Online Training in Christian Counseling: Spiritual Mentorship
Christian spiritual counseling is a vocation that goes beyond a mere professional service. It is spiritual gift of love that through the Holy Spirit manifests between mentor and protegee. The spiritual mentor may be a priest, minister or lay person, but the central theme is a bond of a trust and spiritual guidance. This bond is as old as the Christian Church as Paul mentored Timothy and so forth. The final element is releasing. Christ finally released his apostles and disciples and trusted they would help nurture and grow the infant church. As spiritual parents, a mentor too must eventually release his spiritual child and hope that he will utilize his spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church.
The primary model of mentorship is Jesus Christ, who was the ultimate mentor to his 12 apostles and disciples. Through Christ we see three elements of mentorship that involve initiation, building and releasing. First, the mentor starts the relationship and goes out and finds the spiritual children to guide as Christ found his apostles. Second, is building. Christ built the foundation of this church through his apostles and disciples. Through his example, he taught them and instructed them and laid the foundation for them to become the leaders of the early Church.
Through this model, spiritual mentors can help harvest the faith of the many and allow it to bear fruit. As a mentor, one may be a disciple, or a coach, or a teacher, or even a counselor, but within all these roles, the idea of trust and development of Christ’s kingdom on Earth become central to the vocation. Via example, prayer, trust, mutual accountability and ultimately servanthood, the spiritual mentor becomes a pivotal player in the harvesting of the faithful. This is far more than any career but a spiritual vocation based upon a Christ model. What is most important is that it not a particular call to only the ministers, priests and religious but also a universal call to all aspects of Christian life.
In conclusion, it is the vocational duty of mentors to harvest the spiritual talents of the Mystical Body of Christ. As mentors, they too possess their own unique charism of the Holy Spirit, and through that spiritual gift of counseling they are able to guide and help others find their place in the church. If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program. Also if you would like to take online training in Christian Counseling, then please review the program.
By Mark Moran, MA