The Exchanged Life message has to be consistently taught in the local church. It must be preached from the pulpit and begins with leadership.

The more desperate the individual is, the more open they will be to the Exchanged Life message.

The following are highlights from Pastor Stoney Shaw’s presentation on the role of small groups in a church.

In this lesson, Dr. Jones examines John 15:1-5 in order to determine what it means to abide in Christ. Here are some salient points that he made in his lecture.

In lessons 14 and 15, two Exchanged-Life counselors presented their personal testimonies of their salvation, surrender, and exchanged life journeys.

Galatians 6:2 mandates that we show genuine concern for our client’s (heavy) burdens. However, in verse 5 we see that each should bear their own (reasonable) load. There is a balance between what we do for the client and what they should do for themselves. Rescuing people can sometimes delay them coming to the Cross.

In marital spirituotherapy, unlike traditional marriage therapy, individuals are not seen as a couple. Dr. Solomon believes that the problem is with the individuals, not the marriage. So, each person in the marriage is seen individually. The encounter with the Cross that leads to surrender and identification needs to be fundamental in the marriage. Dr. Solomon says that if Christ lives in the husband and Christ lives in the wife, then Christ can get along with Himself.

Rev. Travis states that legalism has to do with performance. He defines legalism as accepting any belief or conviction that favor with God can be earned. God is not influenced by our behavior, but rather what Christ achieved on the Cross. Acceptance before God is based on God’s grace, Christ’s shed blood, and faith, activated by the Holy Spirit. Adding anything to this formula is legalism.

Rev. Travis pointed out the only one who can live the Christian life is Christ, and it is in His life that we can live. He said that God’s primary purpose for us that we have Jesus’ life and that we become more conformed to Christ’s image.

Here are some highlights from Dr. Charles Solomon’s book entitled, “Discipling the Desperate: The Spirit’s Ministry to Hurting Believers.”

Dr. Solomon believes that although we define our ministry as counseling, it should actually be called clinical discipleship. Dr. Solomon starts out by stating that “The Church’s dependence upon programs, and lack of emphasis on discipleship, resulted in mass referrals to those trained in psychology.”

This is a brief taste of Dr. John Ernest Best’s book entitled, “Exchanged Lives! Stories of People Who Discovered That They Were Eagles and How to Soar by Their Union with Christ.” These stories, for the most part, are from the many people he and his staff have counselled at Exchanged Life Ministries Texas, in the Dallas area. This book and many other resources can be purchased at www.abundantlivingresources.org.

I recently read “When Friends Ask for Help: Biblical Advice on Counseling Friends in Need” by Dr. Harold Sala. In the preface, we read the following:

“More advice is given by friends than by all the psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors put together. And why not? Who is in a better position to give advice than a friend?”

Dr. Solomon points out that not until there is a demand is the supply appreciated. A client must be in the position of need in order for them to be open to our message. In order to find that need, we need to listen to the client first, and make certain we don’t move right in to teaching.

I believe that the key verse in this lecture can be found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where Paul writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

Message: Spirituotherapy has a sanctification perspective, in that it helps people grow spiritually. It focuses on the Keswick model, which applies the Galatians 2:20 message.

Dr. Woodward points out that counseling skills allow us to listen, guide, and facilitate the process. 

Dr. Woodward points out that some Christian theologians believe that man is just body and soul. This is called a dichotomous view of man.

Pastor Shaw notes that the focus of biblical counseling must be Christ-centered, as many Christian counseling approaches do have a tendency to focus on psychology as the center or obedience to the Bible as the center.

In this lecture, Dr. Woodward discusses the four phases of counseling using the GFI approach. Specifically, the first phase is salvation, as the Holy Spirit needs to be involved thereafter.

It is interesting to note that Dr. Solomon points out that rejection is not the reason that we need to go to the cross. The flesh is the causative agent and rejection is the fruit. It is the flesh that needs to be brought to the cross.