This week we bring you an interview with David Powlison conducted by two students from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Powlison reveals fascinating details about how he became a biblical counselor and the early days of the biblical counseling movement, as well as insights into his take on various perceived conflicts between biblical and secular counseling, psychology, and psychiatry.

by Mike Emlet

"Do you like him?"  "Huh?" I thought to myself.  I found the question an odd one.  Ten years ago I was serving as an intern at CCEF and had just presented my case to Ed Welch, who was supervising me.  And now he was asking me if I liked my counselee.  Why shouldn't I?  I mean, wasn't I supposed to like him?  What other option was there?  He was the counselee God had given me, right?!

It didn't take long to understand the wisdom of Ed's question.  He was probing how I had experienced my counselee.  He knew that the counseling relationship, like any relationship we have, has the potential to expose much in the life and heart of the counselor and that it was important to grow in self awareness of these dynamics.  Of course, this self awareness is critical not only for interns but also for seasoned counselors.

Probably the most common issue that counseling evokes in the heart of an intern is fear, and this comes in many varieties.  On the one hand, there is an appropriate level of trepidation when dealing with the fine china of people's lives.  We should never be cavalier nor overly confident.  Paul himself spoke of approaching the Corinthians "in weakness and fear, and with much trembling" as he brought the gospel to them, realizing that his ministry was absolutely dependent upon the Spirit's power (1 Cor. 2:1-5).