Lay counselors and pastors are popular people to go to when there is a need for faith-based counseling. However, few are actually formally trained to be an expert in this area. Although these individuals may be “qualified” to render aid, there is an ever-increasing need of specialized care for people in dire need of emotional and mental breakthrough.

A degree in Christian counseling will help individuals earn licensure, certification, and a higher level of professional education that will lead to the creation of a reputable Christian Counseling practice.

Earning a Christian Counselor Degree

Earning a degree in Christian Counseling will enable you to utilize your gifts to help other people. Individuals who find joy in helping others overcome challenges and analyze the roots of their problems are qualified for this career. There are lot of fulfilling challenges to address in the areas of mental health, childhood, family relations, and work. There is also that exciting possibility of being self-employed or collaborate with other people to form a private practice.

Skills and qualities that will make an impact in the pursuit of a degree in Christian counseling are communication, empathy, listening, compassion, mentoring and leadership.

There are a big variety of Christian Colleges to choose from in the country that offer a Degree in Christian Counseling. Most accredited learning institutions have the common desire to give future counselors an education that is faithful to both textbooks and the Bible. There is also a strong emphasis in the importance of leading a life of kindness and integrity.

C.J. Harrison is an educational writer and editor for a number of top educational directories, including the Degree in Christian Counseling directory where students can compare accredited universities offering Christian Counselor Degrees and Programs.

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It could be your desire to further your education by earning a higher degree in Christian counseling. As a busy professional working long days it may be hard to find the time. You may be a pastor of a large or small congregation or a lay counselor and have a need for a degree in Christian counseling. You may be able to have an opportunity to do just that by working on your Christian counseling degree online.

Christian Premarital Counseling

Counseling degrees can be quite specific. One degree can be for counseling Christian couples wanting to get married. Christian premarital counseling is one of the most important and rewarding aspects of this specialized counseling. To see a couple through this process and witness the results of this counseling in a strong and solid marriage is quite exciting. Couples learn through Christian premarital counseling how important it is to keep God as the center in their marriage.

Our Troubled Society

In the troubled world we live in today there are many Christians suffering with financial debt, depression, drug addictions, sex addictions, or possibly have a problem child at home. There are more and more single or married adults requiring professional counseling. As a Christian, it is desirable to seek guidance, direction and advice through solid Biblical counseling.

Biblical Examples

In the Bible there are many examples of men, women, sons, daughters, kings, princes, and even the disciples falling into times of great trouble. There is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel chapter four verses 31 & 33 describe his fall into mental duress due to the guilt of not walking according to God’s commands. He had become self absorbed and egotistical.

4:31 “While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice

fell from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is

spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!

4:33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning

Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass

like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till

his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds claws.”

He lived like this until he was directed back to the Lord.

4:34 “And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar,

lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding

returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised

and honored Him who lives forever:”

It is the job of a qualified Christian counselor with the proper training to redirect a person’s focus off of themselves and back onto the Lord and what the Lord requires of them. As it says in verse 34 “his understanding returned to him.” When a person is in deep depression or trapped in an addiction their “understanding” has left them. Even a son or daughter walking down the wrong path needs their “understanding” returned to them through Christian counseling.

Many people will not seek help from a counselor unless they have the proper credentials. Some may even be required to get counseling and direction from a professional with a degree in Christian counseling due to a rehabilitation recommendation from the courts. Earning a Christian counseling degree online can equip you with the skills certification required to help these lost souls gain back their “understanding” and live a full Christian life serving God and others.

To find the latest information on Christian Counseling visit Christian Counseling Degree Online as well as Christian Premarital Counseling

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Afterwards, it became clear to me that his understanding of hypnosis and mine were quite different. And any good debate must begin with a clarification of terms. Too many reasonable discussions deteriorate into pointless argument because no one fully defines himself.

What do we mean then by trance and hypnosis? More specifically, what do Christians who fear hypnosis mean by it and what do ethical clinicians mean by it? For our purposes today, we will leave the madmen out of it.

The Christian Definitions or Concerns:

1. “Mesmerism”

It is very important to address this because what Christians fear about hypnosis is something rather fearful: deliberation manipulation, external mind control, or spell-casting that leaves a person open to spiritual corruption. They form their impressions of the technique from what they have read in popular media (including the early reports on “Mesmerism,” which was presented as a demonic seduction of young women by irresistible and wretched old men), watched on TV, or seen in lounge acts where hypnosis is reduced to having some poor sot play air guitar or bite happily into an onion.

It is not hard to see what makes them uneasy. And, what is worse is that there are people in the world who use hypnotic trance unethically. They may not be madmen, but they should not be calling themselves healers or professionals by any means.

In fact, the worst of these “trance inducers” have nothing to do with lounge acts or private practices. There are at least two times a day when most people are in the deepest, most vulnerable and suggestible trances they are ever in: When they are driving in their cars and when they are at home watching television. And the messages they receive in those states-usually corporate advertising-are what they are unconsciously absorbing.

2. Spiritual Bankruptcy

In Christianity’s beginnings, as in early Judaism, sickness (or insanity) was seen as a function of sin or possession. And the ONLY thing that could cure sin was God and our faith in Him. Anything that interfered with that relationship and dependence on God was prohibited. In those days, that interference usually took the shape of idolatry and pagan religions.

When seen as “mesmerism” or as a loss of control to an unknown entity (e.g., the intentions or spirituality of the hypnotherapist), hypnosis leaves the individual vulnerable to literally who-knows-what-malevolent suggestion, criminal manipulation, and demons.

As Father Russell Radoicich, an Orthodox priest from Butte, Montana, wrote, “Christianity has always called people to live in full awareness, in reality, with nothing having mastery over us except God.” When hypnosis is defined as making one person subject to another (spiritually or mentally), is it any wonder that it is seen as questionable if not downright dangerous?

Hypnosis seen this way-as a quick fix with little depth-can also be considered a crutch or a deterrent to spiritual growth, which is why Father Russell reminds us that “the spiritual work must be done or there is no true rehabilitation. People may lose weight or stop smoking, but the deeper matter has not been addressed.”

Hypnosis, when used as a proper tool in a healing manner, can actually help to facilitate what Fr. Russell is referring to as “the spiritual work” or “the deeper matter.” Again, it is in the hands of the practitioner and the patient as to where the work goes. And in this regard the choice of clinician is important.

3. The Loosening of Moral Inhibition

One of Christianity’s great fears about hypnosis is that it induces a moral laxity and makes the prohibited permissible in the patient’s mind. And, again, when hypnosis is seen this way its prohibition is understandable.

The truth, however, is that clinical hypnosis cannot make anyone do anything that would undermine their moral or ethical resolve.

In an article interview on Hypnosisnetwork, Paul Durbin, a United Methodist minister with a long history of clinical and pastoral service, recalls a famous story about Milton Erickson, M.D., one of the great hypnotherapists and psychiatrists of the last century.

One day Dr. Erickson went to his secretary and told her he was tired and wanted to rest. If anyone called, he told her, she was to say that he was out of the office. She agreed to do this for him. Some time later he put her in a hypnotic trance. He then made the same request-to tell people he was out of the office when he was in fact taking a break. While still in a formally induced trance, she refused him. “Why?” he wanted to know.

“Because,” she said, “it would be a lie.”

Ironically, in hypnosis she had a stronger moral resolve than in her normal waking state.

Hypnosis is not “brainwashing,” as Durbin points out. Brainwashing can be accomplished at any time, with or without formal trance simply by the constant repetition of suggestion. In our culture we call this advertising and media bombardment.

Let us now take a look at how responsible clinicians see hypnosis and how it can be helpful and safe for Christians to utilize it in their own healing process–whether that’s from a back injury, a surgical procedure, or a painful divorce.

The Clinical Definitions:

1. Trance As An Ordinary State of Consciousness

Perhaps the most important definition from the clinical point of view is that hypnosis only utilizes a state of consciousness that is already natural and normal. Trance is not something that is artificially induced in a person. It is not something the hypnotherapist “does” to the patient. It is simply a state of awareness in which we are more focused on an internal process (breathing, thoughts, heartbeat) and most importantly it is something all of us move in and out of all day.

Trance is normal rather than exceptional. What a good clinician will do is utilize that ordinary ability to shift awareness so that pain can be relieved, psychological blockages removed (e.g., fixations on traumatic events), and healing can be facilitated in a variety of ways.

This normal shift of awareness is even more common and spontaneous when we are frightened, hurt, or ill, which is why Verbal First Aid works so well to help stop bleeding, reduce an inflammatory response, and lower blood pressure. We can see it even more dramatically when it is used with children who enter fairly easily and frequently into “trance.”

2. Hypnosis is a Tool. Healing is Spiritual.

Healing is not dependent on one technique. A good healer or responsible clinician has more than one tool in her tool kit. Hypnosis may be one of them, but it is almost never the only one.

Hypnosis, when seen this way, as just another tool, becomes less threatening. Most clinicians acknowledge that the deepest healing is often spiritual in nature and that they are facilitators, not magicians.

Pope Pius addressed the concerns of Catholics regarding hypnosis in childbirth and stated that when used by a health care professional who was properly trained, treatment was permitted.

He also cautioned us that:

· Hypnosis was a serious issue and that it should not be toyed with;

· Practitioners should be guided by the same moral principles (Judeo-Christian ones) in their use of hypnosis as with anything else;

· The rules of good medicine must apply as much to hypnosis as to any other technique.

The truth is that no one other than God knows how healing actually occurs. We can suture one piece of skin to another, but how it knits together remains an ineffable mystery.

How Verbal First Aid Works in Alliance with Faith and the Faithful

If the definitions of trance as clinicians use it are accurate (and I believe they are) and the dangers are real as Christians see them (and I believe they certainly can be), how can the healing use of imagery work together with the faithful so that as Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

In the beginning was the word.

That words are powerful is a familiar concept to those who read the Bible. According to many biblical scholars, the first sin was not pride, was not disobedience, was not sex. It was gossip-the misuse of words. And it is a most serious act with terribly dire consequences. The serpent whispers to Eve: “You shall not surely die.” He lied. He misled her and all of humanity, for with those words he surely brought us death.

And the only sin for which the Lord will not find us guiltless is using His name in vain.

Words have a prominent position in the Bible from the third sentence: And GOD SAID LET THERE BE LIGHT. He did not create with His “hands” or “eyes”. The “word” is used throughout to mean the “truth.” He spoke-”By the word of the Lord were the heavens made (Ps. 33).” To speak is to WILL into existence. What we say and how we say it is a co-creative act. What we say hangs somewhere between heaven and earth.

Words matter. The mystics have always known this. Only now is science catching up.

Why? Because they create images in the mind of the person to whom we are speaking. Those images and the thoughts that flow with them generate cascades of chemistry that dictate not only how we feel emotionally, but how fast or slow our hearts beat, how high our blood pressure goes, how profoundly we feel the pain of an injury, even the way our livers function.

We all use words all the time. And they have the power to help or to harm. This is already happening–on the streets, in our classrooms, on our cell phones, in our cars. What we say–and what we hear–changes the way we live and heal at the most fundamental levels. Isn’t it our obligation to make what we say as healing as possible? That’s what Verbal First Aid does–gives us the tools to be healing with our words.

Hypnosis is no different than a sermon, a lecture, a television show or a good book. It is the use of words to move us. When used in the right way with a proper intention, those words can help us heal.

Judith Acosta, LISW, is a licensed psychotherapist, crisis counselor and classical homeopath in private practice in New Mexico. She is the co-author of The Worst Is Over: What To Say When Every Moment Counts, hailed as the “bible of crisis communications.” She lectures around the country on Verbal First Aid, trauma, stress, and animal-assisted therapy. She may be reached at her website: http://www.wordsaremedicine.com/verbal-first-aid.

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Below you will find a number of The Christian Connector (CC) questions and Sara’s responses (SG). Our hope is that Sara’s experience at the Christian college she attended will be an encouragement to you. Sara attended the same Christian college where her dad taught biblical studies.

CC: Did you plan to be in the Christian music industry while you were in college?

SG: Like any girl who grew up singing Amy Grant songs into her hairbrush, I had secret dreams, but no, I did not see myself doing this in any real way.

CC: What led you into Christian music?

SG: Well, it’s a long story, but in a nutshell, my husband believed in me, and felt that the music I was writing in my piano room would be well received by others, and put his time and energy to that end.

CC: What do you most, and least, enjoy about being in Christian music?

SG: I love communicating and meeting with people, and I love the work of writing music. My least favorite part of Christian music is that label. I don’t think music can be Christian or non-Christian. I think Christ calls us to a fully integrated life of faith, and as an artist, I want to write honestly from my worldview.

CC: How would you describe the professors at the school you attended?

SG: When someone has a genuine relationship experience with God it is like a diamond ring that comes in a velvet box. When it comes time to hand that experience down I think sometimes it is human nature and the nature of institutions to hand down, not the ring, but the velvet box thinking, “This is how the ring came to me, it must be how it will come to you too.” It takes a very special place, and very incredible people to pass down the ring instead of the box.

CC: Did you consider schools other than your final choice?

SG: …I never really considered going anywhere else. I practically grew up on the campus, going to games, talking about worldview and “All Truth is God’s Truth”… I don’t remember thinking about any other college.

CC: What did you most enjoy about your college experience?

SG: Having my dad for a class called Essential Christianity. The texts were Mere Christianity and Celebration of Discipline, and the point of the class was to get students to think about their own worldview outside of the way they were raised. I got to see what my dad did every day when he took his briefcase and left the house – I got to see what he was really passionate about. All of our conversations around the table made more sense after that class.

CC: What do you think were some of the advantages in attending a Christian college versus a secular school?

SG: Well, I made every major decision of my life at that time. I met Troy (her husband), I picked a career, and the seeds that many of my professors planted are still with me today. I know many people who made it through secular schools just fine, but I really enjoyed learning about Literature and History through a Christian worldview.

CC: How has your Christian college experience affected your personal life?

SG: My marriage and friendship with Troy is the most personal and meaningful thing… Our parents both went to (the school we attended), so we had a lot in common. I might not have found that at another school.

CC: How has your Christian college experience affected your professional life?

SG: The professors … really encouraged me to think about my worldview, to take it apart, and to ask good questions. They believed that God was big enough to handle my questions, and that questions and conversation are a part of intimacy with God. Also, as a Liberal Arts college, we were encouraged to see the purpose of every career path, not just that of a pastor or missionary. These ideas still influence my music a great deal.

CC: What was your major in college?

SG: English and Social Science Education

CC: Can you share any longer term goals you may have, say over the next ten years?

SG: Well, my goals for the next ten years are the same for my life in general: to know Christ more, to continue to build a strong marriage, to be a good mom to these boys.

CC: If you had to do things over again, would you attend a Christian college?

SG: Yes. I feel like that was a formative time, and I was so impressionable. I’m grateful there were so many people who cared about, not just attaining knowledge, but about my becoming a whole person.

CC: What advice would you give to those who will read this in regards to attending a Christian college?

SG: I don’t feel like there is one way to do anything – God is creative in the way he teaches us, but for me, my Christian college experiences, and the friends I made were and still are priceless.

The Christian Connector, Inc. would like to provide a special thanks to Sara Groves.

You can learn more about Sara and her music by visiting her web site: www.saragroves.com

Thom Seagren is president of The Christian Connector a Christian college information resource. The Christian Connector lets you select from over 100 Christian colleges that will send you free information, and awards a $2,500 Christian college scholarship each year.

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The intention of this article is to offer what I hope will provide a fresh perspective regarding the choice between a Christian college and a secular college.

I’m confident that important characteristics such as academic excellence, internships, school size, location, career opportunities, quality of faculty, variety of programs, extra-curricular activities, etc. can be found at both secular and Christian schools across the country. With that being said, why then should one consider enrolling at a Christian college?

According to the US Department of Education, one group of Christian colleges, CCCU schools, grew over 70% from 1990 to 2004. During that same period of time, all independent four year schools grew 28%, while public four year institutions grew only about 13%. These statistics reveal that there must be something “different” about Christian colleges. I believe this difference can be primarily attributed to the environment, and it is this difference that provides the most compelling reason to enroll at a Christian college.

If you’ve been following higher education in the media over the past couple of years, you’ve likely heard some alarming news from both state and private secular institutions. I believe most people would agree that institutions of higher education in the US have promoted themselves as places of respect, tolerance and diversity. The irony is that there seems to be an ever growing intolerance for diversity in regards to issues of faith, values and even politics in higher education.

Consider the following statement:

At secular schools across the country, people of faith are often not respected and even ridiculed for their beliefs. You may be surprised to learn that I generally don’t believe this statement to be true, nor do I believe this attitude would be allowed at secular schools in this country. However, adding a single word to this statement dramatically changes both the meaning and the accuracy of the statement:

At secular schools across the country, people of Christian faith are often not respected and even ridiculed for their beliefs. If you disagree with this statement, I challenge you to ask a few committed Christians attending secular schools how their professors and classmates view their faith.

While there likely are exceptions to this rule, if you’re considering the difference between a secular and Christian school, the intolerance toward Christian values on secular campuses is an essential issue to consider.

Most fair minded people would agree that the environment where one lives has an affect on that individual. In 1994 a study was conducted that showed that approximately 52% of students who attended public institutions either no longer called themselves “born again” or had not attended a religious service of any kind in over a year. This study was done over ten years ago. One wonders what this figure would look like today.

A traditional college age student begins their collegiate career at about 18 years old. For a student from a Christian home, there are two sets of beliefs that the student likely takes with them that are particularly pertinent:

The student’s Christian faith/values Respect for those in authority While it may be argued that secular schools challenge these beliefs overtly, the greater challenge for the Christian student may be the unexpected collision of these two principles.

For 18 years, most students in this group have a basic and appropriate trust of those in authority over them. Their experience has demonstrated that the vast majority of people in authority positions have their best interest at heart – parents, pastors and even teachers. So what happens when authority figures suddenly have a very different set of values than the students, or even a completely different agenda? While the student has learned the importance of respecting those in authority, that authority figure may be the very person ridiculing the student’s faith, values and worldview. Perhaps this represents one reason why the above study discovered such a large number of students “walking away” from their faith.

Does this mean that if you’re a Christian who attends a secular college, you will turn your back on your faith? Of course not. However, the issue is more personal than statistics and generalities. The real issue is whether or not a Christian college is the best choice for you. While it’s important to consider Christian colleges for what they offer, it’s also crucial to make an honest comparison to the alternative – a secular campus environment.

Some may think that Christian colleges merely offer a “safe haven”, a place that is separated from the “challenges” in the world. I believe this view is unrealistic and flawed. It is disingenuous to think that there are not challenges to overcome at a Christian college in terms of faith, lifestyle, and ethical choices. However, generally speaking, the faculty, staff and students within a Christian college environment are concerned with seeing the student develop in all areas of life.

A Christian college offers more than just the “addition” of Christian beliefs to the educational experience. Christian faith is not merely an “extra” at Christian colleges, it is a critical element woven into the fabric of the college experience. The Christian dynamic is evident not just in chapel or a Sunday service, but also during pizza in the dorm at midnight, during an honest debate over moral and theological principles in the dining hall, and during a discussion of ethics in regards to career and family. The Christian component is noticeable in the classroom, but it is not limited by those walls. I believe this is the real difference of a Christian college environment, as well as a key reason why there has been such tremendous growth at Christian colleges. It is Christian colleges that must encourage true tolerance, respect and diversity, as these are essential principles within Christianity.

Christian colleges offer much more than a “safe haven”, they offer life preparation. Christian campuses should not be viewed as an opportunity to avoid the world, but rather as an opportunity to influence the world. The years spent within a Christian college environment can aid the student’s ability to serve, thrive, and become a modern day follower of Jesus Christ – regardless of their profession. Christian colleges are in a unique position to honestly address the spiritual and moral issues that people of every age face every day. People can spend years in training for their chosen profession, sport, and hobbies. Christian colleges can offer all of those opportunities, but within a Christian context where the student becomes more prepared to impact and live within our world.

Attending a Christian college means you don’t have to settle for only part of the educational experience.

Thom Seagren is president of The Christian Connector a Christian college information resource. The Christian Connector lets you select from over 100 Christian colleges that will send you free information, and awards a $2,500 Christian college scholarship each year.

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