Tim Lane
Helping "Difficult" People

David Powlison & worship leader Bob Kauflin chat about the similar roles of a worship leader and a Christian counselor during a break at the 2009 CCEF National Convention.

(Listen to this audio podcast by clicking the play button above.)

Recently CCEF Executive Director Tim Lane and his wife Barbara traveled to Montreal, Canada, to share CCEF's "How People Change" curriculum with over 500 people at SEMBEQ Seminary in that city. SEMBEQ has formed a partnership with CCEF to assist in their mission of training pastors with a zeal for church planting. The seminary intentionally partners with local churches, and much of the seminarians' training takes place "on the job" in those churches.

Tim & Barbara Lane with Francois Turcotte & Francois Picard of SEMBEQ

During their visit, Tim and Barbara sat down with Francois Turcotte & Francois Picard, two of SEMBEQ's leaders, to discuss their unique vision and mission, as well as how CCEF's teaching ministry has become an indispensible part of the training they offer. This podcast is taken from that conversation.

Are you facing a situation in your church that will require pastoral care over a long period of time? If you don’t have a situation like that now – you will in the future. Are you ready for it?

In part 1 of this article, Tim Lane recommended that churches respond to long term pastoral care needs by forming a small group to provide and supervise care. Here in part 2 he continues to describe how that care group should function and suggests a couple books on the subject that you might find helpful.

If you haven’t read part 1 click here.

Guidance For Churches Seeking Outside Help for Counseling

Last week, I laid out four reasons a church should counsel as part of their ministry to their members and as a result, some of you might think that I am implying that a local church should not seek the assistance of “outside” help. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me nuance my strong commitment for the local church to do counseling with the following qualifications.

Don’t Outsource By Default: There is nothing unbiblical about seeking outside assistance. But just because you feel overwhelmed by a counseling opportunity, don’t immediately think you must outsource your care. When a church immediately out-sources counseling it misses the opportunity to grow both individually and as a community.

Why should a local church and its leaders seek to incorporate counseling within the context of the local church?  After all, won’t that distract the church from being truly missional and instead become insular and self-focused? Shouldn’t counseling be left to the professionals who are highly trained to deal with people’s problems? These are all good questions that deserve an answer.

Are you facing a situation in your church that will require pastoral care over a long period of time? If you don’t have a situation like that now – you will in the future. Are you ready for it?

Caring for people in the local church is challenging work. As a pastor, I remember numerous occasions where a need for long term care arose. These were always challenging situations and ones that caught the church by surprise. Over the span of a decade, though, I began to see some pretty obvious things that were essential for providing good long term care. I compiled these ideas into a chapter for my doctoral thesisⁱ which I have updated to publish here. I must say that I learned these things simply by watching brothers and sisters in Christ pour out their lives in sacrificial love to friends and loved ones who were in need. Perhaps it will help you to prepare for the pastoral care demands that will come your way sooner or later.

(Listen to this audio podcast by clicking the play button above.)

This week we invite you into Dr. David Powlison's Dynamics of Biblical Change class to hear a complete lecture on "Prayer Requests." We wanted to share this lecture with you because we believe it to be an excellent example of CCEF's commitment to bring "Christ to Counseling and Counseling to the Church." Dr. Powlison teaches us that the way we as pastors, counselors, or group leaders model sharing prayer requests can actually become a teachable moment for others in our churches, helping them to better apprehend the grace and mercy of Christ.

Download sample workbook pages for this class (PDF)

This audio is from the Dynamics of Biblical Change class which is being offered this fall on Thursday evenings from 6:30-9:30 pm. Other classes offered this coming semester: Counseling and Physiology, Marriage Counseling, Counseling Observation, and Human Personality

Through CCEF's counselor training classes, you will:

• Learn how to help people change through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Enhance your ministry.
• Grow in Christ yourself as you learn from our gifted teachers.

Tuition deadline for Fall on-site classes is September 10. Find out all you need to know and register today!

This week's extended-length podcast is from the 2008 CCEF National Conference.

Gospel lyrics + music that fits the words = tears…

That has always been the formula that works for me. Old standards such as “And Can it Be” and “Man of Sorrows.” A choir on full tilt singing “Ode to Joy.” Contemporary worship songs such as “Be Ye Glad.” Most anything by the Soweto Gospel choir. And most anything sung at my local church. I hear these songs and I am pointed to Christ. I get glimpses of joy, even when life is hard.

Some of these songs I am sure will be sung in heaven.