This brief synopsis of The Minirth Guide for Christian Counselors by Frank Minirth attempts to show the most important strengths and weaknesses of the text. It discusses what the author of this paper perceives as the strong points in the text, along with what is felt to be weakness in the prescribed material for the Christian Counseling course at William Carey University.
This brief synopsis of The Minirth Guide for Christian Counselors by Frank Minirth attempts to show the most important strengths and weaknesses of the text. It discusses what the author of this paper perceives as the strong points in the text, along with what is felt to be weakness in the prescribed material for the Christian Counseling course at William Carey University. One of the strong points the author perceives in the text is specifics. The text addresses several areas of Christian Counseling, offering seven biblical steps for doing Christian Counseling, and gives specifics the counselor needs to begin a practice. It includes sections on why Christians break down and how the Christian counselor can help. It also includes a section of quick reference material, which incorporates a section on the DSM-IV coding system of mental disorders. This book includes material from both a theoretical standpoint, and a more practical standpoint, with actual forms to help establish a Christian counseling practice or ministry. It is clearly a type of hands on text.
Another strong point of the text is that it shows the main differences between Christian Counseling and its secular counterpart. It explains the uniqueness of Christian counseling, showing how the Christian counselor is not left to sift through all the secular philosophies and reasonings in hopes of coming up with a system that works. Christian Counselors always accept the Bible as the final authority on matters of right and wrong. It also explains that Christian counselors don’t have to depend on their own consciences, but can go to the Word of God when questions of conscience arise. It further explains that as secular schools of thought in psychiatry have a foundation and framework from which to build, Christian Counselors build on the foundation and framework of the Bible. Minirth states that “by joining this foundation with the scientific facts and observations of psychiatry, the Christian counselor has a good vantage point from which to help people solve problems.” This being one of the strengths of the text, it holds a view that does not shun modern psychiatry, but embraces it as a useful and beneficial asset to the Christian Counselor.
The text includes discussions of other unique additions to secular counseling, including discussions on the Christian counselors and their client’s dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit, the godly component in human nature, and its universal application. It is not limited by time factors, or divisions of selfhood, using a whole-person concept. It discusses the five biblical principles that Christian counseling is based on, giving useful examples from hymns, books, and real life experiences. One of those principles was especially eye-catching to this author, which was “Man is sinful.” It shows how modern psychology has exchanged the behavioral concepts of what was done to why it was done, in essence making excuses for sinful behavior. Though an understanding of the why is important, it does not diminish the fact that the sinful behavior has occurred. This text also does not diminish the concept of Satan, satanic activity in the world, nor does it discount the possibility of demonic possession, which are all strong biblical concepts that much of secular psychology does not accept.
In this text, there is a short discussion of the parts of a human being, including the spirit, the soul, and the body. It states that much of modern psychology has ignored the spiritual aspect of humanity, while focusing on the soul, which includes the will, the emotions, and the mind. It touches on the controversy between the dichotomous view and the trichotomous view of human beings, but surmises that there is not enough conclusive evidence to determine which view is correct. Minirth quotes Vine, who states that the soul and spirit cannot be divided but only distinguished. This author highly disagrees with that statement, as the scripture clearly states in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and understands the thoughts (of the mind) and intents of the heart (spirit). The biblical evidence is conclusive on this point, but the text fails to come to any conclusion on this matter, which is one of its weaknesses. Counselors need to understand the divisions, what their functions are and how they can be dealt with both separately and together as a whole. Though the text shows that some functions of the soul and spirit overlap, this author believes that the soul often functions without the full benefit of the spirit in non-regenerated human beings.
