What a privilege to meet for the 8th annual Biblical Counseling Coalition Leadership Summit at WinShape in Rome, Georgia. This is the annual meeting where the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s (BCC) council and guests meet to enjoy short presentations, small group discussion, and conversations to mutually encourage and sharpen one another for counseling ministry. This year’s theme is “Imparting Grace According to the Moment.”
We were served this year by several primary presenters in five main sessions. Each main session was followed by general council discussion and small group breakouts.
Howard Eyrich helped us consider what it means to help each other think through divergent positions in humility and, functionally, how to do so. In the second main session, Robert Cheong presented “Engaging with Counseling Tools” where he introduced a great rubric to better think through which counseling tools one should use, how to consider tools, and how to engage others who employ their use. Sacha Mendes presented the third main session, “Engaging with Extra-Biblical Christian Resources.” His presentation was excellent. In it he discussed the use of songs, books, and creeds among other sources. In the fourth main session, Charles Hodges presented on “Engaging with Secular Sources.” His presentation provoked great conversation and insight. As always, Dr. Hodges used great wisdom in how he addressed this issue. I am personally grateful to have him as an adjunct faculty member of Baptist Bible Theological Seminary. Finally, the last main session was by Betty-Anne Van Rees on “Engaging with Personal Experience.” This was the best session I have ever heard on how to use personal experience in counseling.
Helpful Conversations
For decades the biblical counseling world was divided primarily into silos where each particular organization, group, or ministry worked independently of all the others with minimal cooperation or fellowship together. However, over a decade ago, Steve Viars and others pulled a group of us together to consider a larger coalition in order to help the larger biblical counseling movement.
In a group this large and diverse, not everyone agrees. We share a doctrinal statement and a confessional statement. Outside of these two shared commitments, the diversity ranges on many issues and views, including at times simple definitions of words like sufficiency. However, we cooperate together in a coalition to better serve Christ’s body and seek to serve each other through provocative conversations. Along the way, we grow as friends in Christ.
Continue to Pray
As you have opportunity, please continue to pray for us as we seek to serve Christ in the many ministries represented. Together, we work on relationships and have meaningful conversations. Individually, we all go home to ministries who are better impacted by the fruitful conversations, presentations, and fellowship throughout the summit.
Please also continue to pray for David Powlision, a BCC board member, who had to miss this week’s summit because of his recent cancer diagnosis. I am grateful for CCEF faculty member Ed Welch who did come and give us an update on our friend David. As we have asked at other times, please continue to pray for David, Nan, their family, and CCEF.
The small group I had the privilege of leading throughout the summit.
International Group of Attendees