Why a counseling center @ Christ Community
God’s astonishing grace is poured into people’s lives through a variety of channels. The gift of family, friends, colleagues, nature, neighbors, art, Scripture, prayer, and church communities are just a few of the obvious places in which we encounter God’s transforming love for us. I wonder, however, how frequently we might think of ‘gifted counselor’ as a necessary member of that list.
I’ve been a Pastor for almost thirty six years now and I am continuously amazed at the diversity of gift God uses to bring his healing presence into our lives. We experience this in something as simple as a sermon, or in the Lord’s Supper, or a profoundly beautiful hymn, and deeply needed rest. It is also true that we experience this mercy when we find ourselves in the hands of trained, perceptive, godly counselors who help us face various destructive issues in our hearts, our homes, and our relationships in all walks of life - including our relationship with God. Isaiah saw the coming Messiah as the One who would be known as ‘Wonderful Counselor’, the One on whom the Spirit would rest to bring liberty, healing, and wholeness.
The Counseling Center at Christ Community Church is offering that kind of deeply spiritual and practical service to individuals and families every day. Our Counseling Team, led by Dr Bruce McCurdy, cares for people who would claim the Christian Faith as their own, as well as people who do not, or who just aren’t sure where they stand on such matters. Our Counseling Team does their work motivated by the love of Jesus Christ, and that leads to a deep hearing of and care for individuals and families searching for answers.
The truth is that we don’t have to wait for things to reach the level of total disaster to make a call for help. Given the challenges with which our times present us, we all need a listening ear, an informed and incisive voice, and the resources we didn’t even know we had at our disposal to assist us in navigating the storms we all experience. The Center has the kind of people who can offer such guidance and aid.
Transformation in our lives doesn’t occur on our own. God uses people to influence us, to open us up to new ways of seeing, to bring healing grace into our lives. I’ve seen that happen through my colleagues at the Center over and over again. Wrestling with death and divorce, with despair and grief, with addiction and fear, and any one of the many pathogens that create such disharmony in our lives, is not something we were made to do alone. That said, depending on well-intended but ill-informed ‘helpers’ - even friends and families - is an often inadequate and sometimes even dangerous response to such troubles.
Jesus said, “Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened down…” That’s the invitation the Counseling Center at Christ Community Church extends to all as well. We extend to you the love of Christ, the grace of Christ, and the healing of Christ. In his name we welcome you, and promise to work with you for your wholeness and joy.