BCC Leadership Summit 2022

What a privilege to attend the 12th annual Biblical Counseling Coalition leadership summit. This years theme was Theological Application: The BCC Confessional Statement in Action. The Council met at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. This three-day event provides opportunities for the Council to build collaborative relationships that strengthen churches, para-church organizations, and educational institutions through growing in relationship together while fostering conversations about theology and practice.

The three days include five presentations which are each followed by group discussion and small group time. We eat all our meals together, participate in several times of prayer, and are encouraged to spend our free time together. While at the summit, they ask that we minimize work and technology in order to maximize opportunities for fellowship. This year highlights of our fellowship time included a late-night fire pit with s’mores, a late-night gathering around a big fireplace, and walks along the many trails. Breakfast comes at 8:00 am each morning which means they are long days of conversation, collaboration, and helpful sessions.

 

Helpful Conversations

For decades the biblical counseling world was divided primarily into silos where each particular organization, group, school, church, or ministry worked independently of all the others with minimal cooperation or fellowship together. However, Steve Viars and others pulled a group of us together to consider a 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, integration, and general revelation. Yet, as a coalition of individuals, we cooperate together to better serve Christ’s body and seek to serve each other through provocative conversations. Along the way, we grow as friends in Christ.

In my mind, the opportunity to grow in friendship serves us well. Even with disagreement among the Council board, we grow in fellowship together. As individuals, we learn to better understand others in the field, hear how they think, and begin to understand their motivation for practice. Whereas organizationally there may not be formal cooperation or partnership, among leaders, we practice biblical fellowship with charity.

Having missed two years of in-face conversations because of the pandemic, I was thrilled to be back among so many friends. With the various presentations and the conversations that followed, I left the summit edified, encouraged, and better equipped in some areas.

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.

The work of the Coalition is funded through generous contributions of individuals, churches, other ministries, and foundations. If you want more information about how you can support the BCC regularly or as a one-time end-of-the-year contribution, you can read more here.