In our culture, we’ve been taught that counseling is defined as follows: Counseling is a professional process that involves a trained counselor helping individuals, groups, or families explore and address emotional, psychological, social, or behavioral challenges. The goal is to foster personal growth, develop coping skills, enhance self-awareness, and support clients in making positive changes or decisions in their lives.
Honestly, that definition makes me tired just reading it. According to this explanation, you have to be a professional to counsel. That’s like saying you have to be a professional baseball player to play baseball. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this definition, but the way it has been applied in our culture has created a concerning dependency. It suggests that professional counseling has become the only viable path for personal growth or overcoming challenges. Think about it—how many times in the past week have you sought someone’s counsel or given advice yourself? Did you need a professional degree to do that? Were you trained in the ins and outs of emotional and psychological behavior? Probably not. Yet, you still provided guidance or support, and it likely made a difference. We’ve reached a point where many people believe that only trained professionals should give advice. You might think I’m exaggerating, but this mindset has subtly infiltrated the body of Christ, weakening it in the process. If we adopt this narrow view, we risk ignoring the foundational truth that all believers are called to help one another grow.
At its heart, counseling doesn’t require formal training or credentials. Counseling is, above all, relational. It’s about one person guiding, supporting, and offering insight to another. Does that sound familiar? It should—it’s the essence of discipleship.
Let’s take a moment to look at the connection between counseling and discipleship through scripture:
1. The Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them (i.e., counseling) to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus commands us to make disciples, teach obedience, and baptize. Doesn’t this sound like a framework for relational guidance and support?
2. Equipping Believers for Ministry
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV): “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service (i.e., counseling), so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
Discipleship includes equipping others to serve and build up the church—a relational process that mirrors counseling.
3. Following Jesus’ Example
John 13:15 (NIV): “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (i.e., counseling).
” Discipleship is about modeling Christlike behavior for others to follow.
4. Teaching and Imparting Wisdom
2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV): “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others (i.e., counseling).”
Passing down wisdom to others is both discipleship and counseling in action.
5. Bearing Fruit That Lasts
John 15:8, 16 (NIV): “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (i.e., counseling).”
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit (i.e., counseling)—fruit that will last.”
Discipleship involves helping others live fruitful, lasting lives for God’s glory.
6. Teaching God’s Word
Colossians 1:28 (NIV): “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ (i.e., counseling).”
Discipleship is about teaching and guiding others to grow in wisdom and maturity.
7. Loving One Another as Witnesses
John 13:34-35 (NIV): “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (i.e., counseling).”
Genuine love and relational support are hallmarks of discipleship and counseling alike. These scriptures show that making disciples involves counseling—teaching, guiding, modeling Christlike behavior, and fostering spiritual growth. At its core, counseling is simply teaching, often one-on-one, in a deeply relational way.
Maybe the church has neglected its responsibility to not only create counselors but to release them into the body of Christ to help baby sheep grow and mature. What if we stopped confining the idea of counseling to professional offices and started recognizing it as an essential part of discipleship? Imagine the strength and unity that could be restored to the church if every believer embraced their God-given role as a counselor, mentor, or disciple-maker.
The time has come for the body of Christ to reclaim the relational and transformative power of counseling—not as a profession, but as a calling. Let’s equip and release the counselors among us to build up the body of Christ, just as Jesus intended.
