Introduction to Biblical Counseling as a tool for discipleship training in the fourth industrial revolution era
We live amid the fourth industrial revolution. The third industrial revolution brought agricultural workers to cities, developing various industries geared toward manufacturing various goods to increase economic activity. The church benefited from the third industrial revolution and increased its influence in various aspects of society. However, it failed to make a great impact in philosophy and science and lost many youths to secular ideology in the field of education, entertainment, and value.
The secular ideology crept into the church without much resistance. Many of the church leaders were influenced under the liberal theological doctrines and worldly values during their early years of lives being influenced by television and the liberal public elementary education system.
The fourth industrial revolution is based on the aggregation of various data calculated to derive various conclusions. These calculated data are used to study and control various human behaviors, as most people live in routines. The fourth industrial revolution removes the routine duties of humans by delegating it to machines, resulting in humans' inability to do even simple calculations and tasks.
These types of changes can be beneficial to mankind, but at the same time, it creates new issues that mankind has never faced before. The third industrial revolution created manufacturing jobs for many unskilled agricultural workers; however, because the enterprise viewed these workers as "human resources," the value of a person diminished to replaceable resources.
The original man, Adam, was created in the image of God, and all his offsprings have the image of God in them. The third industrial revolution enterprise's view of mankind as human resources birthed many new problems that mankind have never faced before. Many people began to suffer from emotional and spiritual problems that they did not have before.
Before the third industrial revolution, agricultural society members did not have to worry too much about have no work to do. There was too much work to do in an agricultural society. Children were an asset to the family to do various farming duties and an asset to society as soldiers to fight against common enemies. In an agricultural society, everyone can contribute to its society with labor. However, as more people left agricultural society to benefit from the third industrial revolution, people began to face new problems; economic cycles.
During the boom phase of the economic cycle, industrial enterprises hire many workers. Many workers equate to more items being produced, and as the demand outweighs the supply, the workers had plenty of jobs. Industrial enterprises hired unskilled workers and trained them to do a simple operation of operating various machines. They sent smart workers to craftsman classes to advance their skills while sending skilled craftsmen to schools to manage the workers. The process led to an educational boom during the third industrial revolution.
However, when the great depression happened, many of the unskilled workers lost their jobs and began to worry about finding work and making a living. Some unskilled workers went to school to gain skills while many suffered from various psychological and spiritual issues.
The Western churches responded to these issues by ramping up the social and public benefits programs both in and outside the churches. However, most of these programs came short of winning converts by merely helping them with physical needs. The needs of people were too big, and the churches were able to tackle only the issues that they faced at hand. They hired professionals to manage the business operations of the church's philanthropic works. These professionals were trained only in the business aspects, and their values and philosophy began to influence the church secularly.
As the church's philanthropic programs grew in size and influence, it began to control the church politics. It ultimately began to secularize churches, resulting in liberalism taking control over the church businesses and theological beliefs.
The fourth industrial revolution is a new opportunity for the church to influence society's value system and win many converts. Covid19 caused even greater isolation in our societies, and the fourth industrial revolution will greatly isolate and divide many people. It will undoubtedly bring forth new psychological and spiritual problems that mankind will suffer, and mankind will desperately seek solutions.
The church can provide not just solutions but salvation to these fourth industrial revolution problems. The church is on a mission to make disciples of Jesus of all nations. A disciple of Jesus is a person who is capable of doing the type of ministry that Jesus has done. Jesus has healed the sick, drove out demons, and proclaimed the gospel to the poor. Who are the sick, demon possed, and the poor in the fourth industrial revolution? How can churches approach them, and what can we offer to them that is as attractive as Jesus?
One area that is still in development among the reformed scholar is the area of Biblical Counseling. When most hear the word Biblical Counseling, they think it is counseling based on the Bible. It may be half correct, as the Biblical Counseling is not throwing Bible at the counselees and telling them to obey it.
Most pastors and church leaders gravely misunderstand what the Biblical Counseling is. Telling counselees to live by the Bible is preaching, not Biblical Counseling. The next few chapters will identify Biblical Counseling, specific methods to do Biblical Counseling, and how it can make disciples of Jesus Christ from counseling.
The fourth industrial revolution is a great new opportunity for the church to reflect upon the past mistakes it made during the third industrial revolution and make great progress in the expansion of the Kingdom of God in the psychological and spiritual realms of the people. It can greatly benefit those who participate in the discipleship training by better equipping them and resolving many issues and problems that the fourth industrial revolution brings to mankind. The Word of God is true, and it never changes, and it will be the solution to mankind facing new problems in the fourth industrial revolution.
