LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Counseling within the church context is full of challenges.
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
10/2022
Counseling within the church context is full of challenges.
Knowing what to offer it to your congregation and the boundaries that should exist within
your counseling ministry are not intuitive. I have learned this the hard way, over the last nine
years, as I have established two different biblical counseling ministry from the ground up. We
have made our mistakes, but we have also seen great results as we care for the flock of God at
Mission Hills Church and at Grace Chapel. When we begin our counseling ministry at both
churches, I decided that it would be a short-term goal-based counseling service. When I first
started a counseling centered, I had decided that we would only counsel people for 3 to 5
sessions, and we would be sure are to work toward a goal in every scenario. In some cases, this
limited number of sessions still exists. However, I have learned that some cases require a
unique level of care, and therefore, the person or couple must meet with the the pastor or
counselor a dozen or more times. Determining the right length of counseling for a counselee
can prove difficult. That is where David G. Benner’s book was helpful.
As I begin forming our plan for development of our counseling ministry, I was introduced to
“Strategic Pastoral Counseling” by David G Benner. I have benefited greatly from its insights. I
have applied it appropriately over the last nine years and are continually refining our
application of these valuable principles. I am a true fan of this approach to counseling within
the church.
Summary of the Strategic Pastoral Counseling Model
Benner prescribes the plan for pastors and church-based counselors to meet with their
counselee no more than five times. While I would differ on the length he prescribes (not so
much for pastors, but for Certified Counselors), I do see the validity in his argument. It may be
best for a pastor to only meet with a person for 4-6 times and then refer them on to a Certified
Biblical Counselor from something more intense or specific.
Within the sessions of counseling, the counselor must move through specific stages that
Benner outlines as necessary and appropriate for the counselee to have the greatest spiritual
impact. He does not minimize the role of Holy Spirit or the use of the Bible in his counseling
session. I found his writing empowering to the pastor, setting us up to be a tool of
transformation used by God in the lives of those in the church. Benner states that “Strategic
pastoral counseling is a brief, structured counseling approach that is explicitly Christian, and it
appropriates the insights of contemporary counseling theory without sacrificing the resources
of pastoral ministry”(Page 74).
The three key components to Benner’s strategy are as follows: (1) The counseling is
focused in time-limited. (2) It is offered by a person of Christian faith accountable to the
church. (3) The help that is offered is focuses on a specific problem to help a person gain
wisdom and understanding for the sake of resolution or transformation. The focus in this
approach sets it apart from other counseling models. The limitation of time is seen as a
strategic benefit to working on the stated issue with the most precise focus possible for the
counselor and counselee. There are seven characteristics of this model that are very important
to its success:
1. Brief and time-limited. This parameter requires the counselor to be very intentional
from the first contact. Time-limited counseling means that the counselor must be active and
directive in each and every session. It means that both parties must continue to work towards
the goal in and outside of their meeting time. The counseling must concentrate on one central
and specific problem for the length of the counseling partnership. If the relationship does not
remain focused, distractions will get in the way of finding true results for the presenting and
core issue. It is also important to the counselor the counselee understand each session must
have a time limit, and there must be a limited number of sessions when they will meet.
2. Holistic. Strategic Pastoral Counseling looks at behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs when
addressing a specific issue. Without keeping these things in mind, it may not be possible for this
approach to also be spiritually focused.
3. Structured. Benner states, “Good counseling always involves a good balance of
structure and freedom” (page 57). The freedom to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and address
key findings that emerge is an important part of any counseling. However, the counseling
relationship that is only based on freedom will result in nothing more than several good
conversations or with little to no resolutions. Structure provides focus and guardrails to keep
the conversations moving toward a helpful outcome. The structure of the counseling comes out
of the work the counselor and counselee do to address the feelings, thoughts and behaviors of
the individual.
4. Homework-based Counseling. Momentum is key to seeing results in a short period. In
an effort to ensure that momentum is maintained between sessions, the counselee must
engage in assigned homework or reading so that the time with a counselor can be highly
productive. The homework assignment is always biblically-based, often including the Bible
itself. The counselor will assign reading, memorization techniques or process items to help the
counselee internalize key principles that will result in behavior modification or new cognitive
patterns.
5. Is exclusively church-based. The church is God’s divine institution for spiritual growth,
oversight, and accountability. The people in the church understand that the pastor is there to
provide wisdom and insight for the believer’s daily living. The congregation should support this
ministry of the pastor and find ways to free him up from other administrative duties within the
church. He is not starting a private practice counseling service but is rather a fulfilling a vital
part of the discipleship strategy within the church body.
6. Spiritually focus. There are many different focuses for which a Christian counselor may
choose to turn their attention, but Strategic Pastoral Counseling specifically identifies the
spiritual impact the life situation is or has had on the counselee’s soul. The counselor is looking
for ways to identify God’s movement in a person’s life and how a person is responding or may
respond to this spiritual activity.
7. Explicitly Christian. As Benner explains that Strategic Pastoral Counseling is spiritual, he
acknowledges that not all spirituality is Christian spirituality (page 67). The reason the Strategic
Pastoral Counseling is exclusively Christian is because of its use of prayer, scripture, and the
sacraments. It also has a unique counseling goal to move this counselee closer in their
relationship with God so that they may find life, growth, and healing. It encourages them to
keep their reliance upon the holy Spirit and to depend upon the word of God for instruction in
godliness.
My Personal Application of This Model
I find this model completely energizing and very applicable to my personal ministry. As long
as I’ve been a pastor, I have found the demands on my time or high. If I am not careful, urgent
things rather than the important things consume my time. The key to caring for my flock well is
that I have boundaries on my time. It does not mean that I am inaccessible or unloving to my
those in my congregation. Rather, the most loving thing I can do for my flock is to have firm
boundaries so that my time allocated to those that need it appropriately. The strategic
pastoral counseling model encourages me to set parameters on how I counsel a person towards
greater wholeness and holiness.
One of the greatest problems in my counseling ministry is that I meet with someone too
long or too often. Through David Benner’s approach, I have learned the importance of starting
my counseling by stating clear boundaries so that the person understands there will be a limit
and a focus to our time. I can do this in the caring manner that lets them know I will still be
there for them on-going as their pastor but the counseling relationship must have defined
boundaries. Over the last few months, I’ve been starting off my counseling relationships by
letting them know we will only meet for a specific number of meetings. I ask them to focus in
on very specific issue that they would like to address. We spend time praying and working hard
to find God’s perspective and answers for that specific issue. The more clear I am about our
boundaries or our focus, the more result I am seeing. I am indebted to Benner for putting clear
words on this model and giving practical ways to implement it.
By reading this book, I have been reminded of the importance of assigning homework.
Because my time is limited, I must disciple the counselee to do work with the Lord outside of
their time with me. Assigned homework is not only a great practice for greater productivity in
the session; it is a wonderful discipleship method. I want the counselee to be more dependent
upon God than on me. By assigning homework properly, I am helping them in their spiritual
disciplines to seek God in the quietness of their home. I am exalting Him to be the Wonderful
Counselor in their life and for them to see me as an under-shepherd for the one true Shepherd.
The Strategic Pastoral Counseling Model at Our Church
At Grace Chapel, we have a biblical counseling center (The Hope of Denver) that tends to
the flock on a regular basis. For the most part, we offer, what would be classified as “Strategic
Pastoral Counseling” by letting our counselees know “we are a short-term goal based
counseling center”. We are forthright about our use of prayer and the Bible in our counseling
sessions. The counselee understands from the beginning that we are a church-funded, they do
not pay for our services, yet they are accountable to the church for their further growth and
recovery. In the next few years, we will also work to start other short-term, goal-based ministry
programs, such as, Celebrate Recovery, Grief Share, and Divorce Recovery, in order to help
people through the specific issues that they are dealing with at a specific state in their life.
Strategic Pastoral Counseling is the model we use, and it will continue to be refined as our team
grapples with all that David Benner has written. I am grateful for this resource and look forward
to seeing it further impact our ministry.
