bible based counseling
You need to know what Bible-based counseling is.
Psychological Theories Have Become Dominant
"Biblical counseling" is a term that has been weakened by counseling centers across the country which call themselves biblical, while in reality, they are heavily influenced by psychological theories of human behavior and healing. What is the difference between genuine Biblical Counseling and integrated systems (those which attempt to integrate psychology and the Bible)? To answer that, we need to lay out some of the significant characteristics of Genuine Biblical Counseling.
Based Upon God and Scripture
Genuine Biblical Counseling derives its understanding of God and Man from the Scriptures. We must base our practice upon the inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and absolute sufficiency of the Word of God. It is a fatal error to say that the Bible is sufficient for salvation, but that we need psychological solutions for sanctification.
Rests Upon the Sovereignty of God
Genuine Biblical Counseling has a high view of the sovereignty and power of God. Psychotherapy thrives because Christians have allowed a weak view of God to infiltrate the Church. Jesus addressed this very problem in Matthew 22:29, when he said, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God." To suggest that God can get us to heaven, but in the meantime, He is powerless to transform our lives and heal our minds borders on blasphemy.
Loving and Gentle
Genuine Biblical Counseling is loving and gentle in the application of the Scriptures. There is a false and negative stereotype that exists toward genuine Biblical counselors-that all we do is look for a sin and pounce on it harshly. The Bible says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." (Gal. 6:1).
Rooted in Factual Truth
Genuine Biblical Counseling is focused on truth. Biblical counselors want to arrive at a true understanding of God and how He works in our lives. We want to know the truth about the person we are counseling and to help him acknowledge and respond to the truth. We will not focus on dreams, subjective feelings, and hazy memories unless they can be tested for accuracy and verified. Repressed memories, unconscious motivations, and denial of personal responsibility are not part of genuine Biblical counseling. While we acknowledge that we can learn from general observation of human behavior and the physical world, we must never elevate "general revelation" to an equal standing with Scripture. It cannot guide our counseling philosophy or our basic understanding of the heart of man. The phrase "all truth is God's truth" may be philosophically correct, but it does not answer the vital question, how do we know what is true? We should be cautious in accepting counsel from anyone who defends his practice with "all truth is God's truth."
Systematic Theology
Genuine Biblical Counseling is based on solid Biblical study. A sound systematic theology and Biblical method of interpretation is essential for the genuine Biblical counselor. There is no substitute for the counselor having an in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures and how to apply them to the problems of daily living.
Work of the Holy Spirit
Genuine Biblical Counseling is dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit. Biblical counselors realize that we cannot read the hearts of those we counsel. Only God is able to understand the deepest thoughts, motives, confusions and sins of the counselee. A Biblical counselor does not rely upon his own "expertise" or credentials to delve into the "subconscious" regions of the mind. Rather, he relies upon the truths of the Scripture as the Holy Spirit convicts with power (Jn. 16:8, Acts 2:37).
Repentance and Restoration
Genuine Biblical Counseling leads toward repentance and restoration. The ultimate goal of the Biblical counselor is not to merely help his counselee to feel better temporarily. God is not so concerned with our relief from pain as He is with the molding of our character toward Christlikeness. To relieve guilt without dealing with the issues of the rebellious heart is a disservice to a fellow believer. Paul writes to the church at Corinth: "Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while-yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Cor. 7:8-10).
The Goal of Maturity
The ultimate goal of Genuine Biblical Counseling is spiritual maturity. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 about this goal "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (vv.12-13).
Degrees Not Essential
Genuine Biblical Counseling is not dependent upon degrees, certification, or licensing. Romans 15:14 says, "I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another." Biblical counselors realize that there are only a few essential qualifications for a competent counselor: one must have an extensive knowledge of the Scriptures (Rom.15:14), a good measure of divine wisdom (experience and common sense under the illumination of the Holy Spirit) (Col.3:16), goodness (consistent, righteous lifestyle with a humble attitude) (1Pet.5:5), an ability to relate to others (Col.4:6), an ability to communicate (Titus 2:8), and a genuine desire to help others (1 Thess. 5:14)." (from Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology, by Dr. Ed Bulkley, p.79)
Licensing May Be Detrimental
Secular licensing does not insure competence or effectiveness in a counselor. On the contrary, training that leads to secular certification is likely to impair one's effectiveness in the counseling ministry. A Biblical counselor will never allow himself to be intimidated by secular "experts" or their degrees. Paul writes, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate," (1 Co. 1:18,19).
Church Accountability
Genuine Biblical Counseling is church-based. It is not profit-motivated and is under the authority of and accountable to a local body of believers and the pastor and elders. The professional clinical counseling setting has no biblical basis and little accountability.
GOD IS LOVE
God is Love: How do we Define Love?
"God is Love", but how do we define it? The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as "an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties". Often this "intense affection" stems from a sexual attraction for that other person. We love other people, or we say we love other people, when we are attracted to them and when they make us feel good. Notice that a key phrase in the dictionary definition of love is the phrase "based on". This phrase implies that we love conditionally; in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we can love them. How many times have you heard or said, "I love you because you are cute;" or "I love you because you take good care of me;" or "I love you because you are fun to be with"?
Our love is not only conditional, it is also mercurial. We love based on feelings and emotions that can change from one moment to the next. The divorce rate is extremely high in today's society because husbands and wives supposedly stop loving one another-or they "fall out of love". They may go through a rough patch in their marriage, and they no longer "feel" love for their spouse, so they call it quits. Evidently, their marriage vow of "till death do us part" means they can part at the death of their love for their spouse rather than at their physical death.
Can anyone really comprehend "unconditional" love? It seems the love that parents have for their children is as close to unconditional love as we can get without the help of God's love in our lives. We continue to love our children through good times and bad, and we don't stop loving them if they don't meet the expectations we may have for them. We make a choice to love our children even when we consider them unlovable; our love doesn't stop when we don't "feel" love for them. This is similar to God's love for us, but as we shall see, God's love transcends the human definition of love to a point that is hard for us to comprehend.
God is Love: How does God Define Love?
The Bible tells us that "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). But how can we even begin to understand that truth? There are many passages in the Bible that give us God's definition of love. The most well known verse is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So one way God defines love is in the act of giving. However, what God gave (or should we say, "who" God gave) was not a mere gift-wrapped present; God sacrificed His only Son so that we, who put our faith in His Son, will not spend eternity separated from Him. This is an amazing love, because we are the ones who choose to be separated from God through our own sin, yet it's God who mends the separation through His intense personal sacrifice, and all we have to do is accept His gift.
Another great verse about God's love is found in Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In this verse and in John 3:16, we find no conditions placed on God's love for us. God doesn't say, "as soon as you clean up your act, I'll love you; " nor does He say, "I'll sacrifice my Son if you promise to love Me." In fact, in Romans 5:8, we find just the opposite. God wants us to know that His love is unconditional, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us while we were still unlovable sinners. We didn't have to get clean, and we didn't have to make any promises to God before we could experience His love. His love for us has always existed, and because of that, He did all the giving and sacrificing long before we were even aware that we needed His love.
God is Love: It's Unconditional
God is Love, and His love is very different from human love. God's love is unconditional, and it's not based on feelings or emotions. He doesn't love us because we're lovable or because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is love. He created us to have a loving relationship with Him, and He sacrificed His own Son (who also willingly died for us) to restore that relationship.
God is Love: How Should We Define Love?
When the Scriptures say, "God is love," they aren't telling us that God is some nebulous, warm fuzzy feeling of love. The writers who penned the scriptures weren't saying that in our limited form of human love we will find God. Not at all -- in fact, when we read that God is love in the Bible, this means that God defines love. And when we say that God defines love, we don't mean that He defines it like Webster might define something -- we mean that God is the very definition of love itself. There is no such thing as love without God. As hard as we might try, we cannot define love outside of knowing God. This essentially means that our human definition of love is false.
God is the Creator of all things, and by His very nature, He is love. God says love is unconditional and sacrificial, and it's not based on feelings; therefore, love is not an "intense affection… based on familial or personal ties". To understand what true love is and to be able to truly love others, we must know God, and we can do this through a close personal relationship with Him. We can have that close relationship with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, who was God's sacrifice of love for us.
God is Love: True Love Only Comes Through a Relationship With Him
God is Love! As such, true love -- God's love -- can be summed up in this passage of scripture: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (1 John 4:7-11)
If you want to know this love - true love -- get to know God. He is ready to pour out His love on you, and He wants to teach you how to love others as He loves you.
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TIMOTHY L STALLINGS
17 Newcastle Lane, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 | (C) 865-755-5669 | timstallings@rocketmail.com
Professional Summary
35 years experience in business and financial management as well as counseling and life coaching. Highly analytical, deadline-driven manager who completes accounting activities with accuracy and speed. Innovative accounting professional proficient in extracting financial data from various reporting systems and suggesting key operational changes. Also skilled in Team Building, Life-Coaching, Counseling, Negotiations, and Reconciliation.
Skills
Budget development Team Building & Life Coaching
Financial reporting Leadership Development
Tax accounting Great communicator
Work History
Executive Director
Choices Resource Center – Oak Ridge, TN 07/2015 to Current
Maintained full responsibility for the overall operation of CRC and oversees the fulfillment of CRC’s mission and goals. Conduct regular staff meeting which includes a time of prayer and helps monitor client and staff needs, progress, problems, goal setting and implementation. Provide managerial support, direction and supervision to all paid staff. Conduct yearly written and oral evaluations of personnel. Work with Board budget sub-committee to create annual budget, which is presented to the Board for approval. Oversee and ensure that accurate and current financial records are kept and reported to the Board of Directors. Oversee expenditures for budgeted expenses of CRC. Oversee the compilation of statistical reports, accurate record keeping, and reporting to the Board monthly. Ensure that CRC policies are carried out as well as create, present to the Board for approval, and implement new policies as needed. Coordinate a yearly ministry calendar, which includes special events. Attend all Board meetings and present a monthly director’s report. Review written materials sent out from the Center. Work with Client Services Director to coordinate and conduct volunteer training. Oversee paid staff and/or committees to execute major fundraising events, direct- mailings, newsletters and pledge programs. Communicate with donors with timely acknowledgment of all financial donations as well as personal notes, phone calls and visits as appropriate. Work with and maintain oversight of the Donor Development Director in developing and executing a program to appeal to churches for financial support. Work with Board of Directors on a strategic plan. Implement and oversee the ministry goals and strategies already in place. Obtain feedback and continually assess goals for establishment of effective ministry programs. Act as the primary ambassador and representative of CRC to our community, area churches and the media. Educate the community, including churches, pastors, community groups, and the professional community about CRC’s ministry with the goal of obtaining support and involvement in the ministry. Develop and maintain ongoing relationships with pastors and churches in the community. Develop and maintain relationships with other ministries and organizations that meet client needs. Oversee development of promotional materials and media used in presenting CRC to our clients, the community, churches and donors. Work closely with the Board of Directors to promote public awareness of the ministry through advertisement and church presentations.
Executive Pastor 01/2009 to Current
Ridgepoint Church – Oak Ridge, TN
Currently, manage all financial services including payroll, accounts payable, contribution record keeping and tax reporting. Provide organizational direction and leadership at Ridgepoint Church including the purchase and remodeling of our current facility. Set up all corporate documentation.
Prepared all required documentation and obtained the 501(c)3 status for the church.
During the past 6 years also provided leadership and performed services in the areas of fund raising, counseling, benevolence, missions, pastoral care and other care ministries as well as managed all the financial operations at Ridgepoint Church. During this time the church has grown from about 70 to over 350.
Managed the negotiations for the purchase of an 8000 sq. feet facility including applying for and obtaining financing of the purchase.Coordinated the fund raising effort to obtain additional funds needed for the renovation of the facility. Hired a contractor, architect, and coordinated the renovations of the facility including obtaining all needed supplies and materials for the project.
Set up the financial structure for 2 additional campuses - one in Kentucky and another in Morgan County Tennessee. Currently managing the financial operations of these 2 campuses.
Business Manager/Counselor 01/2009 to 09/2015
Focus Group Prison Ministries – Knoxville, TN
For 6 years provided financial management at Focus Group Prison Ministries including accounts payable, payroll, as well as donor financial management and tax reporting.
Provide leadership and performed services in the areas of fund raising, counseling and teaching at Focus Group Prison Ministries.
Also, prepare IRS Form 990 annually.
Coordinated the fund raising and purchase of a $400K transition apartment facility.
Focus purchased a $400K apartment building for housing students are a part of the Transition ministry.
Administrated a team for the purpose of raising funds in order to purchase the building as well as obtain additional financing to secure the property.
Coordinated the financial planning for the renovation of the property in preparation for the students to be able to live in the facility. During this time also started a Seminary Extension Campus at Morgan County Correction Complex in Wartburg, TN. The Seminary started with 3 students and grew to 19 students.
Also, performed counseling and group support meetings at Knox County Detention as part of the Exodus Project for Knox County Sheriff Dept.
Finance Director/Counseling Pastor 01/2000 to 12/2008
Faith Promise Church – Knoxville, TN
For 8 years gave organizational direction and leadership to the Finance and Counseling office at Faith Promise Church, Knoxville, TN.
At Faith Promise Church managed and financial operations starting with a budget of $700K in 2000 to $3.5M in 2007, with employee growth from 12 to 40 while only adding 1 person to my staff.
At Faith Promise Church managed financial operations including budgeting, project management, payroll and personnel benefit management, accounts payable, federal and state tax reporting, banking relations including obtaining loans, financial reconciliation, contributions records management, annual audit management, leadership team and annual financial reporting to congregation
At Faith Promise Church managed the financial portion of construction of over $8M of new buildings.
Hired architects, engineers, and contractors and managed the financial components of the construction projects.
For 8 years at Faith Promise Church provided leadership and performed services in the areas of counseling, benevolence, missions, pastoral care, marriage mentors, pre-marital mentors, support groups, recovery programs, and other care ministries as well as managed all the financial operations of a growing church. During this time the church grew from about 500 attending to over 2700.
During the years counseled over 4000 hours with both individuals and couples.
While at Faith Promise Church facilitated and provided leadership for Celebrate Recovery - a Christian-based 12-step program.
Conducted over 50 marriages and over 40 funerals.
Made over 200 visits to hospitals and jails/prisons.
Mentored over 50 men teaching them to be the leaders of their home as husband and father.
Tax Accountant 01/1999 to 01/2000
Pilot Corporation – Knoxville, TN
Obtained operating licenses and permits for new Pilot locations across the United States. Processed tax documentation and payments for all locations.
Student 08/1996 to 12/1998
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, M. Divinity – Wake Forest, NC
Commuted to Wake Forest, NC from Knoxville, TN each week for 3 years. Completed Master of Divinity in Counseling degree.
Mortgage Loan Officer 01/1994 to 01/1997
Mortgage Investors Group – Oak Ridge, TN
Mortgage Loan Officer 01/1993 to 01/1994
First Investment Company – Knoxville, TN
Business Manager 01/1992 to 01/1993
Ferguson Harbour – Oak Ridge, TN
Business Manager 01/1989 to 01/1992
Ecology & Environment – Oak Ridge, TN
Environmental Supervisor 01/1987 to 01/1989
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co – Middleton, TN
Right of Way Agent 01/1984 to 01/1987
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co – Hopkinton, MA
Field Accountant 01/1982 to 01/1984
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co – Hopkinton, MA
Corporate Accountant 01/1981 to 01/1982
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co – Houston, TX
Accountant 01/1972 to 01/1981
Stallings Tractor Company – Bolivar, TN
Education
Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH - MBA, 1987
Union University, Jackson, TN - B.S. in Accounting, 1981
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, M. Divinity in Counseling, Dec. 1998
Additional Related Experience and Information
• Currently serve on the Supervisory Committee at Enrichment Federal Credit Union.
• Served on Oak Ridge City Council from 1991-1995.
• Have continued to be involved in community organizations and activities in Oak Ridge and the Greater Knoxville area for the past 25 years
• Played college football for Tennessee Technological University.
• Currently training for my 24th Half Marathon – also ran a full marathon at Disney World for my 50th birthday in January 2008
• Lettered in Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Golf while in High School - Graduated 2nd in my class with 200+ graduating class.
• Raised 2 children to adulthood – My son, Scott, is now a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and my daughter, Shelby graduated from Tennessee Tech with a B.S. and a M.S. in Education with a 4.0 GPA.
• My wife, Cher, is a RN at Methodist Medical Center and is very active in community activities and has served on the Board of Directors for United Way of Anderson County