Christian Self Help pt. 2

An addendum to my last post.

I was thinking of the very exclusive nature of self help these days. You read a book to fix your marriage, deal with grief, figure out your troubled teenager, etc. And voila, apply it on your own time, pace, whatever you are comfortable with. This is trouble and forgets the importance of relationships. Our non Christian friends realize this when they go to Dr. Phil or Oprah - they seek someone else's counsel and assistance. I would be lost without my parents, sisters or girlfriend when it comes to my life. I would be a lot more selfish and arrogant than not when I have loved ones telling me in love of my sin. As 'iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen friends.' This is the role of the church - to love each other and assist in helping our growth as little Christs. We are in need of change (we are sinners) and the chief way God brings about change is through believers preaching His word.

its really a beautiful portrait.

Christian Self Help

From my friend Nate Day...

i have extracurricular study to suggest: christian "self-help".

it's a combination of using philosophy and psychology to solve the problems we face like a death in the family or a mid-life crisis, specifically from a christian standpoint, rather than the drugs or paid professionals that people are much more readily willing to utilize in this day and age. you could even call it "self-counseling". i just ran into this book called "Plato, not Prozac" that gives a wonderful argument for using philosophy on a practical level like self-help and avoidance of creating your own problems, but it glosses too quickly over any specific philosophy. "very stimulating," as Dr Campbell might say.

Christian "self help" is a marvelous concept, but when Christians want to talk about self help these days it always seems to be getting away from Scripture. I assert and believe that the Bible is sufficient for living a life that is pleasing unto God. That I can relate 100% to the Christ and other characters in Scripture. However, I believe that psychology is a 'useful adjunct' - to quote Jay Adams. It is a question of how does Christianity and Psychology relate or integrate. (very minimally). there are over 200 thearapeutic systems out there offering support and help to anyone who would hear their message. Scripture can tell me more about humanity than Carl Jung, BF Skinner, Darwin, Freud or anyone. 2 years ago I did a paper on Freud's view of anthropology and human sexuality, talk about twisted. What he and other psychologists proclaim is proven historically and biblically. Rich Ganz proves this well in his book, psychobabble. (this gentleman taught counseling for years, and before his conversion was a psychologist.)

As a useful adjunct, however, psychology assists in determining outward consequences of sin on the mind, life and family. If a person is arrogant and proud that will reveal itself in one's life. Lust can tear apart one's family and relationships.

Philosophy is rather useless in comforting people who are grieving. When philosophy (proper) comes into the discussion of theology and what the bible says, the gospel goes through the shredder. That is because over all philosophy starts with the wrong questions. Descartes noted, "I think therefore I am." Rouseau commented, "I feel therefore I am." It is clear that the major philosophies of today all start with.... me (very narcisttic).

On the issue of grief - scripture speaks profoundly to that reality. Most likely Jesus lost his father, how did He handle it? David lost his son, and after his death how did he handle it? Same with Jacob over Joseph, Abraham over Isaac - though Isaac was not killed (almost). How does God relate to these men? What message did the prophets have for them? David rejoiced that his son was with God. Jer. 19:11 and Romans 8:28 are huge in developing a theology for the hurting and grieving. God is sovereign and we are sinnners. As we sin, we bring havoc to this world, yet all the while God works out His plans for the good of His people - His kingdom. That is the answer to the question of evil.

Ultimately the quesiton is, "How does God relate to you?" This must be examined by finding out how Scripture can relate to me, you, and everyone who is on planet earth. How did God relate to the sailors, Assyrians and Jonah in that OT book? Or in the NT, How did Christ act toward the 12 disciples?

The only way to rescue our world. (is the gospel)

if you have some thoughts on church leadership, check out my previous post.
Words from Mark Driscoll, Radical Reformission (pp. 108)

St. Paul calls sin the mystery of iniquity, and human history has proven him right. The problem with every culture is not ultimately out there in the culture, but is within the people of the culture. This mystery of the crookedness of the human nature has puzzled lost people in the culture so fully that we now have a veritable army of counselors and psycologists armed with some two hundred different therapeutic systems trying to straighten people out. These systems speculate that the causes of our imperfection range from an unconscious mind filled with primal urges (Sigmund Freud), to a collective unconsciousness from our racial history (Carl Jung), to our environmental (emotional and physical) conditioning (BF Skinner), to the lack of awareness of our inner goodness (Carl Rogers). All we are missing is a theory in which a magic bunny - hidden deep in the drink cooler of a Provo, Utah, convenience store - is the center of an invisible web of mind control causing human beings to do terrible things to one another. Reformission requires that God's people address sin theologically.

First to change a culture, we must change the people in that culture. The question that arises is whether people do what they are, or if they are what they do. The answer to this is imperative, because if we are what we do then all we need to do is train people to act differently and they will change themselves. ... The unredeemed heart is a glutton for sin and death. Only God can give a person a new heart, one with new desires for a redeemed life that contributes to a transformed culture

We must begin by bringing the gospel to people so that they can be given a new heart out of which a Christian life flows. As more people live out of their new heart, new families, churches, businesses, and governments will result that together will transform culture.

12 steps to become like Jesus

As I work at the mission and in the context of addiction recovery, I learn a lot about popular Christian psychology regarding addiction. I don't like what I see and hear because it is works oriented. At the core of this Pop Christian psychology you find that there are twelve easy steps to become like Christ. Someone out there took the 12 steps that Alcoholics Anonymous uses and applied a spiritual message to them. They are as follows:

(1) recognize your brokeness

(2) the birth of faith

(3) Allowing God to guide your life

(4) self examine yourself

(5) Confession of sins

(6) inner transformation - aka 'repentance'

(7) purification of character

(8) examine your relationships and prepare to make amends with others

(9) the discipline of making amends

(10) maintaining progress in your recovery

(11) prayer and meditate

(12) ministry

As you can see it sounds really biblical. But is it? Is there such a thing as a roadmap to Christian living? 12 basic steps to be perfect. My main beef however is that halfway through the list of Christian living is repentance... Scripture teaches that all of life is repentance... Turning from our idols and addictions (they are synonymous) and looking to Christ. That is not recovery... The semantics of the word seem to stress that when you recover you return to your original state as a human. Instead repentance teaches that you turn from evil to good, from sin to perfection.

'Repentance is the way we make progress in the Christian life. Indeed, pervasive all-of-life repentance is the best sign we are growing deeply and rapidly into Jesus. The purpose of this kind of repentance is to repeatedly tap into the joy of our union with Christ in order to weaken anything contrary to God's heart. [read idolatry]'

- Tim Keller