Running Head: Neff and McMinn Review Assignment Part B
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Abstract
Embodying integration: a fresh look at Christianity in the therapy room is a book written by
Megan Anna Neff and Mark R. McMinn (2020). This paper will give an overview of chapters
four, five, and six of this book, my reflections on this book, and how these chapters have
impacted my life on a spiritual level. The final section of this book focus on ways to counsel in
an integrative way, specifically revolving around the healing power of and the authority of God.
These concepts are important because of the darkness that many clients will share with us when
they enter our care. The integration of theology and psychology allows us to deliver holistic care
so we can help our clients to maximize their wholeness.
Keywords: sorrow, repentance, integration, theology, psychology
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Neff and McMinn Review Assignment Part B
In their book, Embodying Integration: A Fresh Look at Christianity in the Therapy Room,
authors Neff and McMinn explore the complexities of integrating theological principles with
psychotherapeutic treatment. They delve into atonement, the nature of God, and finding
wholeness while weaving together practical Biblical truth and principles with sound
counseling/psychotherapy techniques to help clients achieve spiritual, mental, and emotional
wholeness.
Chapters 4-6 Summary
Considering Atonement- From what are we being saved:
This chapter deals with the idea of atonement. Specifically the three theories that are
examined are the Christus Victor/Ransom Theory, an older theory which suggests Jesus paid a
ransom to Satan to free mankind in some kind of cosmic battle (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 151);
The Moralistic Theory which centers on the sacrificial love of God demonstrated through the
cross of Christ which moves us to repentance and transformation as we focus on and experience
it in our lives (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 151); and finally the Satisfaction/Penal Substitution
theory (the one the Christian church in America has subscribed to for the last few hundred years)
which says that God made a choice between satisfaction and punishment…choosing satisfaction
through Jesus Christ (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 151).
This was another chapter that hit me right in the heart. The chapter opens with Maria, a
woman who is in a tumultuous relationship with an abusive spouse (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p.
141-142). As the author (Megan Anna) described her client’s state of mind, I reflected on my
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own history of a 19-year marriage to a man who was emotionally and mentally abusive, it was
freeing, in a way to have the opportunity to look at my own thought and behavioral patterns in a
more aseptic environment.
Each one of our clients will have a unique story to tell (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 142-
144). It is important that our clients feel heard and validated. It is part of our sacred work as
Christian counselors to not only make and hold space for them through unconditional positive
regard, but we also have the privilege of showing them how God walks with them through their
darkness, no matter how big or how small it may be (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 162). They need a
safe place to explore their feelings and make sense of their lives and we need to represent to
them a God who is always on their side. We need to always show empathy, compassion, and
unconditional positive regard. We create space for the client to empty out their proverbial
pockets, and how they view the message of the cross will determine how open to God they are
willing to be with their problems.
If they think God is a mean and vengeful god, then it is very likely that they will be afraid
to approach him for fear of retribution. If they see God as a disapproving authority figure ((Neff
& McMinn, 2020 p. 145), it is likely that they will feel too much shame to ever approach God for
help. We must take the theology and make it practical, relatable, usable, and understandable for
them in their lives and in their culture.
As a Registered nurse, I often tell my patients, “You live in there, you know what you
feel, you know what hurts, you know where it hurts, and you know what’s happening with your
body long before I ever will.” I want to empower them; I want them to know that I am on their
side. I am not there to do anything to them, rather I am part of a team, and they are the captains
of that team, and I am there to work with them, to meet them at their point of pain/need and
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figure out a plan (or several plans) for how they are going to manage their illness/condition. It is
very similar to counseling in that something has happened in their lives (though not necessarily a
physical illness) and they need a plan to figure out what comes next. They need to sift through
the ashes, regain their footing, find hope, and learn how to move through this experience (Neff &
McMinn, 2020 p. 172).
Mission of God – What is God up to in the World:
Chapter five focuses on the challenges that face Christian counselors. How do we present
our theology in the therapy room? How do we give our clients real hope? What is God’s mission
in the world and what is our mission within it? How do we share our faith and remain within the
bounds and responsibilities of our licensure? How do we share our faith and our views of God
without compromising the therapeutic relationship we have built with our clients (Neff &
McMinn, 2020 p. 189)?
This chapter compares and contrasts two viewpoints of the Great Commission: one being
that we are bringing people to God and the other that we are bringing God to people (Neff &
McMinn, 2020 p. 142-188). The Holy Sprit is everywhere, not just in our hearts, but everywhere.
One of the attributes that we associate with God is that he is omnipresent, that is in all places at
once. Even the psalmist noted this when he said “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I
flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there, If I make my bed in the depths,
you are there” (International Bible Society, 1997 Ps 139: 7-8).
I think it is important to understand that the Great Commission says, “go and make
disciples “not “go and make converts” (International Bible Society, 1997 Matt 28:19). There is a
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huge difference between a disciple and a convert, and a huge difference in the way they interact
with God and how they view him. A disciple is someone who wants to live like the master lives.
He wants be just like the master in every way possible (Scazzero, 2021). Many pastors and
churches fall into the trap of winning souls for Jesus (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 168), but once
the soul is won, there is no discipleship program in place to introduce them to the Lord to whom
they just gave their lives. Not only does this do a disservice to the church, but it also wounds the
newly saved (Scazzero, 2021).
They don’t know what it means to die to self, and often times that is presented as a scary
and very negative thing (Richards, 1993 p. 34-40). They need to know that Jesus is there with
them in every moment of their pain and darkness (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 168). The truth is
being made dead to sin and alive to God (International Bible Society, 1997 Rom 6:1-14) is the
most freeing thing a human can experience. All the limitations for what a person can and cannot
do with their lives is removed, because now they live under the Law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ Jesus and have been set free from the Law of Sin and Death (International Bible Society,
1997 Rom 8:1-4). But with out a strong discipleship program, new converts (and often times
people who have been saved for years) will never understand how to make that reality their own,
and sadly many wind up right back where they started or worse, and they blame God, the church,
and perhaps even the counselor for their plight (Scazzero, 2021).
Being a responsible counselor and a responsible Christian is not to be taken lightly.
Carelessness in either arena can cause great harm and our actions or inactions can malign the
name God. I think for me, in order to avoid as many pitfalls as I can, I will endeavor to get a
Bachelor of Theology from the Impact International School of Ministry (IISOM) after I have
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completed this degree program. I want to do as Paul instructed Timothy to “show myself
approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the
word of truth” (International Bible Society, 1997 2 Tim: 2:15). I believe that doing so will help
me to ensure that I am successfully walking the line that will keep me effectively serving God
and effectively serving my clients as well.
The key, I think, to fulfilling both the calling to be a counselor and the calling of the
Christian life is to remember that we were “predestined to do good works” and rather than preach
at people, we simply need to demonstrate the love and presence of God. “We learn who God is
through God’s actions” (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 191). I am reminded of a story I heard in a
local church (Friends Church in Fairbanks, AK) a few years ago from a visiting missionary who
had a little church in Kenya, I think it was, that no one ever attended, however, when war broke
out and famine came, he set out to feed people. He fed people each and every day. When things
settled down, and he became more recognizable, the people began saying “isn’t that the man who
fed us?”. That recognition, that care, those good works, without a single word spoken about
Christ, made those people hungry for what this man had, and simply by being there for them, by
meeting them at their point of need, he showed them the love of God, and as the Bible says it is
the kindness of God that draws men to repentance (International Bible Society, 1997 Rom 2:4).
God With Us – Where is God Amid the Deep Uncertainties of Life:
Chapter six holds my favorite sentence in the entire book, “…our primary work as
counselors and psychotherapists is to relax into the peaceful posture of rest known only to those
who are deeply loved” (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 209). God’s love for us is indeed perfect, and
that perfection is rooted in his core character which is righteousness. Nothing about God is ever
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out of order, or out of line. Everything in creation is upheld by the integrity of his word
(International Bible Society, 1997 Heb 1:3).
This chapter looks at human frailty and God’s deep and abiding love toward us. He is not
ruled by emotion the way that we are, and therefore does not react the way we do when we
wound him. Every sin, every offense we can, have or will ever commit against God, against one
another and against ourselves has already been sent away in the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus Christ (Richards, 2009). God’s desire is to draw us, to woo us into deeper relationship with
him; to heal us and guide us into the place where we are led beside still waters, where we lay
down in green pastures and where his presence can restore our souls (International Bible Society,
1997 Ps. 23)
The thing I love most about this chapter is how it holds the way God loves us in such a
deep, meaningful, holy way. God’s love for us is relentless, purposeful and without remorse, as
evidenced by the description of the Covenant of Peace in Isaiah 54. God’s plan of salvation has
been in the making since the foundation of the earth was laid. When he created Adam and Eve,
he took into account the possibility of sin entering the world through their actions. He was not
surprised when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, he was not angry. He came to the garden
in the evening just as he always did, and he was seeking reconnection. Adam and Eve hid, and
God came looking to repair the relationship. He educated Adam and Eve about what they had
done. He never said sin was alright, he told them what the consequences of their actions were,
and then he made a way for them to stay connected even though they were the ones who broke
that connection.
The authors have a dialogue with one another about the Hebrew Scriptures, and I am
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perplexed at what I did not read. Megan Anna says she fell in love with the messiness, how the
mind and soul intermingle (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 217), but what I do not see is the
recognition that unless there is a firm understanding of the Old Testament, there cannot be a firm
understanding of the New Testament. The foreshadowing of Christ, the feasts and how they are
all consummated within him, his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, his burial his resurrection;
one makes no sense without the other.
Whenever Jesus and the disciples made reference to the scripture or said, “it is written”,
they were referring to Old Testament writings. There is a statement in the book “we learn who
God is through his actions” (Neff & McMinn, 2020 p. 191); this an incomplete truth. We learn
who God is by the names with which he reveals himself to us. In the Hebrew culture, a name was
so much more than what we think of today. In Hebrew culture, names represent someone’s
identity, a person’s name tells you about their character, about who they are, what makes them
tick and what you can expect from them (Tzvi, 2022).
This is how we know that God is our healer (Jehovah Rophe), it’s how we know God is
our peace (Jehovah Shalome), it’s how we now God is our provider (Jehovah Jireh) (BLB,
2024). Without understanding who God revealed himself to be in the Old Testament, it makes no
sense why he would do what he did to his son in the New Testament. Without understanding the
mission and purpose of God in the Old Testament (to establish a nation through which his son
would be delivered to save the world), it makes him appear as though he is mean and vengeful in
the Old Testament and totally loving in the New Testament, which cannot be true because God
never changes (International Bible Society, 1997 Heb 13:1) .
Reflection
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All in all, I enjoyed reading the final three chapters of this book. I cannot say I agreed
with everything I read, but it was thought provoking. In the end, the idea of revealing the love of
God through the presence of the counselor is powerful, and the knowledge that God is working
in the lives of our clients even when we are not is a remarkable truth that we can hold on to as we
work together to help find ways to stand in the face of darkness knowing that God is there ((Neff
& McMinn, 2020, p. 172)
Spiritual Formation
All things considered; I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed having been afforded the
opportunity to have a bird’s eye view of the journeys of Megan Anna and Mark McMinn (Neff
& McMinn, 2020, p. 235). The story of their growth and the expansion of their theological views
are inspiring, but I hold to a different theology than the ones that were presented in this book.
One thing we do agree on regarding theology is that Jesus Christ is our savior and there is
no other way to the Father (Neff & McMinn, 2020, p. 221). I have a very different take,
however, regarding the story of redemption. When I look at the Gospel of Peace, I see a God
who has leveled the playing field. I see a God who had compassion and mercy on his creation
who got themselves into a mess they could never ever hope to get out of on their own (Richards,
1995 p. 5). I see a God who took the first step towards reconciliation by removing the sin
problem through Jesus. That does not mean that everyone is saved, but it does mean everyone
has the same opportunity to be saved.
I see a God who not only took care of the sin problem, but also satisfied the requirements
of the law, which again, man could never hope to accomplish. When Jesus became our sin on the
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cross, he also became the curse. He bore in his human body all the wrath that the Father had
against all sin for all mankind for all eternity. The Father extended to us his Grace, which is the
power of God, or God’s ability, that comes to us through unmerited favor (Richards, 1993 p. 22,
34). When he extended his grace to us through the Lord Jesus, he also extended access to every
promise that he ever made to anyone in the Bible. That is how “we escape the pressures of this
world through his great and precious promises” (International Bible Society, 1997 2 Peter 1:4).
As believers, we are hid in Christ, and if God wanted to do anything to us, he would have
to do it to Jesus first, because we are IN Him. God is no longer angry with us. Isaiah 54:9-10
spells out the new covenant: “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters
of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never
to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my
unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed’ says the Lord
who has compassion on you.” I think that is probably the most refreshing news that any client
can hear: God is not mad at you.
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References
BLB. (2024). O.T. names of God - Study Resources. Blue Letter Bible.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm
International Bible Society. (1997). The holy bible, New International Version: Containing the
Old Testament and the new testament.
Neff, M. A., & McMinn, M. R. (2020). Embodying integration: A fresh look at Christianity in
the therapy room. IVP Academic, an imprint of InterVarsity Press.
Richards, J. B. (1993). Grace: The power to change. Whitaker House.
Richards, J. B. (1995). The Gospel of Peace: The message of the Cross. Impact Ministries.
Scazzero, P. (2021). Emotionally healthy discipleship: Moving from shallow christianity to deep
transformation. Zondervan Reflective.
Tzvi. (2022, September 12). Judaism & the power of names. Aish.com. https://aish.com/judaism-
the-power-of-names/#:~:text=The%20answer%20from%20a%20Jewish,at%20birth
%20aren’t%20accidental.
