Dr. Jay Adams first presented in Competent to Counsel. Contrary to what I had been told, I came to respect the wisdom and insights of Dr. Adams as I read and heard his teachings of nouthetic counseling. I had the privilege of getting to know him and until his death counted him as both a mentor and friend.
It has been my privilege, beginning in 2020, to assume the leadership of the biblical counseling program at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary that Dr. Adams began in 2015. It is an honor to continue in his footsteps and a blessing to be able to introduce and teach a growing number of students about the sufficiency and superiority of God's Word and help equip them to effectively minister Scripture.
During my over thirty years in the biblical counseling arena, a frequently raised question is, "Does biblical counseling work?" This question is often based on a false assumption that since biblical counseling does not come with the trappings of the world's wisdom in the behavioral sciences (mounds of research, diagnostic and statistical manuals, diagnoses, state licensure, etc.) that it must be simplistic. There is often concern about how (or even if) biblical counseling can deal with the "serious issues people struggle with."
Those of us committed to biblical counseling understand that the biblical counseling equation leads to people who are able to be used of God even in the most difficult of situations. This is the equation:
A transformed, born again believer
+
The Holy Spirit living in this believer
+
God's living and active Word
=
God's instrument to be used by Him to impact a lost, dying, and struggling world.
Thinking about this equation, we should recognize that with all God has given us, we are not only competent to counsel but also have no need for and don’t benefit from the world's wisdom. We who have labored in ministering God's Word through biblical counseling recognize that bizarre behavior is not foreign to the pages of Scripture. Bizarre behavior is not just a phenomenon of our contemporary world (although the therapeutic/medicalized conception and categorization of these issues have been developed in the contemporary world). The Bible presents a man who crawled around on his hands and knees eating grass (Daniel 4:25–35), a man who feigned mental illness to save his life (1 Samuel 21:10–15), and a man who could not be bound by chains and lived naked in a graveyard crying out and cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:1–13). These examples from Scripture give us some insight into such difficult situations and at the very least provide the reasons behind these three men's struggles—reasons that are not consistent with a modern-day psychological approach.
Over the years, there have been calls for biblical counselors to do empirical studies that show whether biblical counseling is effective in hard cases or even in general. These calls have come from outside the field by those who question or doubt the legitimacy of biblical counseling and even more recently from some within the field. Dr. Adams spoke to this issue early in the development of the field of biblical counseling and gave us a foundation upon which we can build our answer to the related questions of "Can we do empirical studies?" and "Should we do empirical studies?" The answer to both questions is a resounding no.
Dr. Adams addressed the question about whether we can do empirical studies in 1977 when he spoke to a group of students and faculty at the University Psychiatric Clinic in Vienna, Austria. In his lecture, he painted a picture of the diversions and disillusionment of the psychotherapeutic and counseling viewpoint in the United States. He mentioned that at the time there were over 230 different viewpoints or counseling approaches (that number has increased dramatically since then, with over 450 differing approaches today). He went on to catalog some of the challenges and failures of modern therapy and then addressed the crisis in pastoral counseling as Christian pastors sought to integrate the disunified approach of the behavioral sciences into their pastoral counseling. He concluded his presentation with an explanation and defense of nouthetic counseling—all this in the context of answering the questions, "Change them? Into what?" He argued that there needs to be a standard for those who agree that people need to be changed and want to help them change, but that biblical counseling alone provides the basis for heart change as well as an understanding of the goal of that change. The biblical goal is to change them to become more like Jesus Christ.
Does the fact that in biblical counseling we have an overarching goal (to make counselees more like Christ) as well as subsidiary goals for the counseling process determine that we can do empirical studies? We should recognize that it is actually not possible to do empirical studies that will measure whether biblical counseling is successful at making someone more like Jesus Christ. When I pursued my Ph.D. studies, I was required to study research methodology and statistical analysis for my two foreign languages. As I studied these academic "languages," I learned that in the broader context of the field of science, the behavioral sciences are at a distinct disadvantage. A true scientific study strives to eliminate possible confounding variables that might have an effect on that which is being studied. Human beings are so complex and so unique that it is impossible to rule out many confounding variables and to come up with any substantive evaluation as to whether a particular counseling method is effective or not. How does one measure the effectiveness? By whether the person feels better? From a Christian perspective, if someone feels better according to a statistical instrument after counseling but continues in sin or does not honor God, the counseling was not effective. How can you measure one's relationship with Christ?
In considering the question of whether biblical counseling can do empirical studies, Adams said this:
Moreover, since the object of biblical counseling is to bring about change in the counselee that honors God, how would you test for that empirically? Would you put his soul in a test tube, shake it up and hope it turns blue? How would you test whether God was honored, whether the motives of the counselee were sound (since God looks upon the heart; not merely on outward behavior) or whether he only made changes outwardly? How would you determine the extent of the Holy Spirit’s work in the counselee’s life so as to make the desired spiritual changes? In other words, there is no way to obtain empirical evidence. Since it is biblical attainments that are under consideration, it is impossible to get statistical evidence for the spiritual changes that the biblical counselor seeks to bring about. (https://nouthetic.org/empirical-evidence/)
If the goal of biblical counseling is to help people become more Christlike, to glorify and honor God, to help them grow in their relationship with Him, no empirical study will demonstrate such changes. So the answer to whether we can do empirical studies is no.
Should we do empirical studies of biblical counseling? Again, the answer is no. We are motivated to do our counseling by biblical mandate. A key aspect of biblical teaching is that we are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Some people are suspicious of biblical counseling because they have encountered those who call themselves biblical counselors but focus exclusively on speaking the truth. Many people have encountered some who consider themselves biblical counselors but focus only on the mercy or love aspect of speaking the truth in love. In both situations, someone can say biblical counseling doesn't work. They might say biblical counselors are mean spirited or don't have any more answers than the world has. Our standard for assessing biblical counseling is not an evaluation of the counselor or an empirical study based on the world's research methodology and statistical calculations. Our standard is God's Word. So when someone doesn't speak the truth in love—neglecting either the truth or the love aspect—then the biblical standard says they are not being effective at biblical counseling. As brothers and sisters in Christ, when we encounter this, we need to lovingly confront the counselor with the truth of Scripture and encourage them to learn and grow to become effective at speaking the truth in love.
Even with all the empirical studies done in the behavioral sciences, there is still not agreement or conclusive data as to whether a therapy or theoretical approach is effective. We should not be intimidated by the world or the world's wisdom. As I mentioned before, many in the church and in the world would say biblical counseling is simplistic. There is a difference between simple and simplistic. Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it to love our neighbor as ourselves. He then makes a summary statement that the whole law and prophets depend on these two commands (Matthew 22:36–40). Jesus's summary of the whole law and the prophets is simple: love God, love neighbor. We know from experience as Christians that even though it is simple to know what we are to be doing, it is impossible for us to do it without God's help. We recognize that in the context of what the Bible calls progressive sanctification, we will be working out our salvation with fear and trembling for a lifetime as we grow in our understanding of what it means to love God and love neighbor. There is nothing simplistic about saying that in the context of a loving relationship, we need to come alongside Christians who are struggling and walk with them and encourage them and confront them lovingly with God's Word. Or that as a body (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12) of believers, we should reach out in unity to help people who are struggling.
If anything is simplistic, I would argue that the world's approaches to counseling and helping people are simplistic. The world holds that if people meet a certain set of diagnostic criteria (as listed in the DSM-5 TR), they have a "mental illness." Once a person is diagnosed, a treatment plan is developed and implemented. Once someone is given a DSM-5 TR diagnosis such as MDD (major depressive disorder), they can be treated in the same way as everyone else with that diagnosis. Once one has the diagnosis, if the therapist’s methodology is cognitive behavioral therapy, then the therapist will likely treat all the patients they have with MDD according to the same methodological focus. A quick perusal of Scripture would show that this approach, rather than biblical counseling, is truly simplistic. Jesus did not treat people the same way, even if they had the same or similar issues. He treated them as individuals. If you read the stories of Job and Jonah, you will see that both of them could meet the criteria for MDD. (In no way am I suggesting that we should project contemporary mental health diagnoses back onto people in the pages of Scripture! In fact, it is intriguing to note that neither Job nor Jonah received any type of diagnosis or mental health treatment.) However, if we counseled Job and Jonah the same way, we would certainly not be successful in our counseling. Through some series of methodological interventions, we may be able to help both of them find a little relief from their discouragement and depression; however, the causes of their depression and discouragement are distinctly different. To truly help someone who is struggling with hard issues such as depression, trauma, and crisis become more like Jesus, we need biblical truth and method.
The world stands ready to "help us" with a formidable number of research and empirical studies. These studies at best provide hypotheses or theories (many of which are at odds with other research and empirical studies) that outline methodology that is frequently contrary to God’s Word. These empirical studies show varying degrees of support for the supposed effectiveness of these methods. As shown above, empirical studies done in the behavioral sciences are much less empirical than those in hard sciences such as chemistry or physics. The researchers and the overall field of the behavioral sciences share one major flaw that should make their conclusions suspect for all in biblical counseling. They don’t see things through "biblical lenses." Henry Brandt puts it like this:
In my studies in clinical psychology, we grappled with the challenge of helping disturbed people. . . . A disturbed person is one whose needs are not met when he or she comes into the world. It is a person who is neglected, a person who lives in an environment that is cold and indifferent. To understand what is behind this disturbed person’s behavior is to seek complex origins in a murky past. The process can take months or years. Then the question becomes: What in the world can be changed or given to release this person from a prison of destructive emotions and behavior? "No deity can save us. We must save ourselves." This is the position taken in secular colleges, secular textbooks, in most graduate schools, and in a formidable mass of "scientific research." . . . Human problems are not ignored. In fact, we spend billions of dollars annually searching for solutions. . . . A massive group of people—intelligent, educated, influential, politically powerful people who have the best interest of humanity at heart—firmly and fiercely reject the concept of sin, a creator and a God. You might compare that host of people to a huge giant called Goliath. They firmly believe: God isn’t.
Then there is another tiny group standing up to Goliath. This group (and I am one of them) believes that God is. We agree with the Goliath crowd that these words accurately describe the dark side of human behavior (hostile, hateful, resentful, rebellious, frustrated, confused, angry, cruel, selfish, dishonest, destructive).
But at this point in the road we come to a fork. We disagree that these words describing human behavior are socially and culturally caused. Our guidebook is the Bible. This book puts all those descriptive words under one heading. The heading is Sin. We are born with sinful hearts. Society only brings out of our hearts what is already there. When our leader announced to the Goliath crowd that He came to save them from their sins, they replied with one thunderous voice: Crucify Him. They did.
In standing up to Goliath our little group might be compared to a little boy called David. We dare to use the word sin and affirm there is no human remedy for sin. We believe a Savior is needed who will cleanse us from sin and empower us to walk in the Spirit (in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.)
If it is sin, that’s good news. Sin is the simplest thing in the world to deal with. Jesus died to cleanse us from sin.
"Too simple," says the Goliath crowd.
–Henry Brandt, Heart of the Problem
We cannot and we should not use empirical methods to study or ascertain the effectiveness of biblical counseling. If we encounter someone in the counseling process and speak the truth in love to them and they commit to putting that counsel to work in their lives and make changes in their life that please God (2 Corinthians 5:9), then biblical counseling "works." If we speak the truth in love to someone and they continue in their sin and do not repent or follow God's Word, then biblical counseling still "works." The only way to measure the success of biblical counseling is in the context of a body of believers (the local church) wherein believers work together to lovingly encourage, confront, teach, and walk with those who are struggling. The standard by which we measure the success of biblical counseling is the fidelity of the counselor to God's Word.
Leaving my role as a licensed clinical social worker after coming to understand the sufficiency and superiority of Scripture for the counseling task was a liberating experience. One reason for that was that it was no longer about me and my credentials and my license and my continuing education, but it was about God and his Word. Another reason it was liberating was that I saw God change people's hearts and bring true healing to their lives—and I was able to be a part of that process. My focus was on loving God and loving others. There is indeed a simplicity to that, but after years of labor trying to correctly understand and minister God's Word, I know there is nothing simplistic about it.
Make no mistake, the Bible presents a clear contrast between God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom. God has given us his Word, which is sufficient for counseling and superior to anything the world has to offer. Biblical counseling works!
by Dr. John Babler, Chairman & Professor, MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary College, FSM Advisory Board
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