• Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • About
  • Home

Pathway

Baptist & Christian News

  • Missouri
    • MBC
    • Churches
    • Institutions & Agencies
    • Policy
    • Disaster Relief
  • National
    • SBC Annual Meeting
    • NAMB
    • SBC
    • Churches
    • Policy
    • Society & Culture
  • Global
    • Missions
    • Multicultural
  • Columnists
    • John Yeats
    • Don Hinkle
    • Pat Lamb
    • Rhonda Rhea
    • Rob Phillips
  • Ethics
    • Life
    • Liberty
    • Family
  • Faith
    • Apologetics
    • Religions
    • Evangelism
    • Missions
    • Bible Study & Devotion

More results...

Midwestern Seminary launches Center for Biblical Counseling

April 5, 2021 By Michael S. Brooks

KANSAS CITY – The previously announced Center for Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Seminary officially launched on March 10. The Center aims to “to provide students with opportunities to obtain and practically employ the skills necessary for soul care within the local church,” according to MBTS President Jason Allen.

“Establishing this new outpost is a significant undertaking in the life of our institution. The Center, capably led by Dr. Dale Johnson, puts service in and through the local church squarely in the focus of all our efforts to train and equip the next generation of counselors. Further, Dr. Johnson brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, coupled with a compelling vision for the Center’s activities in years to come.”

Johnson, who serves as the Center’s director, pointed to numerous opportunities afforded by the Center as the core of what makes Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College’s program offerings unique.

“In addition to the strong curriculum base in the seminary’s biblical counseling programs, the Center provides opportunities for hands-on training and observation practicums which will allow students to be supervised and mentored as part of their formal training process,” Johnson said. “There is also a scholarly component of the Center’s planned activities which offers students a publication platform for posting quality, peer-reviewed academic work and a forthcoming lecture series on topics broadly related to pastoral theology, secular views of mental health, and counseling ministry in the local church.”

Johnson added a major focal point of the Center’s programming will be its partnership with local churches through internships and via resources provided by the Center to counselors already in local church settings.

“In addition to formal supervision by our faculty, we also seek to provide opportunities for our students to counsel within the context of the local church, the preferred and natural context for this ministry. Churches wishing to partner with the Center can join as ‘Counseling Intern Partners’ and students will be assigned on an as-needed basis for further training in a practical setting.”

Biblical counseling certification now available through Midwestern

The formal launch of the Center coincides with the announcement of the CBC as a certified training center for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), a partnership which provides opportunities for certification for Midwestern’s biblical counseling students.

The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors is a biblical counseling certification organization internationally recognized for quality standards of doctrine, standards of biblical counseling conduct, and standards of counseling training. ACBC currently certifies 75 additional training centers within the United States and two others abroad.

The partnership between the two organizations is the culmination of a nearly two-year process, Johnson noted, and included a thorough vetting of Midwestern’s curriculum to ensure its content and strategy aligned with the Association’s standards and values. “This is a culmination of a wonderful vision put forward by Dr. Allen and Dr. Jason Duesing over two years ago. Over the last year and a half, our counseling faculty has been involved with the building of curriculum and vetting. Now, the CBC provides students a unique opportunity to pursue biblical training and credentials.”

Through the joint effort, Midwestern students pursuing biblical counseling degrees now have the opportunity to become ACBC-certified counselors while completing their degrees. Johnson added the seminary’s Master of Arts degree in biblical counseling fulfills all requirements for ACBC certification. Johnson also foresees the benefits of the new certification extending beyond the classroom.   

To learn more about or become involved with the Center for Biblical Counseling or studying in one of the counseling degree programs at Midwestern Seminary or Spurgeon College, visit cbc.mbts.edu.

Comments

Trending

  • Third season of ‘The Chosen’ series: entertaining, but controversy grows
  • Four examples of where the New World Translation gets it wrong
  • Responding to Islam: Has the gospel been corrupted?
  • 10 key biblical doctrines denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • The prophecy of Enoch in Jude

Ethics

First U.S. law banning public drag shows ruled unconstitutional

Diana Chandler

A federal district judge has ruled unconstitutional a Tennessee law prohibiting gender-bending drag performances in front of minors, which had been the only such law in the nation.

UK’s foremost expert: Gender ideology is ‘made up’

Will Hall

More Ethics Stories

Missouri

Preaching ministry ‘an honor and privilege,’ Whitney says

Aiden Trimble

Brother Frank Whitney stood up, took a deep breath, and walked toward the pulpit. Bible in hand, he double-checked his notes for the Sunday evening sermon. Tonight’s topic: faith the size of a mustard seed. The crowd wasn’t any larger than usual; about 30 people. It was just another Sunday evening service, except for one detail: The preacher, Brother Whitney, was 12 years old.

Copyright © 2023 · The Pathway