My job is to help people. While all jobs have some bad days, this is one that I enjoy even on the worst days.
However, I know that my primary calling in life is to preach. I believe that this is the reason why I was created (it has taken me years to even get to the point of saying that – but I am sure of it now). If I live to love God, I believe that preaching is the best way I can do that and how I can bring the most glory to Him. So if I am called to preach, why did I get trained as a Biblical Counselor and Life Coach? Here’s why.
- To love God more. The best counselors are first counselees. By being trained I have to be study, write and read in addition to doing the life coaching exercises I ask others to do. By reading and doing these things I am growing personally. When I grow in my own love for God and understanding of how to apply the Bible, I will surly be better in the pulpit.
- I am driven to be a better husband and dad. Christian life coaching and biblical counseling drives the counselee to have a deeper and better life because of their core beliefs in God. While this may include behavior modification, much of life coaching is connecting with what matters most. By being a life coach, I had grown in my drive and desire to be a faithful dad and husband. This helps my whole life preach and keeps my own household in order.
- It makes me a better leader. I believe that leading others means that you must care for those who are following you. This was my original drive for getting trained as a biblical counselor. While I thought it would make me a better pastor, I knew it would make me a more authentic and caring as a leader. Then as a preacher, I am communicating with an authoritative voice the commands and instruction of God’s Word. If I can be a great leader out of the pulpit, it will make me a better preaching and leader when I am in the pulpit.
- It drives me to spend time with my sheep and helps me know better how to apply God’s Word to their life. I remember getting in the car with a man in Texas as I arrived to speak at his event and he said, “You smell like sheep.” “What do you mean?” I questioned. He said, in just the few minutes we’ve been together I can tell that you love your people and you spend time with them. This was a compliment. I want to spend time with people and by doing so be able to better exegete their lives and connect God’s word to their heart.
- Counseling and coaching is a form of preaching. Think about it. When I sit with a couple or an individual, I am listening to them in order to better apply the truth of Scripture. Then I am listening and relying on the Holy Spirit to guide me. I will open the Bible to apply and exegete various passages for them. Then we will craft the main walk aways and what needs to be done next for the sake of life change. That is also what we do in preaching.
So as you can see, there are some clear benefits to being trained in these areas. I hope to continue to be trained in counseling and life coaching for the foreseeable future so that I continue to be the best preacher possible, for the glory of God.
