Abstract
M.Th.
The counseling' of Jay E Adams must be seen against the background of the rise of
the Pastoral Care Movement and, together with it, the propagating of the eductive
method of counseling which lays excessive emphasis on the needs of man and the
inner potential of man to arrive at a solution of his own problems.
Against a humanistic form of counseling, Adams stresses in particular the Scriptures
as the counselor's textbook, and the role of sin in human suffering. His counseling
has been judged and criticised in various circles, frequently without adequate
substantiation or a satisfactory alternative. This dissertation is aimed at researching
Adams' counseling thoroughly so that an alternative can be offered from a pentecostal
perspective.
First a comprehensive exposition was given of the core elements of Adams'
counseling, that served as a foundation to discuss the positive and negative criticism
of his work. The paradigms underpinning pentecostal thinking in general was also
discussed, as the argument in this study was based on a pentecostal framework.
Among other things the nature of man, the love and mercy of God, sin and the role of
evil were examined.
The author feels that no one specific model or technique of counseling can be
promoted. Every person and every situation is unique. Therefore every counseling
session will also be unique. For this reason it was decided to give guidelines rather
than develop a model.
Pentecostal counseling was approached from the perspective of systems-thinking and
communicative action theory but was also directed by basic assumptions, among
other things, that Jesus Christ is the centre of every counseling session (through the
operation of the Holy Spirit) and that the congregation as a whole is the object of
counseling.
Finally the conclusion was reached that pentecostal counseling could definitely find
common ground with the counseling of Jay E Adams, with certain adjustments based
on pentecostal paradigms.