As you might imagine, there is a great need for Christian counselors, but let me be clear about what I mean by my use of the term "Christian counselors." You see, there are plenty of people who are Christians (or so they claim), who counsel, but their being of the Christian faith has nothing to do with how they counsel, and they make that disclaimer very clear. Of course, there are others, who lay claim to being of the Christian faith and they lay claim that their counsel is also Christian (I never have been sure how "counseling" gets saved but, who cares) but for the most part they are very, very legalistic in their approach, which (in my not-so-humble opinion) is worse than the aforementioned variety! Thankfully, there are those precious few, who really do counsel from a clear and accurate Biblical perspective, giving their clients the freedom to become the person God created them to be, regardless of the journey.
In my opinion, we have one of these aboard the ship we call "Grace Christian Fellowship!" From what I can see, his schedule stays quite full, giving him plenty opportunity to "practice" his vocation. Because I have already made the journey he is presently making (I have been down this road before), I can empathize with him rather easily. The fact is this: the kind of counseling Kevin does in the environment in which he does it, saps the very life out of the counselor. The loss of emotional energy is unbelievable!
Of course, there are problems other than the loss of emotional energy, but you would have to do what he does to understand them, so that is all I will say about that.
One of the reasons I am so thankful for Kevin is this: his being here has enabled me to remove myself (for the most part) from the counseling arena. I learned long ago that the two (pastor and counselor) simply do not mix, at least not for the long haul. You see, people (yes, even Christians) like to blame others for their problems and the pastor, who is also functioning as counselor, is an easy target. In the end, what this means is this: in the process of the pastor sincerely trying to help someone, they end up blaming him for whatever might go "wrong" and leave the church (I think I wish I had a record of how many times I have seen this happen in my own career).
My Point: I really wonder why anyone would want to wear either hat, and I cannot even imagine why anyone would want to wear both, which should tell you something about me.
Just for the record, we do what we do because He called and we answered; albeit, neither of us had any idea what we were getting into when we "answered."
Hats off to Kevin! I am willing to bet that he would appreciate a note or card of encouragement from you, that's right, from YOU! Whatever you do, do not take him for granted!
I attached his photo for easy recognition.
PS: You can left click on the picture to get a much better view.
No comments:
Post a Comment