"Listen to advice and accept instruction..."
NOT SECULAR, BUT BIBLICAL
We believe the Bible is more than a book of facts; its truths are meant to make a difference in our lives. God intends biblical truth to touch and transform every area of our lives. But everyone faces moments when the truths of the Bible don't seem to make a difference. Can the hope that the Bible offers really speak to my depression? Can the peace that the Bible leads us to really help my anxiety? Can the love that is revealed in the Bible change even my marriage?
At Anthem, we believe that the Bible speaks to all of life's problems, and in certain seasons of life each of us may need the careful thought and prayerful wisdom of another to help us make the connections that make a difference. You may think that the church is for spiritual matters and more secularized counseling is for issues that are more emotional, relational and mental. Make note that:
We believe this is because most of secularized counseling fails to minister to the whole person, both practically and spiritually. Something that was once common-place in history, has been lost in our modern context. So rather than solely anchoring ourselves to the ever-changning, subjective, modern practices of secularized counseling, we instead seek to recover faithful, formative, Biblical counseling that is anchored in the timeless truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Bible.
At Anthem, we believe that the Bible speaks to all of life's problems, and in certain seasons of life each of us may need the careful thought and prayerful wisdom of another to help us make the connections that make a difference. You may think that the church is for spiritual matters and more secularized counseling is for issues that are more emotional, relational and mental. Make note that:
- Secular marriage counseling has a failure rate of more than 75%*
- Secular addiction counseling, with the lowest success rate of any form of counseling, has failure rate of 90%**
NOT BEHAVIORAL, BUT RELATIONAL
The Bible speaks to every area of our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17), which leads to the common misconception that it is just a recipe book for behavioral change. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is most secular counseling that tends to prescribe behavioral change, which isn't real change, as it fails to address the deeper human condition the Bible speaks of: the need for relationship. For example, we see this behavioral emphasis in much of secular counseling when it is realized in counselors who prescribe:
- ”Just keep working at it"
- ”Communication is the key"
- ”Be more open with each other"
- “Learn to love yourself”
- "You just have to forgive them"
* Beck, P. (2012) http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Real-Failure-of-Marriage-Counseling&id=6883401
** Galanter, M. (2008). Spirituality, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Alcoholics Anonymous. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol. 165, 1514.