Jim leads Freedom Farm Ministries in Boone, NC, and is a Commissioned Addictions Biblical Counselor (CABC) who also serves as a board member with The Addiction Connection. Dr. Shaw and Jim's discussion opens with Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way to death.”
Jim informs listeners that the publication of The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin in 1861 dramatically affected the Protestant church. It rocked the Christian church because it challenged large portions of the Bible by something that “sounds” really good. Soul care actually began to then be torn from and separated from local churches and became something Christians were scared about because of “science.”
Dr. Daniel Berger (drdanielberger.com) has written about the history of this decline of pastors coming alongside people to help them with their problems in his many books.
It just sounds right that I have a chemical imbalance, mental illness, and I have a disease, but it’s so destructive to lives and people getting set free.
Proverbs 13:20 is the next verse they discuss.
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (ESV)
Sounds much like changing the people, places, and things.
This one is referring to people. The example used is someone going into bars in order to save all your buddies from the bars.
Proverbs 27:5-6 “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”
Rebuke does not mean you have to be mean. Truth can be given in a loving and gracious way. Sharing truth in an ugly way is bad but also not sharing truth because you are afraid of offending them is wrong as well.
“Wound and friend are in the same sentence. If you are wounding someone, [first] make sure they know that you are their friend.” -Quigley.
Gentleness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Be encouraged to say the hard thing out of love. Have the boldness to speak. This proverb helps to speak to both the sender and the receiver.
All the proverbs are chocked full of truth. So wise to utilize the book in counseling.
Find the ministry where Jim serves as Executive Director at www.Freedomfarmmistries.org
