The biblical counselling movement began in the West during the 1970s. Dr Jay Adams is considered the father of the biblical counselling movement, with the publication of his Competent to Counsel. In that book Adams challenged the overtly psychological approach to counselling that had infiltrated the church. Adams later founded the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF). Many readers won’t be familiar with Adams, but will know of his successors, including David Powlison, Ed Welch, Paul Tripp. Today there are various sound biblical counselling movements and Heath Lambert has done some excellent work exploring their theology and tracing the broader historical developments.
There are cultural values in Africa that strengthen biblical counselling.
In Africa, the biblical counselling movement is only about two decades old. And the movement is certainly growing, thanks to the efforts of people like Wayne Mack. But I believe that many of the principles undergirding biblical counselling predate the counselling movement. Today we might have biblical counsellors, yet as long as churches have existed in Africa pastors have been counselling their flocks. Sure the terminology or labels have been updated and we might now refer to counselling sessions or mental health. However, since the missionaries arrived, African pastors have used the Bible in counselling.
Below I’m going to outline three ways the African culture proved fruitful ground for biblical counselling; in the second broader section I’ll suggest three ways African culture has hindered biblical counselling. While we can learn from our mistakes or weaknesses, my hope for this article is that it will indicate cultural assumptions or values in African culture that strengthen biblical counselling.
Africa’s Gifts to Biblical Counselling
1. Africans Value Community
African culture is communal. People are involved in each other’s lives. They’re committed to being supportive, which is especially witnessed in events like weddings and funerals. It’s considered rude to enter an African home and not eat what you’re presented—and something will always be prepared. This culture is consistent with God’s commands to be hospitable and welcome one another (Romans 12:13; 15:7; Hebrews 13:1-3). Africans’ communal living can be positively leveraged in biblical counselling, as in the local church (Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 3:12-13). For sanctification is a community project. This culture serves as an opportunity to foster change within the community of believers.
2. We Revere Spiritual Authority
Africans have an unspoken reverence for the Supreme Being. This reverence is typically extended to ministers of the gospel, even by those who are not believers, which is an advantage to the biblical counselling movement. Biblical counsellors don’t have to win people over. They don’t have to persuade them to listen. Now, we’re all familiar with the ways in which this reverence tends to be abused; but for those who genuinely desire to care for others it’s indispensable. This framework and reverence within African culture serves as a great advantage to biblical counselling.
3. We Know Suffering
The vast majority of Africans are well acquainted with suffering. Therefore, African culture understands much about the nature of perseverance. This perspective won’t be perfect, however it does mean those we’re counselling start on very different grounds to those who’ve predominantly only known affluence and comfort. God regularly exhorts believers to persevere through suffering, waiting on him (2 Corinthians 4:7-18; John 14:1-3; Hebrews 11). Since the fall, suffering is inevitable. Therefore Africans are in many ways better prepared for the pressures of this life, for perseverance and hope despite brutal or oppressive realities (Romans 12:12).
These three points are some key ways the culture acts as a fertile soil for biblical counselling to thrive and flourish.
Cultural Obstacles to Counselling
There is, however, no perfect culture. Regardless of how fertile African culture is for biblical counselling, there are also thorns and thistles. Only by listening first to what God says in his word, will we be able to discern the difference. To that end, below are three.
1. Shame and Honour Culture
As much as African culture is communal, upholding hospitality, it also has a loophole in it that deems the sharing of struggles and admission of sin as weakness. Even in suffering, many African cultures consider concealment a strength. The Bible, and therefore also biblical counselling as well, challenges this. For God calls us to do life together, bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-2).
God calls us to do life together, bearing one another’s burdens.
Consider Paul. The apostle is a great example of someone who doesn’t shy away from sharing his suffering—even his battle with lingering sin. Our Lord and Saviour himself walked a path of suffering, countering this culture of shame and honour. Prior to the cross he spoke about his impending suffering and humiliation. He pleaded with his disciples to pray with him. Faith does not preclude weakness; strength doesn’t mean remaining silent.
2. Silence Concerning Abuse
Building on the previous point, due to Africans’ fear of shame we often blindly protect those in power, even when they abuse it. Thus our culture tends to encourage silence among abuse victims, instead of exposing perpetrators. In this way African culture doesn’t serve biblical counselling. This good impetus, or instinct, to honour and respect authority sadly tends to end at the extreme of never calling those in authority to account. Victims remain unseen, unheard while those in authority continue unchecked and unchallenged. Speaking out only brings shame.
Speaking out brings shame.
Biblical counselling sheds an important light that counters this aspect of African culture, consistently applying the Bible’s emphasis that oppression is sinful and dishonours God (Isaiah 1:17).
3. Superstition
Finally, the reverence that Africans hold for a deity is usually wrapped up in superstition and fear of spiritual powers. This is a challenge to biblical counselling because those seeking counselling tend to be convinced that their problems are due to witchcraft. Because they believe this, they think the only solution is witchcraft or consulting their ancestors. In all of this, the need for real heart change is overlooked; furthermore, the God with real power is ignored.
Biblical Counselling Needs Africa
Above we’ve explored some pros and cons of what the African culture brings to the biblical counselling movement. My hope for those is that they would serve both as an encouragement for this movement across the African continent, with the hope that it would grow; and as a signpost for dangerous cultural assumptions that must be corrected. Africa is the Lord God’s vineyard. In his providence, there is evidence of his work in spreading biblical counselling and blessing many Africans through it.
