Christian Counseling Connection Vol. 20, Iss. 4

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2 Christian Counseling Connection
A Publication of the American Association of Christian Counselors
AACC Member Services
& Editorial Office
P.O. Box 739
129 Vista Centre Dr., Suite B
Forest,VA 24551
1.800.526.8673
fax: 434.525.9480
email:
President:
Tim Clinton
Managing Editor:
Mark Camper
Senior Editor:
Eric Scalise
Advertising Director:
Randy Meetre
Graphic Designer:
Amy Cole
Published quarterly by American Association of Christian
Counselors, Inc., P.O. Box 739, Forest, VA 24551. AACC is
an organization of evangelical professional, lay, and pastoral
counselors dedicated to promoting excellence and unity in
Christian counseling.
To ensure the confidentiality of all individuals mentioned in
case material, names and identifying information have been
changed.
Unsolicited manuscripts and poetry are not accepted.
A query letter must be sent first, describing a proposed
manuscript. Unfortunately, any unsolicited manuscripts will
not be returned.
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING CONNECTION grants permis-
sion for any original article (not a reprint) to be photocopied
for use in a local church or classroom, provided no more
than 250 copies are made, are distributed free, and indicate
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING CONNECTION as the source.
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If you have comments or questions about the content of
CCC, please direct them to the Senior Editor.
The views expressed by the reviewers,authors,or advertisers
do not necessarily reflect those of the American Association
of Christian Counselors, and a review in this publication does
not imply an endorsement.AACC and this publication do not
assume responsibility in any way for members’ or readers’
efforts to apply or utilize information, suggestions, or recom-
mendations made by the organization, its members, publica-
tions, or other resources.All rights reserved. Copyright 2012.
LEAD ARTICLES
Every year, millions of people suffer
from troubling conditions such as stress
and anxiety, depression, bipolar and
obsessive-compulsive disorders, suicide,
substance abuse, addiction, post-trau-
matic stress disorder, relational conflict,
violence, abuse, and more. The everyday
struggles of dealing with mental illness
and relationship pain is real. Nearly
everyone has something to work through
and find victory over, which is why the
AACC recognized the importance of
organizing such an event.
It is time to embrace this challenge
in the Church and bring a message of
God’s grace. Imagine church members,
pastors, small groups, community lead-
ers, professional counselors, mental
health advocates, educators, researchers,
coaches, crisis responders, and chaplains
all coming together as one voice to have
meaningful conversation, learn, and
be equipped to address mental health
concerns among the community of
faith… well that’s exactly what happened
at Seacoast! Our desire is to change the
world by creating a culture of hope and
healing.
This groundbreaking event attracted
Christian counseling and ministry lead-
ers from all over the east coast. Featured
keynote speakers included seasoned cli-
nicians, psychiatrists, educators, pastors,
and ministry leaders such as Frank Page,
Warren Kinghorn, Ed Stetzer, Michael
Lyles, Tim Jennings, Diane Langberg, Ian
Jones, Ron Hawkins, Siang-Yang Tan, Les
Parrott, and more. The three-day Sum-
mit provided encouragement, thought-
ful discussion, interaction, education,
training, networking, and resourcing
through 13 pre-conference workshops,
nine dynamic plenary sessions, and 32
engaging and interactive workshops
built around eight, cutting-edge, min-
istry-related tracks designed to increase
awareness and effectiveness for those
who need help and direction with life’s
most difficult issues and challenges. Spe-
cialized topics included grief and loss,
codependency, addictions, pre-marital
counseling, family health, establishing
lay ministries, healthy sexuality, military
and trauma, the role of medication and
psychiatry, suicide, and more. In addi-
tion to engaging keynote speakers, the
Seacoast Church worship team led times
of praise and worship. Also, national and
local sponsors and exhibitors featured
innovative mental health related prod-
ucts and resources.
“The inaugural Summit had the
same energy and excitement of events
we did in the early days of the AACC,”
said Dr. Tim Clinton. “We can’t wait to
see what God is going to do through
future conferences.” Join the movement
and make plans to attend one of our
upcoming Summits in late 2016 or
early 2017. ;
If your church or community would like to
“host” a Summit, please contact Dr. Jared Pingleton,
Vice President of Professional Development, at
.