Summaries for Mentoring Methods and Engaging Anxiety Coram Deo

Engaging Anxiety Coram Deo

This class examines the crisis of anxiety in the United States today and helps the church equip mature believers to face anxiety in themselves and others. It begins by looking at the present epidemic of anxiety, the strengths of biblical counseling, and the need for a greater emphasis on helping anxious believers live life coram deo (i.e., consciously before God). The class works through a biblical and practical theology of anxiety that proposes Scripture teaches that we must bring anxious believers into God’s comfort and heart change coram deo in the context of the local church. The class works on helping believers understand the root causes of sin and misery in anxiety (from the biblical and historical studies above) and encourages participants to personally apply what they learn and use it to help others. Additional key areas of focus include: (1) offering counsel that reflects God’s own heart, that confronts the complex roots of sin and misery, and that asks questions that help people consider God’s thoughts, feelings, and providential activity in their lives; (2) leading others into communion with God through prayer, in particular, worship and lament; and (3) helping people build godly, truth-in-love relationships in the church community.

Mentoring/Counseling Methods

This class is meant to support the launch of a heart-change-focused mentoring or counseling ministry in the church. It equips participants to do short-term topical mentoring/counseling one-on-one with church members or Christians or non-Christians from outside of the church. It focuses on humbly leading people into the deeper heart change we have studied in How People Change, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, and Engaging Anxiety Coram Deo. Participants will learn how to build a strong mentoring relationship, lay biblical foundations for understanding heart change, lead people to encounter God’s comfort, help them to face conflict biblically, all while focusing on a particular mentoring topic (like parenting, marriage communication, etc.) and studying a book that relates to that topic.