What they dont teach in Bible College Part #1

Bible College was amazing for me! Seminary is going great right now! But yesterday, while I as at church, I realized that Bible College taught me a lot and helped me learn how to handle God's word but there were some things that Bible College didn't teach me. I'm writing this to help anyone in ministry, lay-leader or paid, with some stuff that I have had to learn on my own:

Counseling Someone in Need
I feel like people, in general, are very good at consoling their friends. It is easy to empathize with your friend who is in need or feels they have been slighted. But the Bible tells us there is a time to console and a time to counsel. I find that I am getting better at counseling but by no means will I be the best counseling in the world.
While in Bible College I was able to take a counseling class and it helped me out but now that I am actually counseling people; I don't think I remember anything that I read in that book seven years ago. Here is my advice for Biblical Counseling:

• Allow the person to share their story
• Listen to the person and be engaged while they share
• Have tissue handy for when they begin to cry
• Know the Bible so you can share scripture that is applicable to the situation
• If you are counseling with a person of the opposite sex do it in a well-lit open area, preferably where others are close (leave no room for question)
• If it is a person of opposite sex do your best to refer to them to someone you trust who is the same gender as they are
  
• Come up with tangible solutions to the problem
• Give the person no more than three things to work on
• End the time in prayer

I'm sure that in five years this list will change and my method will change but wanted to share this so that it may help someone. Finally I have to add that you need to be prayed up, connected with God and Spiritually ready for these situations. When you are all three I believe that God will use you to do amazing things in peoples lives.