ULTIMATE COUNSELLOR
HIS NAME SHALL BE WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR, PRINCE OF PEACE.

It has become rather popular for people to visit a therapist for counselling. Our modern “rat race” is run at such a pace that some participants have given up on life. More and more competitors want to abandon their jobs, forsake the faith and live a carefree life. Despite the glossy magazines and Hollywood version of “real life” sadly most people live a lie. They fool themselves that they are happy and fulfilled but deep down in their soul there is an ache and vacuum that nothing can satisfy. It is significant that one of the Biblical names of Christ is Wonderful Counsellor (“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6). One who we can turn to when all else fails. How wonderful is that?

God’s Spirit indwells us as comforter and resident teacher. The Lord imparts wisdom to us when we face life’s challenges. He can help us in our time of despair, confusion, fear, anxiety and sorrow. Our God is the ultimate Counsellor. There is a crucial need for our fellow members to learn basic counselling skills to help their family and friends. My prayer is that God will raise up adequate and gifted men and women from our congregation who will help us to comfort the bereft, to demonstrate compassion to the lost and instil hope in the future. Every need of the human soul is ultimately spiritual. If you desire and believe that God wants you to become a spiritual counsellor, please contact the church office and ask for Nicol Piron or Lauren Vice and give your name and telephone number to them. We will list you as a trainee spiritual counsellor.

The Spiritual Counselling Course will run for 3 months and will meet on Monday’s from 6:00pm to 7:30pm commencing May 2011. This short preparatory course may earn you a St Marks Spiritual Counselling Certificate and enable you to provide vital and fundamental information that will transform the lives of people you meet.

The programme will include the following subjects:

What is spiritual counselling? Who is qualified to offer spiritual counselling? What is the difference between psychology and spiritual therapy? How to minister comfort to the bereft, marriage counselling, divorce recovery, how to help difficult children and teens, colour coding of Bible verses for counsellors. Discerning types of temperament. Principles of human needs. World of reality and fantasy. Bio-polar obsessive behaviour and Christian meditation.

A team of experts will be led by Dr Bruce Woolard.