WHAT WE BELIEVE
Ethical Standards
Statement of Faith:

As a Christian counseling organization, CounselCare Connection affirms and believes the following Doctrinal Statement.

The Godhead

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections and are worthy of the same confidence and obedience (Matthew 28:18, 19:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

The Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son and is perfect humanity 100% and deity 100% (John 1:1, 3:16).  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:30-35).  He lived a sinless life and was god’s ideal man (Hebrews 4:15).  He died on the cross as the substitute for man for the sin penalty (Romans 5:8).  He arose bodily from the dead (John 20:20).  He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9).  He is presently ministering for the believer as the intercessor (Hebrews 7:25).  He will return personally and visibly, first to received the believer to Himself (I Thessalonians 4:16, 17), and then to establish His kingdom on earth (Matthew 25:31, 32).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19).  He convicts and is active in the regeneration of the believer (John 16:8-11; Titus 3:5).  He indwells every believer (Romans 8:9).  He is the source of power whereby the believer may live a Godly life (Galatians 5:16).  His present ministry is, in part, to convince the world of the reality of sin, of righteousness through Christ, and of the judgment to come (John 16:7-11).

The Scripture

We believe the Bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21).  The Scriptures are infallible, unfailing and accurate (Psalm 12:6; I Corinthians 2:13).  While God used human authors and their personalities, the original writings were as if God had written them Himself.  The Scriptures are the supreme and final authority in faith and life (Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Timothy 3:16).

Salvation

We believe that man may have salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin through personal trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for man’s sin (1 Peter 2:24).  Through faith in Jesus Christ, man is born again (John 3:3), possesses a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17), and has the promise of eternal life (Romans 6:23).  Salvation cannot come through works, but only through the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Eternal Security and Assurance of the Believer

We believe that those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation have the promise of eternal life as a present possession (John 5:24), and therefore they are guaranteed eternal life (Ephesians 4:30).  It is the privilege of the believer to have a present and continuing assurance that he possesses salvation (1 John 5:13).

The Creation of Man and His Fall

Man is physical, which is his body, is a personality, which is the spirit, and spiritual, which is the soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Luke 10:27).  All parts were a direct result of God’s creative hand (Genesis 2:7), in which he made man in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26, 5:1).  Mankind fell when Adam and Eve failed the test of obedience in the Garden of Eden.  Sin was passed from generation to generation (Romans 5:19; Genesis 3:6-24).  Sin is anything contrary to the character of God and that does not bring glory to God.  Sin causes separation between God and Man (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23).

Heaven and Hell

We believe in a literal Heaven in which God dwells and Christ dwells.  We believe that when believers die they go to be with the Lord in Heaven.  We believe in a literal Hell that was prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).  Man will go to Hell after death by choice, because he has not accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and he will spend eternity there in torment separated from God.

Satan

We believe that Satan is a created being of God, and that he fell because of sin to his present state (Isaiah 14:12-17).  He is the author of sin (Genesis 3:1-19).  He has been judged through the death of Christ on the cross (John 12:31).  He will be eternally judged in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

The Church

We believe that all who are born again through faith in Christ are members of the Church which is the body and bride of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).  The Church has been given the commission to reach the world for Christ (Matthew 28:19, 20).  The local church is an organized body of believers in one locality (Revelation 2).  The ordinances of the Church are water baptism (Matthew 28:19), and the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19,20).

The Eternal State

We believe that at death the souls of those who have trusted in Christ for salvation pass immediately into the presence of Christ (Philippians 1:23).  Those who have died will rise again from the graves, and those who are living at the time of the rapture will with them be translated into an immortal state (1 Corinthians 15:51-53), and they shall be forever with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  Eternal punishment in the lake of fire is for all who have rejected Christ (Revelation 20:14, 15).

The Christian Walk

We believe that the Christian is challenged in the Word of God to live a life separated from the sin of the world (Romans 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:18-19; 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18) which can only be accomplished by his living in dependence upon the Holy Spirit so as to reveal the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23).  The life of the believer should be fruitful in ministry within the church and their world (John 15:1-8; Ephesians 4:11-13).

How to Receive Christ

1. Recognize God’s Plan – Peace and Life
    The Message you have just heard stressed that God loves you and wants you to experience His peace and life.
    The Bible says …”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
2. Realize Our Problem – Separation
    People choose to disobey God and go on their own way.
    This results in separation from God.
    The Bible says …”For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
3. Respond To God’s Remedy – The Cross
    God sent his Son to bridge the gap. Christ did this by paying the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross and rose from the grave.
    The Bible says …”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we are still sinners, Christ died for us.”
    Romans 5:8
4. Receive Christ – As Lord and Savior
    You cross the bridge into God’s family when you prayerfully ask Christ to come into your life.
    The Bible says …”Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
How to receive Christ
    1.     Admit your need (I am a sinner).
    2.     Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).
    3.     Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
    4.     Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit  (recieve Him as Lord and Savior).

Prayer of Commitment
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name, Amen 

Read about How to Know God Personally.

CounselCare Connection Staff adhere to the following ethical standards regarding various critical issues: AACC CODE OF ETHICS 

Introduction and Mission

The Code is designed to assist AACC members to better serve their clients and congregants and to improve the work of Christian counseling worldwide.  It will help achieve the primary goals of the AACC—to bring honor to Jesus Christ and his church, promote excellence in Christian counseling, and bring unity to Christian counselors. 

 A New Code for an Emerging Profession

The Code is a comprehensive, detailed, and integrative synthesis of biblical, clinical, systemic, ethical, and legal information.  It was created this way because vaguely worded, content limited, and overly generalized codes are insufficient for the complexities of the modern, 21st-century counseling environment.  A more comprehensive and behavior-specific ethical code is needed for Christian counselors (and all mental health and ministerial professions, we believe) because of:

(1)   the mounting evidence of questionable and incompetent practices among Christian counselors, including increasing complaints of client-parishioner harm;

(2)   the largely unprotected legal status of Christian counseling, including the increasing state scrutiny, excessive litigation, and unrelenting legalization of professional ethics; and more positively

(3)   the vitality and growing maturity of Christian counseling—including its many theories and controversies—indicating the need for an overarching ethical-legal template to guide the development of biblical and empirically sound Christian counseling models. 

 This Code—beyond defining the boundaries of unethical practice—affirmatively educates counselors in the direction of becoming helpers of ethical excellence, capable of more consistently securing the best counseling outcomes.   This Code shows four streams of influence.  These include (1) the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) and historic orthodox Christian theology;** (2) accepted standards of counseling and clinical practice from Christian counseling and the established mental health disciplines; (3) codes of ethics from other Christian and mental health professions; and (4) current and developing standards derived from mental health and ministry-related law.

The mission of this Code is to

(1)   help advance the central mission of the AACC—to bring honor to Jesus Christ and promote excellence and unity in Christian counseling;

(2)   promote the welfare and protect the dignity and fundamental rights of all individuals, families, groups, churches, schools, agencies, ministries, and other organizations with whom Christian counselors work;

(3)   provide standards of ethical conduct in Christian counseling that are to be advocated and applied by the AACC (and ABCC and CCN) and that can be respected by other professionals and institutions.

This Code defines biblically based values and universal behavioral standards for ethical Christian counseling.  We intend this Code to become a core document by which Christian counselors, clients, and the church oversee and evaluate Christian counselors and counseling values, goals, process, and effectiveness.  Furthermore, the Code asserts a Christian counseling standard of care that invites respect and application by the courts, the regulatory bodies of church and state, insurance and managed care groups, other professions, and by society. ...  

I.  ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR CHRISTIAN COUNSELORS
ES1-100 
First, Do No Harm Christian counselors acknowledge that the first rule of professional-ministerial ethical conduct is: do no harm to those served.

1-101    Affirming the God-given Dignity of All Persons Affirmatively, Christian counselors recognize and uphold the inherent, God-given dignity of every human person, from the pre-born to those on death's bed.  Human beings are God's creation-in fact, the crown of His creation-and are therefore due all the rights and respect and ordered logic that this fact of creation entails. Therefore, regardless of how we respond to and challenge harmful attitudes and actions, Christian counselors will express a loving care to any client, service-inquiring person, or anyone encountered in the course of practice or ministry, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual behavior or orientation, socio-economic status, education, denomination, belief system, values, or political affiliation.  God's love is unconditional and, at this level of concern, so must that of the Christian counselor.    

1-102  No Harm or Exploitation Allowed
Prohibitively, then, Christian counselors avoid every manner of harm, exploitation, and unjust discrimination in all client-congregant relations.  Christian counselors are also aware of their psychosocial and spiritual influence and the inherent power imbalance of helping relationships-power dynamics that can harm others even without harmful intent.

1-123  Application to Abortion    
Christian counselors refuse to condone or advocate for abortion and the abortion-related activities of clients.  All counselors will consider and inform clients of alternative means to abortion and, as far as it is possible, will continue to serve clients and work compassionately with them through the abortion crisis.

1-125      Application to Premarital and Extramarital Sexual Behavior
Christian counselors refuse to condone or advocate for the pursuit of or active involvement in pre-marital and extra-marital sexual behavior by clients-promoting an affair is never proper counsel as a solution to marital problems. We acknowledge that sex is God's good creation and a delightful gift when confined to one man and one woman in marriage.  We may agree to and support the wish to work out issues of sexual behavior, identity, and attractions, but will encourage sexual celibacy or biblically proscribed sexual behavior while such issues are being addressed. 

1-126  Application to Homosexual and Transgendered Behavior    
Christian counselors refuse to condone or advocate for the pursuit of or active involvement in homosexual, transgendered, and cross-dressing behavior, and in the adoption gay & lesbian & transgendered lifestyles by clients.  We may agree to and support the wish to work out issues of homosexual and transgendered identity and attractions, but will refuse to describe or reduce human identity and nature to sexual reference or orientation, and will encourage sexual celibacy or biblically proscribed sexual behavior while such issues are being addressed.     
Christian counselors differ, on biblical, ethical, and legal grounds, with groups who abhor and condemn reparative therapy, willingly offering it to those who come into counseling with a genuine desire to be set free of homosexual attractions and leave homosexual behavior and lifestyles behind. Either goal of heterosexual relations and marriage or lifelong sexual celibacy is legitimate and a function of client choice in reparative therapy.  It is acknowledged that some persons engaged in same-sex change or reparative therapy will be able to change and become free of all homo-erotic behavior and attraction, some will change but will still struggle with homosexual attraction from time to time, and some will not change away from homosexual practices.

Read the complete AACC CODE OF ETHICS