ccef history

8/9/2019 CCEF History

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CCEF History, Theological Foundations and

Counseling Model

Brief History of Pastoral Care

The Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) stands in a long tradition of

pastoral care that dates back to the 1st century church and the New Testament This tradition hasfound e!pression throughout church history

Through the centuries there ha"e been high points and low points in the church#s understanding

and practice of good pastoral care $igh points include the early church fathers% the eformation%

the 'uritans and onathan Edwards n principle% for the first 1*++ years of the church#s e!istence%

the ,criptures formed the basis for diagnosing both psychological-spiritual maladies andinterpersonal problems .nd ,cripture offered a consistent basis for addressing people#s problems

by rooting our li"es in the life% death and resurrection of esus ,o% in many ways% CCEF#s

ministry is not new% because its theology e!presses this heritage of a /od-centered understandingof people and a Christ-centered understanding of how /od redeems people 0ut CCEF is doing

something new in terms of its application of these time-tested truths to modern problems

hether or not the church was doing a good 2ob of pastoral care% for the first 1*++ years allChristians agreed that ,cripture was the basis for restoring human li"es 0ut a fundamental shift

came with the ad"ent of the modern secular psychologies% pioneered by ,igmund Freud in the

late 13++#s n a short amount of time% historic biblical categories of creation% fall and redemption

were replaced by secular categories of mental health and mental illness

The main effect of that shift meant that secular psychological thinking e!cised the personal /od

from the world he made n the new theories and psychotherapeutic practices% there was no

mention of sin% no /od% no necessity of a ,a"ior% and no promise of eternal life The solution to

our 4personal and interpersonal problems5 lay within us and counseling in"ol"ed drawing it out

Though these were secular theories% they greatly impacted the church From the turn of the 6+th

century% a shift took place in pastoral care instruction in seminaries hile many seminaries

continued to make the ,criptures primary in the preaching of /od#s word% they no longer madethe ,criptures primary in pastoral care and counseling This "acuum was filled by a host of

alternati"es that tended to minimi7e% change or o"ershadow the redempti"e message of the,criptures

esponding to this trend% 8a"id 'owlison writes9

0ut as we look more closely at life% it becomes clearer and clearer that ,cripture is about counseling9 diagnostic categories% causal e!planations of beha"ior and emotion%

interpretation of e!ternal sufferings and influences% definitions of workable solutions%



character of the counselor% goals for the counseling process:These are all matters to

which /od speaks directly% specifically% and fre;uently $e calls us to listen attenti"ely% tothink hard and well% and to de"elop our practical theology of con"ersational ministry1

<ainline pastoral theologians% Thomas =den and .ndrew 'ur"es% speak similarly and call the

church back to biblical categories

6

=den writes9

'astoral theology as a unifying discipline was flourishing a century ago and remained

robust until the beginning of this century% yet it has largely faded into such ha7y memorythat none of its best representati"es is still in print>

'ur"es speaks in a similar manner9

<y con"iction is that the basic reconstituti"e task for pastoral theology today is to

establish once again the fundamental connection between the Christian doctrines of /od%redemption% and hope% and the pastoral ministry of the church?

Though CCEF#s founding "ision did not arise from mainline pastoral theologians such as =den

and 'ur"es% it did come from a similar "ision among e"angelical% reformed pastoral theologians

that the ,criptures were the foundation for any right thinking% diagnosis and care for people andtheir problems

The Advent of CCEF and Biblical Counseling

n response to these trends in the church and pastoral training% a 4biblical counseling5 mo"ementemerged in the late 1*@+#s The initial spokesman for this approach to pastoral care and

counseling was ay .dams n 1*@3% ay .dams and ohn 0ettler A started the Christian

Counseling & Educational Foundation 2ust outside of 'hiladelphia For the past four decades%CCEF has been growing and contributing to the biblical counseling mo"ement as it has grown in

both influence and maturity@

CCEF#s early history is largely prophetic and therefore polemic The church was challenged to

rethink its beliefs about why people struggle and how to help them when they do CCEF called pastors and seminaries back to the primacy of ,cripture as the basis for thoughtful and effecti"e

pastoral care and counseling From the beginning% there was always a concern to define what

could legitimately be learned from modern psychology% but ,cripture pro"ided the orienting4generali7ations59 a /od-centered "iew of people and problems and solutions hat was at stake

was which source would be primary

.s CCEF entered the 1*3+#s and *+#s% it was apparent that the second and third generation of

leaders benefited from the strengths of their predecessors as well as learned from theirweaknessesB They mo"ed CCEF in a direction of increased sensiti"ity to human suffering% to the

dynamics of moti"ation% to the centrality of the /ospel in the daily life of the belie"er% the

importance of the body of Christ and to a more articulate engagement with secular culture



.s CCEF enters the 61st century% it continues this positi"e tra2ectory with a commitment to work

out the implications of biblical counseling in many areas of counseling methodology CCEFcontinues to emphasi7e the centrality of the body of Christ as the primary conte!t for care and

counseling while recogni7ing the legitimate place of broader resources within the body of Christ

The relationship between biblical counselors and fellow e"angelicals in"ol"ed in professional%

clinical counseling continues to be worked out in the pursuit of cordial relationships in whichdifferences can be constructi"ely discussed 0iblical counseling , and always has been a

psychology# t offers a distincti"ely Christian understanding of people% problems% influences%

suffering% moti"es% and change processes =ut of this synergy of intergenerational collegiality% arich Christian 4psychology5 is continuing to be de"eloped and applied at CCEF

CCEF#s "iew and practice of counseling ministry is committed to identifiable distincti"es The

following statement of theological foundations and core "alues about counseling e!presses where

we stand today e belie"e they form the basis for a true pastoral theology that is consistent withthose belie"ers in Christ and faithful ministers of Christ who ha"e preceded us

CCEF’s Theological Foundations

CCEF#s core commitments are predicated on the triune% sa"ing% speaking and acting /od of the0ible% who calls us to do ministry by e;uipping his people for ministry

e are 'rotestantD affirming the uni;ue authority of ,cripture% and subscribe to the historic creeds

of the early church and eformation (ie .postles# Creed% Nicene Creed% estminster Confession

of Faith% ondon 0aptist Confession% $eidelberg Catechism) .nd though we are grounded in the'rotestant reformed tradition% we are also ecumenical and seek to minister to and with Christians

from a range of theological perspecti"es

e seek to apply these core commitments of historic orthodo!y in ways that are humble andwinsome

1 0ecause /od teaches us to see the world the way he sees it% and to see all things as they

e!ist in relationship to him% we are committed to the complete trustworthiness and

primacy of the ,criptures

6 0ecause the working of /od in human life unfolds historically% we are committed to thenarrati"e perspecti"e pro"ided by redempti"e-historical theology% the story-line that

frames our understanding of systematic theology% practical theology% and church history

> 0ecause /od#s sa"ing work in Christ esus creates a people for his own possession% weare committed to ser"e the "isible church

? 0ecause there is one 0ody and one ,pirit% we are committed to ser"e Christians of many

different denominational associations

A 0ecause /od#s ways and words are rele"ant across time% in all places% and to all peoplesD

and because the church is called to mo"e towards the world redempti"ely% rather than



e!isting in defensi"e or hostile isolationD we are committed to the importance of cultural

sensiti"ity and cultural engagement

CCEF’s Pastoral Care and Counseling Model

CCEF#s distincti"es regarding counseling grow out of the pre"ious theological emphases The points listed below e!press some of the counseling implications of our theological con"ictions

1 e are Christ-Centered Therefore% we point people to a person% Christ% and not a program $e is wisdom from /od% the ine!pressible gift who deli"ers us from our sins

and sufferings $e is the faith-nourishing foundation in whom the call to obedience finds

its inner principle and power 'eople need the ,a"ior% not a system of self-sal"ation

6 e belie"e in /od#s common grace to all humanity and therefore we can learn from thosewho do not espouse a Christian or e"en a theistic world"iew For e!ample% while the

fundamental world"iew of secular psychology runs counter to Christianity% there are

descripti"e riches to be found in the writings and teachings of those who ha"e gained casewisdom through their research and care These materials can enrich our care of those in

need and can be useful to us as we continue to de"elop our biblically-based counseling

method

> e are aware that human beha"ior is ine!tricably tied to deeper moti"ational dri"esTherefore% we emphasi7e the primacy of the heart% because all human acts arise from a

worship core% either disordered or rightly ordered

? e belie"e that we best image the triune /od as we li"e and grow in community

Therefore% we embed personal change within /ods communityGthe church% with all its

rich resources of corporate and interpersonal means of grace

A e belie"e the ,criptures are rich in their understanding of who we are as human beings

Therefore% we use ,cripture with a full commitment to its authority and sufficiency%con"inced that from beginning to end% it re"eals Christ and his powerful redeeming grace

addressing the needs and struggles of the human condition

@ e belie"e that human beings are both spiritual and physical beings Therefore% we

recogni7e that people are physically-embodied by /od#s design . "ariety of bodilyinfluences impact moral response e take the whole person seriously% granting that there

are ambiguities at the interface of soul and body e seek to remain sensiti"e to

physiological factors% as the conte!t within which /od calls a person to faith andobedience

B e belie"e that people are socially-embedded by /od#s design Therefore% we recogni7e

that a "ariety of socio-cultural influences and sufferings influence moral response e

take the person#s whole conte!t seriously% granting that there are ambiguities at theinterface between an indi"idual and their en"ironment e seek to remain sensiti"e to

social factors% as the conte!t within which /od calls a person to faith and obedience



3 e belie"e that the ncarnation of esus is not 2ust the basis for care but also the model for

how care is to be administered Therefore% we seek to enter into a person#s story% listeningwell% e!pressing thoughtful lo"e ,uch incarnational patience recogni7es that a particular

season of intentional counseling plays one part within a life-long process of Christian

growth

* e belie"e that esus is our faithful edeemer who enables us to perse"ere in the midst of our problems Therefore% we understand that change is often slow and hard esus

promises no instant panacea $e abides in us as we abide in him $e gi"es grace to walk a

long obedience in the same direction% learning wisdom

1+ e belie"e that we at CCEF ha"e not 4arri"ed5 e ha"e not fully and clearly e!pressedall that the 0ible has to say about counseling ministry Therefore% because esus tarries

and we are not yet what we shall be% we humbly admit that we struggle to consistently

apply all that we say we belie"e e want to learn and grow in wisdom e who counseland teach counseling li"e in process% 2ust like those we counsel and teach

Additional Resources

For further information about these sub2ects% we ha"e listed se"eral resources that you mighthelpful

Concerning 0iblical Counseling9

• 0ooks

o Competent to Counsel? The History of a Conservative Protestant Biblical

Counseling Movement by 8a"id 'owlison% published by New /rowth 'ress% 6++3

o Psychology and Christianity: Four Vies edited by Eric ohnson and ,tanton

ones% nter"arsity 'ress% 6+++

• .rticles

o 4CCEF9 The 0eginning5 by ohn F 0ettler% published in The !ournal of Pastoral

Practice% Holume I% No >% pages ?A-A1

o 4Crucial ssues in Contemporary 0iblical Counseling5 by 8a"id 'owlison% The

!ournal of Pastoral Practice% Holume I% Number >% 1*33% pages A>-B3

o 4nauguration ,er"ice for Timothy ane5 by Timothy ane% published in The

!ournal of Biblical Counseling % Holume 6A% Number >% ,ummer 6++B% pages AA-

@?

o 4Cure of ,ouls (and <odern 'sychotherapies)5 by 8a"id 'owlison% The !ournal

of Biblical Counseling % Holume 6A% Number 6% ,pring 6++B% pages A->@



o 4.ffirmations & 8enials9 . 'roposed 8efinition of 0iblical Counseling5 by 8a"id

'owlison% published in The !ournal of Biblical Counseling % Holume 1*% Number 1%

Fall 6+++% pages 13-6A

Concerning the $istory of 'astoral Care9

• Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition by .ndrew 'ur"es% estminster ohn Jno!

'ress% 6++1

• Pastoral Theology: "ssentials of Ministry by Thomas =gden% $arper Collins 'ublishers%

1*3>

1 8a"id 'owlison% #pea$ing Truth in %ove (/reensboro% NC9 New /rowth 'ress% 6++A) p 1@*

6

t is worth noting that these writers come from traditional% mainline ecclesiastical conte!ts% notfundamentalist or e"angelical 'rotestantism =den is an ordained <ethodist <inister and a

professor of theology at 8rew Kni"ersity 'ur"es is a professor of pastoral theology at 'ittsburgTheological ,eminary

> Thomas =den% Pastoral Theology: "ssentials of Ministry (,an Francisco% C.9 $arper Collins

'ublishers% 1*3>) p !!i

? .ndrew 'ur"es% Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition (ouis"ille% JL9 estminster ohn

Jno! 'ress% 6++1) p ?

A

For a personal account of the early days of CCEF% see ohn 0ettler#s 4CCEF9 The 0eginning5% published in The !ournal of Pastoral Practice% Holume I% Number >% pp ?A-A1

@ For a more detailed history of the biblical counseling mo"ement% see Competent to Counsel?

The History of a Conservative Protestant Biblical Counseling Movement by 8a"id 'owlison% published by New /rowth 'ress

B 8a"id 'owlison#s 4Crucial ssues in Contemporary 0iblical Counseling5 (The !ournal of

Pastoral Practice% *9>% 1*33% pp A>-B3) assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the first 6+

years of the biblical counseling mo"ement% and called for growth and de"elopment to remedyareas of weakness

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