Strategies for Opening Blind Eyes: Data Gathering Part 3

Part 3 of a 3 part series. In this article, Paul Tripp describes the issue of spiritual blindness in the counseling relationship and presents strategies grounded in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 for working with counselees. Tripp proposes that the counselor first locate strongholds. He encourages the reader to find the specific places where blindness structures the way a person thinks and acts, and specifically listen for places a person is angry, defensive, closed, or blame-shifting. He moves to the second area, demolishing pretensions, the false things a person thinks to be true. In this area, Tripp advocates looking for inaccurate views of self, God, and circumstances. Finally, Tripp encourages that the counselor help the counselee take every thought captive to Christ, helping people to think biblically about these things. Part 1 is in JBC 14:2, Part 2 in JBC 14:3 and Part 3 in JBC 15:1. A response to this article (and Tripp’s response) is written in a Letter to the Editor in JBC 15:3.