Rev. Paul Andrew Travis, 90, of Hendersonville, NC went to be with the Lord on December 21, 2023. He is survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Joyce Travis.

Paul served as pastor and interim in many states. He spiritually influenced hundreds of lives  through personal and marriage counseling as well as churches, pastors and by his personal testimony and ministries.

Paul was helped by Dr. Solomon’s conference, then was trained in Exchanged Life Counseling through a workshop and internship at Grace Ministries International in Georgia. Two of Paul’s video lectures are in the Online Lectures Series course at www.GraceStudyHall.org

In 2005 Paul and Joyce joined the field staff of Freedom in Christ Ministries (FICM.org). He is the co-author of Grace That Breaks the Chains (originally, Breaking The Bondage of Legalism). 

John Woodward recorded three audio interviews with Paul. They are available here:

• Paul’s Testimony
• Using the 7 Steps to Freedom 
• Conducting Corporate Steps to Freedom in Christ

I grew up knowing the Lord, but at fifteen came to know Him in a more personal way that changed my life forever. I’m 32 now, and I have followed Him since that day. But, the last year of my life has brought tumultuous and uncertain circumstances. I came to GFI because, though I loved the Lord and wanted to follow Him, I was stuck in patterns of anxiety, confusion, and resistance toward my circumstances. I suddenly began experiencing panic attacks and daily physical anxiety that seemed to control my life. Though I pressed into the Lord for help, I felt unable to reach Him and often a disappointment toward Him. Why was I like this? How could I get out?

I found the “Handbook to Happiness” after searching on YouTube for people who God had led out of similar anxiety. The book spoke to my heart and touched heavily on the topic of “self”—a principle that the Lord kept highlighting in my life. I had been praying for the Lord to lead me to counseling if that was something He wanted for me. GFI seemed to me a resource that was Scripture based, Holy Spirit driven, and made sense. It felt like the Lord answered my prayer!

After reaching out, I began meeting weekly with Cheryl. I will always be grateful for my time with her. Through her, the Lord helped me see how I was living through my own strength, a life of striving and “trying” to be like Jesus—but, of course, always falling short and growing more and more frustrated. Through our time, I learned how God wanted to live through me and the true meaning of surrender. I found comfort in the truth that He uses uncomfortable circumstances, like mine, to bring us into greater surrender which ultimately leads to more intimacy and life in Him.

The Lord has been bringing me to this surrender, and I have found that I am not so afraid anymore. Things that I could not do before because of fear, He is enabling me to do now. If you are in a spot of frustration, fear, and disappointment, like I was, then I highly recommend GFI. For me, it was the truth I needed to begin laying down my “self” and looking to Jesus for true life. I am very thankful for Cheryl and her kindness, wisdom, and gentle way of helping me understand. We had a great time chatting and I always looked forward to our time together! She made it so easy for me to be open and honest. Thank you to her and GFI for all your help, encouragement, and resources. I pray your ministry would be blessed as you continue to aid Christians in their walks with Jesus. Here’s to “exchanging” our life for His!

One of the important virtues for the Discipleship Counselor as well as the disciple/counselee is a consistent, grace-oriented personal devotional life. This includes the essentials of daily time in God’s Word and prayer.

Another kind of resource that is a helpful supplement is a daily devotional book. This should not take the place of the Scriptures, but can be a beneficial addition.

Here on ELCmatters.org we have a list of recommended daily devotional books. Some are only available in print, others are online, and some are available in both formats.

In his introduction to his compilation of daily readings Miles Stanford wrote,
“None But the Hungry Heart is a devotional study. There are twelve sections each containing thirty-one daily portions. The following factors have been considered in arriving at this form of presentation:

1. A spiritually hungry heart is the requisite for entering into the growth truths of identification with Christ.
2. Prayerful study on the part of the believer is the means by which the Holy Spirit ministers these truths.
3. The concentration of the Christ-life truths in brief daily studies facilitates their assimilation.

This resource is conveniently available online at AbideAbove.org
(Keep in mind GFI’s glossary for more precise definitions of “old man,” “sin nature,” etc.)

Although we trust God for a breakthrough as our counselee/disciple discovers and appropriates the gospel of identification with Christ, this process is encouraged and supported by him/her “soaking in” grace and truth daily.

In his forward to the daily devotional volume, His Victorious Indwelling, Nick Harrison observes,

“Today, many Christians are wholly unaware of the spiritual resources they possess in Christ. Nor do most believers in Christ daily experience an awareness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. And yet at what time in history has the Christian church and her teachings been so widely disseminated?… Yet for all this exposure, the perception of many is that the depth of our Christian life and witness is perhaps a mile wide, but an inch deep…”

We can say amen to that. Harrison continues,

“God chooses to work on us from the inside out. He wants to live His life through us, by the agency of His Spirit, so that our lives reflect the presence of Christ to those around us. There will indeed be dramatic change in the Christian who purposes to know God and His victorious indwelling – but it will be largely through the process of learning to abide in Christ, rather than instantaneous, divine ‘touch’ from God.” (His Victorious Indwelling, pp. 6,7. Available in paperback and Kindle)

May we continue to sample and use daily devotionals for our edification and so we can coach our disciples in using one as a “homework” resource and for ongoing spiritual growth.

JBW

Whatever counseling approach one uses, there is a need for basic counseling skills.

Compare this to cooking. Whatever the recipe and ingredients a cook has in mind, cooking skills are needed for preparing food, using utensils, operating a stove or oven, etc. Similarly, there are basic skills that we need keep in mind and develop in Exchanged Life counseling and coaching. (Some of these are identified in the lecture, Counseling Skills, in GFI’s Online Lecture Series course.) 

In this video lecture Fred Antonelli of Basic College Ministries presents five practical counseling principles for counseling young adults on college campuses. He briefly discusses:

1 Learn to listen

2. Be empathetic

3. Know when to triage (refer to a counselor with more training)

4. Don’t be judgmental

5. Keep Jesus the center of your counseling

Although his target audience is college ministry, these principles are basic for other contexts as well.

In September I attended a lecture by Dr. Janeen Davis on Biblical conflict resolution. She uses resources from the ministry Peace Pursuit. This model complements our teaching on The Wisdom of Forgiveness (in The Christ is Life Conference and Dimensions of Forgiving at GraceNotebook.com). Their Quick Start Guide is available at PeacePursuit.org as a free download. They also have a downloadable app to facilitate this process step by step. Dr Davis’ site is www.purposeandpeace.com. I recommend this as a biblical, practical resource for “phase 4” ministry.

-JBW

One of the trends in counseling is the use of “mindfulness.” This sounds compatible with biblical discipleship (such as the need to “renew your mind, Rom. 12:2, etc.), but a closer examination of the philosophy and practice of mindfulness reveals that it is contrary to Christ Centered Counseling.

Dr. Joanna Jackson wrote an excellent article on this topic in The Journal of Biblical Counseling. Here are some excerpts:

Mindfulness has become a buzzword in our modern Western world. It appears on the cover of magazines, in the news, on bestseller lists. It is a go-to treatment in the therapy room, and it is heralded in schools, the military, and businesses alike. It is the antidote to everything from daily worry to clinical depression. Celebrities swear by it, neuroscientists study it, monks practice it, and psychologists are trained in it. And with good reason. An increasing body of research attests measurable benefits for a wide range of physical disorders and psychological distresses. Something in mindfulness is resonating deeply.

In addition to its popularity in the wider world, it has received an increasing level of commitment and following from many Christians who testify to the benefit that mindfulness has been to their own faith, and who recommend its use in therapy and counseling. At the same time, many Christians remain skeptical and cautious about mindfulness, both for themselves and in their roles helping others. So what are we to make of mindfulness? What is it really about? What should we be wary of, and to what degree can we benefit from the insights that mindfulness provides?[1]

See a summary of her article here: Mindfulness_article

A Biblical view of mindfulness would include Scriptures such as these:

“You keep him in perfect peace
 whose mind is stayed on you,
 because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3,4 ESV

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” ESV

Dr. Jackson summarized her analysis of secular/Buddhist “mindfulness” in psychotherapy:

Although mindfulness practice contains some common-grace wisdom, we must not be naive in thinking it is easy to engage in mindfulness meditation in a non-Buddhist way. It is incredibly difficult to divorce the techniques of mindfulness from its metaphysical framework. In light of this challenge, I do not advocate “Christian mindfulness,” or efforts to Christianize mindfulness practices for use in counseling. Rather, it is more prudent to let the mindfulness revolution spur Christians on to revive and more fully realize the contemplative resources for living well that are already contained within centuries-old Christian practices.

We have a rich heritage that can teach us the discipline of biblical meditation, psalm-like reflection on our inner lives, the importance of embracing the present moment as God’s precious children, and the need for silence and solitude. Having support for how to do these things in the current context of our individual lives and church communities would be of great value. Herein lies the possibility for developing further resources that are tailored to the challenges our culture presents and the individual struggles that we face.” [1]

________

[1] Joanna Jackson, Journal of Biblical Counseling 33:1 (2019): 25–45. http://www.CCEF.org

[2] For a good downloadable booklet that compares Biblical meditation with eastern meditation, see https://comeandreason.com/meditation-guide/ (Note: Dr. Tim Jennings is a Seventh Day Adventist psychiatrist and author.)

Bracketed content added, J.B.W.