Dr. Robert
Bell
Erskine
Seminary Gearing Up for New Degree Program
As pastors, youth leaders, and other ministers are
being called upon more and more to counsel members of
their congregations, Erskine Theological Seminary is
set to offer a new degree this fall, filling a need
in the region for an accredited program in Christian
counseling.
Dr. R.J. Gore, Erskine Seminary dean, sums up the
intentions of the new Master of Arts in Counseling
Ministry (M.A.C.M.) program, saying it “seeks to
build upon biblical foundations, using the insights
of scripture in pastoral counseling settings”
and sending into the community “skilled,
theologically prepared, biblically literate
counselors who are sensitive to those who are hurting
and able to meet their needs.”
With a new faculty member ready to join the ranks
of Erskine Seminary professors in August, prospective
students are submitting their applications this
spring and summer.
Howard A. Eyrich, D.Min., will be coming to
Erskine Theological Seminary in August as Professor
of Biblical Counseling and Director of the M.A.C.M.
program. Eyrich has served as Director of Counseling
Ministries at Briarwood Presbyterian Church since
1997. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church
of America, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree
from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.
“The seminary had received inquiries for some
time now from persons interested in pursuing a degree
in counseling from a Christian perspective,”
said Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and
Counseling Dr. Robert W. Bell. “With no options
for such a degree being offered in the area from an
accredited institution, ETS was in a position to fill
a niche.”
Gore launched the effort to offer the degree, Bell
explained. Preliminary approval was issued early this
year by the Association of Theological Schools in the
United States and Canada (ATS) for the proposed
M.A.C.M. degree program.
“Interest thus far is from a variety of
prospects,” said Bell. The seminary has heard
from recent college graduates—the first official
applicant is a recent Erskine College
graduate—as well as from those already in
ministry.
Bell said some applicants “want to develop
their ministry further by specializing in the field
of counseling. For example, there are youth ministers
who are finding that they are being called upon more
and more to spend time counseling with their youth
and families.
“We anticipate having a broad range of
students representing a good cross-section of
folks.”
Bell said the current counseling courses will
continue to be offered as electives to students in
the other degree programs, but will be required
courses for the M.A.C.M. students.
“Some current counseling courses may be
reshaped in light of new M.A.C.M. courses. In the
current Family & Marriage Counseling course, for
example, a unit is devoted to premarital
counseling,” Bell said. “There is an entire
course in the M.A.C.M. program focusing on premarital
counseling. So the original Family & Marriage
Counseling course may be modified to reduce the
emphasis on premarital counseling.”
Although there may be some retooling of courses in
its wake, the M.A.C.M. program will support the
mission of Erskine Theological Seminary. “The
purpose of the counseling endeavor is to enable
persons to glorify God and to enjoy Him
forever,” says a portion of the foundational
statement for the M.A.C.M. program.
The statement continues, “While the human
sciences do provide helpful models of understanding
some aspects of the problems that plague persons,
these must be filtered through the grid of a faith
commitment to Jesus Christ as revealed in the
Scriptures. The work of the counselor must be
consistent with Christian values and a Biblical
worldview.”
