In the center of your body, known as the torso, resides a series of muscles that function together to provide stability for your body. These muscles collectively are referred to as your core. Without these muscles working together, you would lose your capacity to effectively maneuver, lift, shift stress from the spine, and accomplish the myriad daily activities we take for granted. Therefore, fitness trainers are very concerned with strengthening your physical core, to ensure your body is functioning as designed.
Similar to your physical body, you also possess a “spiritual core” which must function as God intended. This core consists of interdependent
elements that operate harmoniously to stabilize our spiritual walk and service, enabling us to function successfully in life and ministry. These four elements are: our purpose, evident in a heart motivated to glorify God; our being, evident in Christ- like character; our impact, evident as we influence other people to embrace God’s objectives; and our practice, evident through a faithful commitment to Spirit-led leadership disciplines. Similar to our physical core, these four spiritual components are essential to help God’s leaders function and serve the way He intended.
In each of IBL’s ministry services, our teams focus on strengthening these four elements as we train, advise, guide, and mentor. It is common for our coaching clients to see these elements strengthened as we assist them one-on-one with leadership decisions and challenges. These components are regularly emphasized in our U.S. and International Training as we help leaders exercise and develop their purpose, being, impact, and practice. In IBL’s consulting efforts, as we serve a leadership team through ministry assessments, role clarification, organizational leadership structure, long-range planning, conflict resolution, crisis response, and other areas of team leadership, the focus on the team’s spiritual core is evident. But of all our services, it is in IBL’s counseling ministry that a leader undergoes the most intense development work on their spiritual core.
Our counseling ministry is often not as visible or openly discussed as our other services.
“In each of IBL’s ministry services,our teams focus on strengthening these four elements as we train, advise, guide, and mentor.”
Even in 2021, too many people associate a negative stigma with “counseling.” Too often there is an incorrect and harmful attitude of “something must be profoundly broken and beyond repair” if a leader needs counseling. Nothing could be further from the truth! When counseling is structured properly, with the right focus and the right goals, it is a wonderful time of significant spiritual advancement and strengthening of the leader’s spiritual core. Unfortunately, what is often referred to as “Christian” oreven “biblical” counseling is
far removed from the spiritual development process found in God’s Word.
Counseling at IBL is designed for an in-depth examination of a leader’s “core.” We use the biblical metaphor of a tree (Isaiah 61:3b), describing a leader as an Oak of Righteousness, mapping each element of our spiritual core to a distinct part of the tree. The foliage of a leader’s tree corresponds to the “presentation issues”
that need to be addressed: the problematic patterns of behavior in the client’s life and ministry that prompted them to seek counseling. These harmful patterns limit the influence
of the client in others’ lives, hindering the leader’s ability to
help other people embrace God’s objectives. The limbs of the tree are also examined by the counseling team, with a thorough exploration of harmful character qualities, and identifying any misalignment of the leader’s chosen vocation with their divine design. At the deepest level in the tree, the roots, IBL’s counselors examine active, idolistic heart motivations that have led to the harmful behavioral patterns in the foliage of the leader’s tree. While we all know the Sunday school answer, that our heart is motived to bring God glory, the actual, active motivations of our hearts are sometimes much more self- focused. Finally, the sap of
a leader’s tree corresponds to spiritual disciplines that help a leader develop their roots, strengthen their limbs, and enrich their foliage. The action plans developed in the counseling room identify the disciplines that need to be embraced by the counselees.
As seen in the two testimonials in this issue of Side-by-Side, our counseling ministry is simply an extension of the entire philosophy of IBL’s ministry. It is designed to take a deep dive into the individual leader’s life. It is very holistic, with a goal of strengthening the entire spiritual core of a leader.
There are many situations that prompt couples to seek counseling with IBL: disconnects or miscommunication in their marriage relationship; traumatic situations that need to be processed and understood from God’s perspective; uncertainty about next steps in ministry;
and patterns of conflict with colleagues or congregants are just a few examples. In all cases, there is an overriding sense of something not being right, that they have some type of pattern of not functioning as God desires.
At IBL, we are burdened to see God’s leaders grow and flourish. We come alongside them and help them develop their purpose, being, impact, and practice, so they become all that God desires. We encourage you to reach out to us if you feel you could benefit from a conversation regarding IBL’s counseling ministry, and how it could help you as a leader. It would be our joy to help you strengthen your spiritual core as God’s leader.