Counselling the Christian way

Search the Scriptures and you will find a wealth of examples how the people of God did counselling, for example Moses, David, Elihu, Paul and of course Jesus. 

At a one-day workshop, visiting Rev. William den Hollander, minister-emeritus of the Bethel Canadian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, explored the Bible and distinguished between counsel and advice rendered by office bearers (elders, ministers) and the counsel that members give each other to help, comfort, encourage, guide, admonish and rebuke each other. 

God-fearing men and women who are honest, sincere, sensitive and available to their fellow-members can be a great blessing and benefit to them. What a blessing it is to have an intimate friend, confidant and trustworthy brother or sister who can be there for you when you most need them! 

He also looked more closely at techniques of Biblical counselling, scrutinizing especially the good counsel by Elihu to Job and his friends, and the loving, gentle, wise and understanding counselling displayed by the Lord Jesus in different settings. Rev den Hollander examined what would be the best and Biblical way of developing an effective approach to counselling, sensitive to the counsellee's feelings, thoughts and conduct.

There is a variety of types of counselling and the diverse situations in congregational life in which we can serve our fellow-members with good, Biblical, and effective counselling for the mutual up-building of one another.
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During Rev. Den Hollander’s three months in South Africa, he and his wife came across many people who spoke highly of the work done at Mukhanyo and its blessings and fruits for the benefit and up-building of the churches of Christ here. He said it was one of the highlights of his and his wife’s time in South Africa – to have been introduced to what he called this highly reputable seminary and training centre! His workshop at Mukhanyo has also been one of the highlights for the students, who have gained much from his insights!

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