For those of you who are affiliated with church work or who have family in the ministry, you know the concept of being called into the ministry. The weight of the sense of calling is that it comes from God who is putting this sense of urgency, or purpose, on a person’s heart. I was working in the oilfield in Wyoming selling drill bits to the rigs back around 1976-1977. My little time spent on this job gave me lots of understanding and sympathy for others who feel that their jobs are not a good fit for them! While living in Casper, Wyoming, I was attending the First Southern Baptist Church there. I can look back and see that my sense of being called into the ministry was coupled with a growing un-ease about my job.

Having surrendered to this calling from God I moved back to Texas to attend seminary. I completed this and got my first Pastorate in Missouri. One of the responsibilities of the local church Pastor is to take care of whatever counseling duties of which he is capable. Trust me, this is a steep learning curve! I had been married with children only a few years, so to say that I was inexperienced is certainly an understatement.

But I continued to take the counseling responsibility seriously and began to develop an understanding of how to listen and how to give biblical guidance for those that came to see me. The sessions focused primarily on marriage problems and some assorted relationship issues. Again, as I look back I can see that there were times it was the blind leading the blind!

Fast forward to today. With over 28 years in the ministry, countless sessions counseling church and community members, and a continuing education in Christian Counseling I have developed this practice which now includes not only Christian Counseling but also Christian Life Coaching. Please understand that the lessons that I have learned have not all come from books and courses that I have taken. Call it the School of Hard Knocks, or Marriage 101. Either way, I have learned from my own marriage experiences as well as those of others. When I counsel or coach others it is all about finding the path forward that best fits each individual or couple. No cookie cutter counseling or coaching. Each situation is unique, which is why I have found that listening is just as essential to success as anything else I do. Just as with being called to Pastoral ministry, I consider counseling and life coaching to be a calling, teaching biblical principles and their application to your needs and circumstances.

If you find that there are circumstances in your life that seem insurmountable it may benefit you to consider either counseling or life coaching. Often, it is just a matter of being given an objective viewpoint that will free up the situation and lead to solutions. Depending on the need and the circumstances this may be short-term, or it might require more sessions to come to the needed solutions. At Life Choices Christian Counseling and Life Coaching I work with individuals, couples and families in person, on the phone or on ZOOM. You can find my contact information here in the website.

Chuck Phillips

Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor, National Christian Counselors Association.

Board Certified Advanced Christian Life Coach, IBCC.