Basic Principles of Counseling

--"How can  even this situation prove redemptive?"
If I never lose hope in Christ's gracious control and redemptive agenda, I will be able to communicate the same to those I counsel.

--"Most people don't know that their biggest problem is not 'out there' in the world; it's 'in here' in their own heart."
Always move the agenda toward the person sitting in front of me.

--"Love. Know. Speak. Do."
 Counselors care, probe, speak Ephesians 4:15 and 4:29 truth, and help people make concrete changes. Am I covering all the bases? Am I on the right base now?

--"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father" (Col. 3:17).
 I am a servant called to be a  faithful and full of faith, not a technician called to fix things.

--"Get to specifics. After all the talking is done, what are you going to do about your watershed issue this week?" 
Change happens in the details, in the step-step-step of your walk. Effective counseling moves towards substantive change.

--"This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness... We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it."
As this quote from Luther attests, small changes accumulate; a glimpse of final glory.

--"Counseling--no magic, no technique, no sure cure."
Biblical counseling is simply the way of speaking wisely with moral decision-makers who will trust and obey either lies or truth.

---David Powilson, from his book "Speaking Truth in Love"