The Church’s Obsession With Free Therapy

There are many who view Church as nothing more than free therapy. It’s quite the phenomenon. The church is filled with die hard narcissists who arrive having carried on life long struggles. Marriages on the brink. Personal lives suffering from the effects of unrepentant sins. Unending emotional stress. Whatever the cause of their problems, they all want the same thing: for their pastor to fix the issue and for him do it in three easy steps. Church is seen as a pastor/therapist sitting across a desk for multiple sessions, listening as they unpack the deep crevices of their personal experiences and struggles. I’m not suggesting real problems don’t exist. Nor am I denying that loving compassion is part of the solution. But, somewhere along the way, after boring as deep as we can into the minutia of people’s lives, have we ever stopped to consider some things? Life is supposed to be hard. Sanctification is not as simple as applying three steps taken from a therapist’s Rolodex. Or, it’s not healthy or biblical for anyone to sit around talking about themselves ad nauseam. What have we created? Anymore, the church is one giant counseling center for people whose basic need is a greater vision of God, not a better understanding of what happened when they were eight.

With this in mind, view the video below. It’s quite refreshing.