David Powlison is one of the clearest thinkers in what we might call "the biblical counseling movement." As editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling and instructor at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, Powlison has greatly impacted my view of counseling as discipleship. I love his books because he makes me think deeply about the real heart issues in counseling and, as a result, I love Jesus more, and am never left the same. Here's a thought-provoking quote from his excellent book Seeing with New Eyes.
Truth mediates a Person, a working Redeemer. To be human is to love a Savior, Father, Master, and Lord. Instead of ‘psychopathology' and ‘syndromes,' we see ‘sins' against this Person, and we see sufferings that are ‘trials' revealing our need for a true Deliverer and refuge. Instead of proposing that some psychodynamic insight, met need, altered self-talk, or behavioral rehabituation will cure us, we receive God's actual mercies as our salvation. Instead of defining change as an intra-psychic, psychosocial, or biological process of ‘healing' or ‘growth,' we define change as turning to a Person whom we trust, fear, obey, and seek to please." [Seeing with New Eyes, p. 4]