A crisis of sufficiency
Flavia sat in her chair, frustrated and offended, at the annual Theology Conference held by Seminario Carey. The conference topic was Biblical Counseling, and she felt significantly invested because she was halfway through her Psychology major at Córdoba National University. The speaker’s statement caught her off guard: the Bible is sufficient for all things, including counseling. Could this be true?
She had grown up in a Christian home, she served at Crecer church, and her goal for the future was to be a counselor or therapist. But throughout the 2-day conference, her plans entered into a “crisis,” as she describes it. She had always imagined Psychoanalysis as necessary for her to have a healthy ministry. Now, she was forced to ask herself if she truly believed in the sufficiency of scripture. One thing was clear: she needed to go deeper in her Biblical studies. The year after the conference, she began studying in the Seminary. “I needed a sound theological base,” Flavia comments, “I needed to understand the Bible, understand the Holy Spirit.”
Now, two years later, Flavia reflects on how her theological studies have impacted her: “The Seminary has taught me how to ask the right questions as a counselor and use the tools at my disposal to teach others. As I’ve learned more about God and the church, I’ve come to love both so much more.” Not surprisingly, her favorite course was Christian counseling. She’s not only been able to apply the tools to her ministry of teen discipleship and also use the knowledge to start conversations with her friends from university. Flavia has become convinced that the Bible is supreme for dealing with any issue or struggle in life. In fact, it’s changed the way she disciples other believers. “When I disciple now, I just use the Bible. It’s amazing how, when we read, the girls understand the concepts so deeply and personally, be it depravity or grace. They don’t need a book, or program, or event to grow spiritually. Just the Word of God.”
This year Flavia graduated - virtually, thanks to COVID19 - from Córdoba National University, still with her psychology degree. She hopes to use it to work with learning disabilities rather than clinical practice. She’ll also finish her seminary diploma this year, start her Masters in Theology next year, and beginning January 2021, she will be the newest staff member at Seminario Carey, working as a tutor.
Seminario Carey is training up leaders in all ministries: pastors, counselors, church planters, and even missionaries. Your gift helps them continue to offer more courses, conferences, workshops, and opportunities to Spanish-speaking leaders working to spread the gospel worldwide.