INTHIS ISSUE
1.
Spiritual Intimacy and the Church
Planter Marriage
2.
Leading Counselees Back to a Right
Relationship with God:A Biblical
Framework for Lay Counselors
3.
A BiblicalWay of Facing Depression
and Anguish in Life
Transformation 2017 Volume 10, Issue 1
Transformation is published by the American
Association of Christian Counselors Foundation.
President:
Tim Clinton
BCSFN Co-Director:
Ron Hawkins
BCSFN Co-Director:
Ian Jones
Graphic Designer:
Amy Cole
The American Association of Christian Coun-
selors is chartered in Virginia and dedicated to
promoting excellence and unity in Christian
counseling. The purpose and objectives of
AACC and the programs that it sponsors are
strictly informative, educational, and affiliative.
Views expressed by the authors, presenters,
and advertisers are their own and do not
necessarily reflect those of the BCSFN, or the
American Association of Christian Counselors.
The
Transformation
newsletter, BCSFN, and
the AACC do not assume responsibility in
any way for members’ or subscribers’ efforts to
apply or utilize information, suggestions, or
recommendations made by the organization,
the publications, or other resources. All rights
reserved. Copyright 2017.
Questions or comments regarding
Transforma-
tion
should be addressed to BCSFN Editorial
Office, P.O. Box 739, Forest, VA 24551.
Member Services: 1.800.526.8673,
fax: 1.434.525.9480,
www.AACC.net.
For lay counselors and pastors, counseling train-
ing is often very limited and many of them find
it is very easy to get lost in the complexities of
people’s stories in the counseling room. PAGE 4
volume
issue
10
1
Christians are not immune to emotional strug-
gles and depression. The Bible addresses the
reality of these emotions and how we can deal
with them in redemptive ways. PAGE 6
by Megan Clunan, Ph.D.
Spiritual Intimacy
and the Church
Planter Marriage
Over 4,000 churches are planted annually within the United States. The majority of church plants
are led by married church planters. Abundant literature exists to aid church planters in church
plant growth, development, leadership, financial support, and so forth. However, as Christian
counselors and pastors, we must also encourage married church planters in the primary ministry of
marriage. Without focused support for the marriage, the church plant may vicariously experience
the detrimental effects of a struggling marriage, in which case no amount of literature on planting
churches will matter, as not only will the church plant struggle to survive, but the marriage will
also be placed in jeopardy. This article informs readers on the importance of
couple prayer
as
a protective factor within church planter marriages, for the sake of both healthy marriages and
healthy church plants.