In a previous article, I addressed some misconceptions concerning the nature of “biblical counseling certification.” In this follow-up article, I want to address a common question that many church members familiar with biblical counseling may consider at some point. “Should I become a certified biblical counselor?”
Now, before addressing this question, it would be prudent to address a common concern surrounding biblical counseling training. Whenever pastors and church leaders begin discussing training their people in counseling, some will consider these conversations irresponsible. “Counseling,” some will say to themselves, “is a serious thing. Clinical counseling requires years of study, examination, and supervision before a counselor is licensed. If you start handing regular Christians ‘biblical counseling certifications’, are you not inviting trouble?”
This is a legitimate concern. If you spend any time around the biblical counseling community, then you will know that there are sadly too many people who should have never been certified, too many people who misused their certification to communicate to others a level of competency they did not possess, and too many people who had negative experiences with a certified biblical counselor.
At the same time, these instances do not undermine the importance of biblical counseling certification within the world today, once you understand its nature and purpose. Biblical counseling certification is not an academic degree or a professional license. Rather, biblical counseling certification is a credential that communicates to the broader Christian community that an individual has completed an intensive period of counseling training and mentorship and may be useful in intentional discipleship relationships and bringing God’s wisdom and counsel to those in need of care.
What is Counseling?
This distinction is made clearer when you realize that biblical counselors and clinical counselors use the term “counseling” in different ways. Most (if not all) secular counselors view counseling as a therapeutic relationship in which the process of discussing an individual’s life issues with a trained expert can bring healing to the “psyche” or inner self. Secular counselors prioritize these technical and highly specialized “methods” that are informed by psychological systems for understanding human behavior. Thus, it would be irresponsible if biblical counselors were providing “shortcuts” to laypeople to serve in this capacity.
Thankfully, the previous definition is not what biblical counselors have in mind when they offer “counsel.” Biblical counseling follows an older understanding of “counseling” as a conversation involving the sharing of “counsel” or words of “advice.” Biblical counselors view “counseling” as a conversation in which a person seeks guidance and direction from someone who can offer wisdom and knowledge to their particular circumstances. In other words, if you had a problem and needed advice or a new perspective, you would seek a counselor.
This use of the term “counsel” is seen all throughout the Bible. King David, for example, had an exceptional counselor in Ahithophel. Scripture says that “the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God” (2 Sam 16:18). That is high praise! In 1 Kings 12:1–15, the king Rehoboam is presented as seeking “counsel” from his counselors. This definition of counsel informs how biblical counselors view the Bible. The Scriptures are a book of God’s counsel for Christians—words of guidance and direction for Christians concerning all of life, words that teach, correct, and train God’s people so that we may be equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16–17). That is why the Psalmist says, “You [God] guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:24). Truly, a biblical vision of our God must include the perspective that our God is a counselor, and he counsels us through his Word.
If the Bible defines counseling in this way, then Christians should have no problems with “biblical counseling certification.” Biblical counseling certification trains Christians in a process of understanding people’s questions, struggles, and concerns according to God’s perspective in the Scriptures to serve as an ambassador of God’s counsel and care to other believers.
Furthermore, if biblical counseling is this type of “counsel-sharing” conversation—not highly specialized therapeutic intervention—then biblical counseling training and certification is helping Christians to grow in greater competency in something that they are already doing all the time. Having spent many years observing Christian behavior on social media, it is clear that many Christians love to have other people hear their thoughts and advice. Many Christians love to interject their opinions into conversations at church. Many Christians love to share unsolicited advice about the latest parenting insight or “life-hack” they have discovered. From another perspective, these situations reveal how much Christians already love to counsel one another, whether or not the other person asked for their counsel!
But here is the “million-dollar” question. If Christians are already engaging in these “counsel-sharing” conversations all the time, what does God think about the counsel that you are sharing with others? Would God agree with your counsel? Is your counsel helping or hindering God’s overarching aim to see others grow further in Christlikeness? Is your counsel at odds with or calibrated to a God-glorifying perspective on all of life found within the Scriptures? If Christians are those who have committed to following Jesus and obeying all his commandments, then the counsel that we offer and receive cannot be divorced from our life of discipleship.
Reasons to pursue Biblical Counseling Certification
I can still imagine someone reading this article who is thinking to themselves, “Yes, I understand what IRBC means by ‘biblical counseling certification,’ but I am not sure that this path is for me.” You may be correct. Biblical counseling certification costs time—several years of training, examination, and counseling. Biblical counseling certification costs money—between $1,300 and $2,000. Biblical counseling certification costs energy that could be spent on other things—family, church community, and other good things for the kingdom of God. Therefore, biblical counseling certification will not be for everyone, and those considering biblical counseling certification should prayerfully consider whether they are being led in this capacity.
At the same time, I believe that many Christians should seriously consider biblical counseling certification. Why? Here are several reasons for you to consider.
First, biblical counseling certification is for your own personal discipleship and growth.
At IRBC, a constant refrain from those who take our training is, “Wow, this class has really helped me learn how to apply the Bible to myself and to grow as a Christian.” Before thinking about counseling others, any potential biblical counselor must see themselves as their primary counselee—the primary person in daily need of the transforming power of the counsel contained in the Scriptures applied to their life. Truly, how can we apply God’s Word to others if we have not learned how to apply God’s Word to our own hearts? How can we offer comfort to others in affliction if we ourselves do not know how the Scriptures comfort us in our own afflictions (2 Cor 1:3–4)? Even if a Christian man or woman has a minimal counseling ministry after receiving their certification, the process of training, sharpening their thinking through the exams, and receiving mentorship and coaching is well worth the cost, time, and effort for their own personal growth.
Second, biblical counseling certification is for the health and maturity of your local church community.
Right now, you may not feel the burden to begin counseling other Christians within your church community. But, if you are a Christian, you do have a vested interest in the spiritual well-being of your church—and that includes the well-being of your brothers and sisters within your covenant community. In the New Testament, spiritual health is presented in corporate terms. We are part of a “body.” We grow “together” in Christ, to “mature manhood,” to “the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph 4:11–16).
Therefore, if you spend any extended period of time within a local church community, at some point, you will be called upon not only to look after your fellow brothers and sisters but to play an active role in their discipleship and growth. In a sense, biblical counseling is another term for intensive discipleship—helping another brother or sister learn how to respond biblically to a presenting problem or issue in their lives. Therefore, biblical counseling certification is not only for those who hope to offer “formal counseling,” but also for those who want training in one-on-one discipleship skills. There are many certified biblical counselors who use their certifications not as formal “counselors” but as mentors, disciple-makers, Sunday school teachers, pastors, and elders within a local congregation.
The ideal certified biblical counselor is a mature Christian who has walked with God through many different seasons of life and is willing to share that wisdom and knowledge with others. These members of our churches are an untapped source of wisdom, knowledge, and insight from Christians who have endured many difficulties and trials—infertility, grief, sickness, suffering and more. They have demonstrated faithfulness and maturity in walking with God through these periods and have learned how to apply God’s Word to their own hearts throughout these struggles by regularly sitting under the teaching of God’s Word. Biblical counseling certification equips these mature saints with the skillset to put the wealth of knowledge and spiritual insight in our congregations to use in building up the entire body of Christ.
Third, biblical counseling certification equips you to have something to say when that moment comes.
As I said above, every Christian is, in some way, already a counselor. You are a person who offers counsel and advice to others. The idea of being a “formal counselor” may scare you, but a scarier thought is being in a situation in which someone you love needs words of wisdom, words of guidance, words of help… and you don’t know what to say. A biblical counseling certification allows applicants to learn how to apply God’s Word to a wide variety of issues—anger, conflict, depression, fear, grief, and more. In this way, biblical counseling certification allows Christians to offer themselves to God to be used as his ambassadors of his counsel to those in need, wherever God’s providence may lead us.
When that moment comes when someone needs to hear God’s Word, what will you say? May biblical counseling certification help you so that, when that moment comes, you are ready.
If you have reached the end of this article and are interested in biblical counseling certification, here are some next steps. First, you can visit our biblical counseling certification page to learn more about the requirements for certification. Second, you should look at our training page and look for an opportunity to complete our “basic training course” in Reformed biblical counseling, a requirement for all certified counselors. If there is not an available class at this time, you can begin to work on the requirements for certification by beginning a profile on our certification portal. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on future training opportunities from IRBC.
