(Christian Post) A prominent Christian counseling organization has removed Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, California, formerly led by the late Pastor John MacArthur, from its list of certified training centers.
The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors recently removed GCC from its list of approved training centers, after requests to reopen complaints filed by Jane Doe and former Grace elder Hohn Cho.
It also follows the filing of a lawsuit against GCC by Doe, claiming that church leadership aided and abetted…to continue reading click here.
This article was written by Michael Gryboski and published at The Christian Post
7 responses to “Grace Community Church Removed From Christian Counseling Group’s Approved Training Centers”
Yeah, coercing your wife into signing a loan, refusing to tell her what it is for, is not Biblical headship. That’s a matter of the husband failing to yield to the headship of the Lord, to honor with what He says is right and wrong. It is sinful (and also unethical and illegal – a severe violation of her God given rights). In many cases, counselors are called upon to sort of try to divine answers without knowing the facts, in which cases they shouldn’t give any answers without investigation. Many errors are attributable to this failure to investigate. But in cases, such as that loan, where there is clear wrongdoing, where there isn’t any investigation needed, for a counselor/pastor to just automatically side with the one committing the alleged sin, is absolutely disgusting. Leadership by God’s design is not “lording over”. It is not being a dictator. It is submission to the Lord, not trying to take His place.
I can tell you from my own experience, it is enough to make you puke. Particularly when the pastor being asked for advice has already been given more than enough facts of the case to know better, but still sides with the wrongdoer.
As much as I respect John MacArthur, it sounds to me like the association did the right thing, and that counselors at the church need to repent of some serious sins, and do some housecleaning, before being readmitted.
People most often go for counseling when there are disputes. And in cases such as that, investigation is necessary before any advice is given. It is sinful to deprive others of justice. You can’t just try to smooth things over and get everybody to hug it out and call it done. That is not biblical. It can often be a perversion of the grace of God into a license to sin (which is how it becomes abusive). It denies justice, which is sinful. It ignores wickedness, if not justifies it. You’ve got to get to the bottom of who sinned, and call them to repentance for their sin. This produces true and lasting resolutions, and true and lasting peace.
It’s the difference in being lovers of pleasure and comfort rather than lovers of God. It’s a form of godliness that denies the power thereof. (2 Tim. 3). You can’t just wave a magic wand and produce comfort. Only in righteousness is there true comfort and peace. Where there is wickedness, the soul of the righteous is tormented (2 Pet. 2:8, etc.).
Christian counselors need to throw away their psychology textbooks, and other commandments of men, and start referencing scripture, and the commandments of God, instead.
Many accusations against GCC in the past have been focused on the commandments of men, particularly those from Roys. Essentially with a claim that righteousness is abusive, and that the solution to abuse is to justify sin. But in this case, something such as that loan, the opposite is true, as far as I can tell.
The formula, God’s formula, is fairly simple and straightforward …
Wickedness is abusive and discomforting to all.
Righteousness is only abusive and discomforting to the wicked.
As the church is described in 2 Tim. 3, prioritizing comfort ahead of the Lord is what causes the discomfort in the first place. Loving pleasure rather than loving God. It never leads to lasting comfort and peace. It is not loving. It only leads to discontent, enmity, bitterness, and all sorts of unresolved mess boiling under the surface. The sinner becomes enslaved to the sin, discontent, like an unsatisfied drug addict. It can have a form/appearance of godliness, but it isn’t godliness.
Better said, righteousness is what the wicked believe to be the source of their discomfort. But the truth is that the source of their discomfort is their own wickedness. Like Lot, who’s soul was tormented day and night by the wickedness he saw, the men of Sodom believed he was the source of their discomfort. The truth is that their wickedness was the source of their discomfort.
It is the same discomfort of the scribes and pharisees. The world hates the righteous because the world first hated Jesus. He showed their guilt, left them with no excuses, and made them uncomfortable with their sin. So they deemed Him to be the source of their discomfort, when they only had themselves to blame.
A Christian counselor/pastor cannot just gloss over sin. That fixes nothing. The commandments of God must take priority over all comfort, including our own.
It also must be remembered, we’re not promised perfect comfort. There is a discomfort with the corruption of fallen creation that will not go away in this life, despite our righteousness and the righteousness of others. Physical discomfort from the corrupt flesh. Even little things like allergies, and so on, can cause a lot of discomfort. Right. I know in my case, this time of year, that is just about my #1 source of discomfort. Righteousness does not produce perfect comfort. In many cases it can be discomforting. But wickedness compounds the discomfort of the corruption of fallen creation and our own bodies. Sin makes it far worse. And seeking or expecting too much comfort, especially at the expense of others, can lead us into sin. This is why the Holy Spirit is called our comforter. We have peace that overcomes the discomfort. We cannot prioritize our comfort over more important matters. We can’t let it get the best of us. And that’s what the Holy Spirit does. He doesn’t let it get the best of us.
[…] Grace Community Church Removed From Christian Counseling Group’s Approved Training Centers […]
[…] this Protestia article, Grace Community Church—led by John MacArthur—has reportedly been removed from approved […]
Oh my..what is going on??