The Oates Journal (ISSN: 1098-1446) is a publication of the Wayne E. Oates Institute addressing issues related to spirituality, ethics, and healing from the perspective of pastoral care and counseling.

With all the pressure and excitement about learning and gaining skills in the multitude of psychotherapeutic approaches in the practice of pastoral counseling, it is easy for one of the most basic resources to be overlooked, the use of scripture in the counseling process. It may even seem unnecessary to discuss in today’s high flying clinical counseling environment, where we teach and learn everything from object relations to cognitive therapy to family systems. Yet, failure to do it well can result in misuse of valued documents and potentially mislead troubled persons coming to us for help. So, this column represents a reflection on a somewhat tricky but extremely valuable resource.

In one of Wayne Oates’ (1954) early books, The Bible in Pastoral Care, he sought to correct the misuse he saw of scripture and present a model that fit into the pastor’s pastoral care and counseling in a positive way. Although clearly dated, and oriented to congregational ministry, portions of the book show Oates’ creative and insightful mind at work in approaching this typical pastoral problem. He wrote, “The matter of the Biblical knowledge of a minister and the matter of his approach to interpretation of the Scripture cannot be separated from his role and function as a pastoral counselor” (p. 30-31). He spoke of a flexible approach that uses the Bible “pastorally rather than penally.” A pastoral use would be drawing positive, redemptive insight and guidance from scripture that reflects the deeper meaning and intent of scripture. A penal use would be a legalistic, punitive approach, one that engenders guilt, anxiety, and condemnation.

The use of scripture is always conditioned by the religious history and the degree of familiarity with Biblical literature in both the client and the counselor. The optimum scenario for such use, it seems to me, is with a counselee who has a history of Bible reading and a significant regard for meaning and interpretation, one who is open to new awareness and a non-legalistic understanding, engaged with a like-minded, biblically informed counselor who is comfortable with its integrated, non-dogmatic use. There are occasions, as well, when it would be counter-productive to use the Bible as a point of reference, such as with a client who quotes scripture in a dogmatic way to prove a point, avoid a point, manipulate the moment, gain power over a spouse in marital conflict, or some similar maneuver. As a pastoral counselor, I would refuse to engage in biblical discussion with a client who used the Bible in a hostile, manipulative manner, and I would tell them why. Any client of faith, for good or ill, may choose a pastoral counselor for the very reason that this type of counselor is likely to have a working knowledge of the Bible which would be a reference point for the counseling process. It is equally true, of course, that neither the counselee nor the counselor may have any useful awareness of or interest in scripture and its application to life situations. In general practice, however, I believe that a pastoral counselor who excludes this dynamic entirely is omitting what is potentially one of the most powerful resources in a clinical repertoire of responses.

It seems to me that there are two basic approaches to the clinical use of scripture, which I refer to as prescriptive and inscriptive. The prescriptive approach is one in which the scripture precedes the problem. In other words, for every problem there is a preset scriptural solution, so when the problem is identified a Bible verse or passage is prescribed, much like a medical prescription. The counselor may have a repertoire of scriptural references which will be used no matter how the client identifies the problem. I view this as an ineffective and even invasive approach that is likely to miss, if not offend, the client who needs to feel fully and sensitively heard and understood without such a scriptural prescription being injected into the process. In intentional approaches, such as this, there is an implicit, if not explicit, sola scriptura understanding of human dilemmas; an assumption that scripture alone is sufficient to respond to whatever the case may be, without psychological or personality dynamics being understood and utilized in any knowledgeable way. This is akin to a serious illness being responded to by prayer alone without any medical evaluation or intervention, and equally unadvised.

The second, and more therapeutic, approach is representative of informed, competent, comprehensive, and integrative pastoral care and counseling. Inscriptive use of scripture in the counseling process is that which arises from the clinical moment itself, when an image or a story is introduced by the client that begins to mirror a biblical image, story, or personality in the mind of the counselor. It is inscribed within what is being shared, not imposed upon it or interrupted by it. One image is associated with the other. It is generally an unconscious or intuitive process that is made conscious. Listening intently to the client, the counselor internally evaluates the relevance and helpfulness of this biblical image or reference to what is being shared and chooses whether or not to introduce it. This is a strategically important clinical decision. It is critical that if the scriptural awareness is shared by the counselor, it identifies with and furthers the client’s awareness. If not, it can be an interruption and a distraction and risks having negative value, or no value at all, thereby weakening rapport. If the timing is right, however, the client can be positively enhanced and affirmed by his or her words being placed in the context of the Word of God. Inscripted scriptural references leave room for the Holy Spirit to work. It is a kind of clinical variation on the theme of lectio divina, the contemplative practice of reading a portion of scripture and then meditatively allowing the meaning to spontaneously emerge into consciousness. The biblical reference becomes a metaphor for the client, making the issue more accessible and less threatening. It can introduce an instructive value without the counselor telling the client what to do.

Some counselors have natural skills with this existential association, while others have to work intentionally under supervision to hone this integrative practice. At best, this association usually occurs successfully only once in a session, and perhaps only once every few sessions. When it happens it represents the optimal use of scripture in a clinical process. The spiritual tone of the process is deepened, the rapport between counselor and client is enhanced, and trust and hope is elevated. A primary requirement, however, is that the pastoral counselor has learned how to integrate biblical imagery into his or her own life, and thus can do this comfortably and unobtrusively in the life of another. This comes from having “listened” to scripture, an imagery from Ed Friedman I quoted in my last column. It represents a meaningful professional integration of spirituality and psychotherapy, thus enhancing the integrity of being a pastoral counselor.

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