Grace discipleship is simply profound and profoundly simple. Here is a practical four lesson booklet, Discipleship Basics, by Dr. Phil Jones. These lessons are not intended to be comprehensive, but are foundational and user-friendly.

Here is a free copy of the PDF notebook: discipleship-basics-all-lessons-booket-format

Here is a four message downloadable audio series that corresponds with the lessons. They are at Grace Fellowship Internationals’ Sermon.net audio channel here.

These were produced and preached at First Baptist Church of Powell in Tennessee.

It is important to distinguish the model (including message and goals) of counseling from the communications skills used in the process. Much of what is taught under the heading of generic counseling skills is simply an analysis of the dynamics of good communication in the context of facilitating change.

For example, a chef may have excellent cooking skills, but the quality of the meal depends on the food and the recipe. Likewise, the Christ centered counselor has a tremendous counseling advantage if the counselee is open to a Christian model of helping. The “food” is the Bread of Life (John 6:35); the “recipe” is the particular biblical counseling approach the counselor employs.

But the Christian counselor needs discernment to recognize where humanistic presuppositions color the definition of counseling skills. Instead of being non-directive, the biblical counselor is directive (Psalm 119:105). Although there is unconditional positive regard of the person, the client’s beliefs and ethics will be evaluated under the unchanging standard of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16,17). Similarly, the counselor’s beliefs and behaviors are also accountable to this divine revelation (1 Tim. 4:15,16).

A quick internet search turns up a summary of generic counseling skills like this one. Kevin J. Drab introduces his article on “The Top Ten Basic Counseling Skills” in a way that elevates the skills over the content:

“Research is increasingly finding that the type of therapy used is not a important to outcomes as are specific counselor behaviors such as (1) Enthusiasm, (2) Confidence, (3) Belief in the patient’s ability to change. Although there is nothing which will ensure change, it would appear that clients are more likely to achieve their goals when a good and positive relationship exists between them and their therapist. In essence the counselor’s interactions with the client are a powerful tool in the helping relationship.”

We would beg to differ; if/when the counselor and counselee are open to the Gospel and the Spirit of God as Ultimate Counselor, transformational change is possible! With these distinctions in mind, you can download the PDF of his generic counseling skills summary here: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~krhall/resources/cnslskills.pdf

May we model integrity, biblical faithfulness as well as good communication skills:

“So he [king David] shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” (Psalm 78;72).

JBW