Professional Forgetfulness
A theme has emerged in discussions related to David Robertson's article here. David examines the institutional shift that we're experiencing right now. I think it would also be worth drilling down into a kind of forgetfulness that is spreading in our studies and church offices every week, which can diminish our confidence in Christ's sufficiency.
Many pastors and elders feel as though certain areas of counselling are inherently and immediately beyond the purview of their ministry. Rather than engage in a lengthy pastoral counselling process, we feel it is better to refer individuals or couples in need of counsel to a professional counsellor. They come for care, but they leave with a phone number.
The argument is reasonable. Pastors aren't trained in personality disorders, extensive trauma, or the complexities of addiction recovery. Wisdom means knowing our limits, and humility will require us, in some circumstances, to refer people to others with such training. Why would we pretend otherwise?
The problem emerges when the referral becomes the reflexive first move. Sanctification becomes clinical: shepherds make disciples, counsellors do the counselling.
This reflex is unbiblical, artificial, and harmful to our witness. Ultimately, it is rooted in a creeping forgetfulness of God's grace.
The apostle Peter begins his second letter with a reminder of what we've been given in Christ:
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." (2 Peter 1:3-4, ESV)
These Christians, who verse 1 says "have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours," have "all things that pertain to life and godliness." That is, God's measureless kindness has given them everything they need to live this present life in a godly and measured way. They need nothing more.
How does Peter apply this magnificent truth? By urging them to make use of what they have:
"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9, ESV)
The Christian who is unfruitful or ineffective in life isn't missing something that can be provided by someone else; they are forgetting what they have already been given in Christ. Peter, a fellow elder (1 Peter 5:1), is setting the pattern for Christian ministry. Shepherding the sheep inherently means reminding the flock that they have everything they need to conquer the problems they face. Whether it is problems in their marriage, issues of emotional regulation, certain addictions or other habitual sins, all things have been given to Christians by the grace of God.
If it is true that the Christian's temptation is to forget what they have been given in Christ, then it must be equally true that the shepherd's temptation will be to forget the very same thing. Shepherds can be as nearsighted as the sheep they lead.
This means that we must be eager at all times to recapture and defend our vision of the sufficiency of Christ. We are in danger of dividing the work of Jesus; through his death and resurrection, he can save us from the wrath of God due to our sins, but to deal with my anger problem or my past hurt, I first need the help of someone or something else. We must not proclaim the sufficiency of Christ for life and godliness on Sunday and then presume his insufficiency on Monday morning.
There are indeed many situations where counselling is very helpful. I am not writing to dismiss counselling outright. A man whose anger is bound up with a brain injury needs the help of someone with a white coat (and even in this case, the sheep needs his shepherd!). The problem here is the assumption that the reflexive starting point for dealing with these kinds of issues is to speak with a counsellor. Issues of sin and sorrow aren't extraordinary problems; they are the ordinary problems of ministry.
We must begin to recover the ordinariness of pastoral ministry and the problems we face.
This doesn't make the pastor a solo operator, nor does it mean the referral is a failure. It reorders our activity; a shepherd refers his sheep onward having first done the ordinary work: he has sat with them, opened the Word with them, reminded them of the sufficiency of Christ in this particular struggle, prayed with them, and walked with them over time. Should we refer them to a professional, we do so with a sense of the gravity of their situation, a determination to continue our journey with them, and a sorrow that inoculates us against the relief that comes from simply sliding a card across a desk.
To recover the glory of our ordinary ministry, pastors must first lead themselves into the full view of God's blessings. Do we really believe that God in Christ has given us everything we need for life and godliness? Do we trust his grace when we are exhausted on a Monday morning, and see that number again on an incoming call? Are we emotionally steady men, slow to anger but abounding in love for our people? Do we joyfully shoulder our responsibilities, or do we give off an air of busyness and annoyance at the sheep Jesus has given us to shepherd?
Brothers, fight against the drift of forgetfulness. Fight for your sheep. God has given us everything we need for life and godliness; let's shepherd like it.