May 2009 – An old joke goes something like this: God gathers the theologians and preachers in the heavenly movie theater. He plans to show a documentary film that, once and for all, will reveal who had their theology right. Just as the opening credits begin, His thunderous voice says: “Wesley (or the joke teller’s favorite doctrinal champion), get the lights.”

It’s no surprise that Christians have their differences, but one point of doctrine on which all agree is that the creation is fallen. Sin entered the earthly sphere; God’s image in man became marred; and death and dysfunction in every dimension of life are the result. Not only does the Scripture teach it, but our own experiences confirm it – even inside the church.

Sin sows seeds of sorrow through sickness, broken relationships, wayward children, financial problems, unmet dreams, false idols and hidden transgressions for which we had rather die than reveal. No Christian is immune, nor is any church. 

But when desperation cries out for grace and guidance, God fully meets our needs through His Word. In the most dire trials, it is often through gifted and compassionate Christian counselors that the Word is made applicable and the path to healing begins to clear. 

For over 25 years Tim Clinton has been one such counselor. Tim serves as president of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), an organization with over 50,000 members that reaches out to professionals including psychologists, pastors and chaplains, as well as parachurch organizations and lay counselors (www.aacc.net). In 1990, Tim also co-founded and continues to serve as president of Light Counseling, a clinical private practice counseling center in Lynchburg, Virginia.  

AACC’s multifaceted work includes sponsoring conferences for Christian counselors and offering a wide selection of counseling resources and training through their Light University, an accredited, online study center. 

Clinton recently shared his thoughts on the state of Christian counseling, his philosophy of counseling and the dominant issues with which clients are struggling.

AFAJ: What is Christian counseling?
Tim Clinton: There are Christians who counsel. There are counselors who are Christian, and then there are Christian counselors. In my mind, a Christian counselor begins with a framework that is Biblio-centric. We really believe God exists and that He deeply cares for us and is invested in our everyday lives.

Let’s say you are seeking help for your daughter who is anorexic. You want a counselor who understands the nuances of that disorder so he can prescribe a treatment strategy to help her. Because the mortality rate for anorexia is as high as one in five, you are concerned that she receives the best care possible. 

At the same time you want a counselor who understands that the heart of that issue is her relationship to Christ and what He means to her as she journeys through that disorder to freedom. 

AFAJ: This quote from Dr. Larry Crabb appears on your Web site: “The tide is turning. Christian counseling is becoming more Christ-centered, Biblically based and oriented toward the eternal more than the immediate. AACC is leading the way.” This implies that Christian counseling has not always been this way. What is the history?
TC: I think through the 1970s and ’80s there was a move away from pastors when a person was looking for help. The pastor was seen as somewhat out of touch. Plus, there were not a lot of Christian counselors out there. In some ways, psychology became a secular priesthood.

Research showed that psychologists at that time largely didn’t believe faith had any value on a therapeutic couch. So there was a faith gap between those who were seeking help and those who were helping. 

More and more we began to realize that secular psychology alone may help a person, but it can’t give a person ultimate hope. Many secular counselors are doing a lot of good. But ultimately, it takes a counselor who is in tune with the Holy Spirit to be sensitive to the work of God in somebody else’s life. 

If I just came and rescued you out of your pain, I may rob you of the good work that God is doing in your life. But I want to journey with you to your freedom because Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom that Christ came.

AFAJ: What makes people change?
TC: We were made for relationship with God. When we struggle with things in this life – and there are many things that compete with God for our affections – there is a hole that is ripped open inside of us and begs to be filled. If we don’t turn to God to fill it, we fill it with something else. We turn from God – that’s idolatry – to something like pornography or food or work to fill the aches in our soul. 

It is our job as Christian counselors to help others understand that we perish because of a lack of knowledge. If I can help you understand what’s going in your life and relationship to Christ, I’ve started you on a healing journey. It’s my job to stay in tune with the Spirit of God so that I can help you become more like the Son of God through the whole process.

AFAJ: You advertise a course called “Caring for People God’s Way.” What does is that mean?
TC: Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” We believe that God has a prescription for how we are to live and it’s found in the Bible. We really try to anchor ourselves in the Word of God. 

AFAJ: What are the dominant issues you’re seeing in counseling now?
TC: Marriage problems show up frequently. The pace, pressure and pain of everyday life can just rip the heart out of any romance. The divorce rate is 40-50%. Two-thirds of spouses who separate don’t return to their marriage. Behind closed doors there is a lot of praying for a better day. 

Finances have become the number one issue that challenges marriages. And over the last 10-15 years the financial pressure has just ratcheted down tighter. I think most couples want to slow down and live a more relaxed life, but a majority believe it can never happen because they are in debt too deep. 

Depression is also always a big issue. It’s a big issue and has to do with everything from biology to our personalities, to a painful past to the modern vicissitudes of life. 

At its core, depression is a serious disengagement. We disengage from things in order to get control, but the very act of disengaging takes us further out of control and before long you get to a point where you think about suicide. To overcome is to re-engage. A good therapist will provide optimum opportunity to help re-engage. 

Anxiety disorders are off the charts. I think it has to do with the pace and stress we live under. It’s so hard to let go of the death grip of fear, and at the heart of it, it is fear that the next shoe is going to drop, and I’m going to be wiped out.

Another area of great concern is pornography addiction. Pornography use is completely out of control. Conservative estimates are that 40 million adults have visited Internet porn sites. 

The problem is that pornography creates a false intimacy. As a result the intimacy between husband and wife suffers. As your ability to have a relationship with your spouse becomes more difficult, a spouse may turn to someone else to calm or sooth himself. It’s so hard to treat sexual addiction. Its grip parallels that of cocaine or heroin addiction.

AFAJ: That’s a dark picture.
TC: People are hurting and empty. They are exhausted and yet they were made for relationship. In their need to be loved they will do anything to fill the hole in their heart. That’s the day we live in.   

Light University
Some years ago Tim Clinton realized that there was more counseling going on at the local coffee shop or over a friend’s kitchen table than in his counseling practice. In 1999 that reality became the impetus for AACC to found Light University, a study-at-your-own-pace online resource to educate, equip and serve professional, ministerial and lay counselors.

Courses are offered on DVD or online. Foundational and elective courses include: “Caring for People God’s Way,” “Caring for Teens God’s Way,” “Caring for Kids God’s Way,” “Breaking Free,” “Marriage Works,” “Extraordinary Women,” and “Healthy Sexuality.” 

“We know people are doing lay counseling anyway in the church, so we want to give them the benefit of experts in Christian counseling,” Clinton said. 

Those experts include a faculty of over 100 respected Christian counselors, psychologists, authors, therapists and others. Currently, over 120,000 students are enrolled. 

For more information: www.lightuniversity.com