By Doug Franchville,  ACBC Certified Counselor

A friend volunteered to lead a small group at his church which required filling out a questionnaire on what he believed to ensure that he would lead in a consistent manner with the beliefs of the church. He stated that scanning through them did not seem like a big deal until he tried to write it down. This was my experience on the exams. The questions fell into three areas for me:

• Duh! – Questions that I was fairly confident in and could easily write about with Scripture backup. However, I found it extremely helpful to write this out and I still reference some of these questions today in sessions and have used them as homework in some cases.
• Huh! – I found questions that I didn’t even know what the words meant. In studying them, I quickly (OK, not very quickly) dove into Scripture and theology that I had not considered before. These questions gave me a deeper understanding of where counselees (and counselors) get off track (stray from Scripture – Eph. 4:14)
• Duh-Huh-Ah! – There were questions that I first thought I knew where I stood until I started putting it on paper and really dove into Scripture (think perseverance of the Saints here or our work in salvation).

Through this process, I cemented former beliefs, discovered and formed new theology and thoroughly examined myself (2 Cor. 13:5 – though I wasn’t concerned about my salvation, it shook me a little on how ‘fluffy’ {easily tossed} I was on serious concepts). It also convicted me on why I was going to a particular church. And this is why I recommend all pastors, elders, church leaders to write out the exams.

Stand Firm

The exam stage typically is where people decide if they will continue with the counseling training. I encourage you to continue on, finish the exams. I will assure you that it is worth it, and you will be blessed. I will leave you with three verses.

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

Did you know we have a course to help you write the exams?

(starting soon on 4/16!)

Our in-person course (recommended for local students) starts April 16 and runs for five Saturdays in the mornings. We have an online options available as well (recommended for distant students or as a supplement for local students). The online option include tiers with features like videos, written feedback, live quarterly group discussions, and even one-one-one coaching. In-person students receive a discount for the online course.

Visit rodanstaffministries.org/training to learn more and sign up for one or both options! If you have any questions regarding our Semester Three Exam Prep class please feel free to contact us.