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ACBC
Grace Community Church
Biblical Counseling

“Although ACBC continues to recognize GCC as an approved training center for counseling, the counseling organization is also investigating complaints against the megachurch regarding its counseling practices.” - CPost

Discussion

Thu, 11/02/23

I'm not sure ACBC certification is really worth that much. There were a couple ACBC-certified people in my former church, and they couldn't get along with people in the church and ended up leaving after causing no small drama.

ACBC certification looks good on pastor's resume, I guess. But, that's about the only value it provides, IMHO.

Thu, 11/02/23

It might be hasty to generalize from a couple of certified people that were disappointing. There isn’t really any certification that can guarantee everybody who has it is top notch. Certified mechanic? Nope. Certified plumber? Might still make a mess. Certified electrician? Still a small chance he’ll burn your house down.

So the way I look at it is, what does the certification say they got for training? That’s all you really know. They took these courses, passed these tests. So then you factor that in with your other criteria when you’re looking for help.

I’m not saying there’s no room for improvement in ACBC’s certification, though. My guess is ACBC would agree and are probably working on it. You can always find ways to improve.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Thu, 11/02/23

Aaron, I agree my opinion is based on interactions with two or three people. But, I found it fascinating that these ACBC-certified biblical counselors couldn't resolve relational conflicts they had with others given that is a lot of what they are trained to do.