Phoenix Seminary

I don't think Grudem left under bad terms from TEDS.

I did browse this website. Overall, I am not overly impressed by either the program or the faculty. There doesn't seem to be a lot of academic doctorates. Not even the president has one. Most of the PhDs or ThDs are on the adjunct faculty it seemed. The only redeeming thing about the program seemed to be the 16 hours systematic theology. OTI and NTI were combined and I don't know how you cover both of those in one class. They seemed weak on the languages. In keeping with much modern day training, there seemed an overemphasis on counseling. I am still a firm believer that the best counselor is a welltrained theologian. Counseling is a matter of knowing what God commands from us and then calling people to do it. The nature of man is best understood by a theologian. The problem is sin and the solution is repentance and submission to the lordship of Christ. I am not arguing that there is no place for a counseling class; it just seems overly emphasized.

 

Amen too.

 

Amen three!!!

 

The one bright spot in that is knowing that the curriculum will undergo a change in a few years, as typical at most educational institutions.

 

Counselling is also a matter of helping people to figure out what aspects of their life/experiences/emotional make-up are preventing them from following God's command. That would be much harder for me to do without the clinical training I received in seminary.

Joshua

 

Counselling is also a matter of helping people to figure out what aspects of their life/experiences/emotional make-up are preventing them from following God's command. That would be much harder for me to do without the clinical training I received in seminary.

Joshua</font>[/QUOTE]The area that is keeping them from doing it is their depravity -- manifested in lack of self-discipline for the purpose of godliness (2 Tim 2:6-8). Obviously, we treat that carefully and tactfully but biblical counseling addresses problems biblically. Counseling is far too often an "I'm okay you're okay" approach to life when the truth is that neither is okay. Counseling too often attributes problems to backgrounds and other people and such things and in so doing totally removes the possibility of hope because of this simply principle: Of everything that I can change about my life, the past is not one of them. MY attitude toward the past should be characterized by forgiveness (Eph 4:32) and moving on (Phil 3:10ff.). When people are pursuing Christ with all of their heart because they see his beauty and glory, these other things go away. Our job as counselors is to give hope to people. That hope is found only in a life totally committed to living God's way.

To answer Dr. Bob, I do not think counseling is the greatest need of our seminaries and Bible colleges. The reason there is a such an explosion of counseling philosophies and the like is because our greatest need is theology. If our Bible colleges and seminaries teach theology, counseling comes pretty easy. The greatest counselor is a top notch theologian who can communicate in love.

Unfortunately counseling must be done but I am firm on this. I will not engage in extended period of counseling with someone who will not attend the services of teh local church. I tell people we will have 4 counseling sessions a week--One on Sunday morning, one on Sunday evening, one on Wednesday evening, and one at a time that is mutually convenient. Only when someone is under the preaching and teaching of God's word can there be any real life change. We shortchange the counselee if we accept anything less. And we all that that when people really want help, they do what is necessary to get it.