Page 66 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

Church Traditions for a Christian Psychology

What constitutes skillful living and skillful rela- ding of the brain and its strengths and weaknes-
tionships? ses.
I felt like I was home. I would like to have more time for contempora-
A professor suggested further study at CCEF, ry novels. I usually take my cue from the New
which had its start in the early 1970’s. There I York Times Book Review and will read one that
would observe the beginnings of biblical coun- it reviews favorably. I am drawn to novels and
seling and decided that, if I could choose a vo- biographies that I think are especially well writ-
cation, it would be this type of work. ten. Dave Eggers is a personal favorite. He tells
After seminary I pursued doctoral study in a good story with interesting characters and he
counseling psychology, took a side trip to Ca- tells it with language that is engaging. What Is
lifornia where I met my wife, did two intern- the What is beautifully conceived and heart-
ships in neuropsychology, wrote a dissertation breaking.
in electrophysiology on evoked potentials in Real, live people are, of course, more influential
monkeys, and went straight to CCEF where I than books. After my wife and family I think of
have counseled, taught and written about bib- my CCEF colleagues, the many people I have
lical counseling in a collegial environment with had the privilege to counsel, and a few faithful
like-minded faculty. pastors.

What have been the most influential books or who How would you describe your strengths and wea-
have been the most influential people in your life? knesses? My strength is that I want to grow as a
Since I was raised in a Christian home, I always counselor, as a teacher, as a writer, and as a per-
knew the stories of Scripture. I knew them and, son of faith, hope and love. In my professional
for the most part, believed them to be true. This life I am incessantly self-critical and do not like
belief, however, fell short of faith and allegiance to do something the same way twice. Occasio-
to Jesus Christ until I started reading the Bible nally I can be creative.
in my final year of college. At that time, the Spi- My weaknesses are endless. I am becoming
rit made Scripture come alive. I responded with more eccentric and neurotic the older I get. My
confession and faith. So the Bible has been most faith can be small. I fear that I am, at times, lu-
influential in my life. kewarm in my love for Jesus and others. And,
Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams might while I prize newness and growth in my profes-
seem polemical to some, or should I say that sional life, in my personal life I am quite happy
Jay Adams was, indeed, polemical, but this to revisit the same old restaurants and favorite
book marked the return of wise pastoral care haunts, whereas my wife enjoys new adventu-
and counsel, Puritan-style. When I first read it res. In short, I suspect I am boring.
in seminary I was stunned that Scripture could
speak to many struggles of everyday life. How does your present work setting affect your
I have also been shaped by Geerhardus Vos’ Bi- overall emphases? One reason Freud tried to
blical Theology. Vos helped me to understand destroy his correspondence was to protect his
the coherent, Christ-centered story of Scriptu- claim that his work delved into universal huma-
re, and that approach to Scripture, known as nity rather than reflect the natural expression of
biblical theology, has shaped every counseling a pre-World War II Viennese Jew. Since we have
hour of my professional life. Scripture, we have access to universal humani-
Among secular books, A. R. Luria, the Soviet ty, and I like to think that I speak to everyone,
neuropsychologist, ignited my early interest in too. But I realize that what I do carries my own
neuropsychology. Higher Cortical Function in personal and cultural past. Part of my own set-
Man and The Working Brain were brilliant and ting is that I grew up in the 1960’s, I work in the
ahead of their time. And his two extended case United States as a counselor where clients know
studies—The Mind of a Mnemonist and The I am a Christian, and I work as a teacher at a
Man with a Shattered World—are fascinating. conservative seminary. Though I try to write for
He was the first writer to expand my understan- a broader audience, I know that my background

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