Over the past week, I’ve spent a great deal of time evaluating the perspectives I hold, the things I believe the Lord has unveiled to me over the course of my 43 years on this earth, and especially what He has been revealing over the last six years.

One conclusion continues to settle deeper within me:

One of the most damaging things we can do is to close ourselves off to the reality that all truth finds its source in Christ.

Too often we discover a framework that has helped us, and instead of allowing it to remain one piece of God’s unfolding wisdom, we begin treating it as though it is the whole picture. We become convinced that the answer we’ve found is the only answer God intends to use.

Sometimes we even reject the wisdom He places before us simply because it doesn’t fit the system we’ve become comfortable defending.

I realized a long time ago that I don’t fit comfortably inside many of the existing boxes.

And I’ve come to believe that perhaps I was never supposed to.

I believe God is continually revealing new pathways, not because truth changes, but because our understanding of His truth continues to mature.

Living Between Two Worlds

For those who don’t know me well, I serve as a residential substance use disorder counselor. Every day I work with individuals whose lives have been profoundly affected by addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, abuse, and emotional pain.

Because of the population I serve, I cannot afford to operate apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit.

If I become led by the emotional atmosphere in the room rather than by the Spirit of God, chaos quickly follows.

My responsibility is not to be pulled into the emotional instability around me, but to remain rooted in Christ so I can help create an environment where peace, clarity, and hope become possible.

But here’s what I’ve learned.

Being led by the Spirit does not require me to reject psychology.

Nor does it require me to spiritually bypass the very real work of healing.

The renewing of the mind isn’t evidence of weak faith.

It is part of God’s design for transformation.

The Soul Was Never the Enemy

I grew up in church environments where the soul was often spoken of as though it were something inherently flawed that couldn’t be trusted and needed to be suppressed.

I’ve come to believe something very different.

I believe the soul has a sacred purpose.

The mind, the will, and the emotions were not accidents.

They were created by God.

The soul is where spiritual realities become understood, interpreted, and lived.

This is precisely why renewal is necessary.

Renewing the mind isn’t replacing something evil.

It’s restoring our way of seeing until our thoughts increasingly agree with the truth revealed in Christ.

Isaiah 61 paints this picture beautifully.

Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted.

He came to restore those whose inner world had been fractured by trauma, grief, abuse, oppression, and despair.

Notice what He restores.

He doesn’t discard the person.

He heals them.

He brings the entire person into wholeness.

Spirit.

Soul.

Body.

Redemption has always been about restoration, not replacement.

I See Jesus Everywhere

This is where some people may disagree with me.

But I cannot ignore what I continue to see.

When I study Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I see principles that remind me of renewing the mind.

When I study Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Theory, I see the incredible value of seeing people with dignity, compassion, and unconditional worth.

When I study Erik Erikson’s stages of development, I see a deeper understanding of how people mature and how identity forms over the course of life.

When I study Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I see a reminder that human beings are integrated creatures whose physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual lives all matter.

Do I believe every theory is completely correct?

No.

Every researcher interprets their discoveries through a particular worldview.

But I do believe this:

Every genuine discovery about how human beings function ultimately reflects something God designed.

Because Jesus is the source of all truth.

If something is true, it belongs to Him.

Our responsibility isn’t to reject truth because someone outside the Church discovered it.

Our responsibility is to discern it, redeem it, and understand it through Christ.

Revelation Should Always Produce Reformation

One thing I’ve become convinced of is that revelation was never meant to stop with inspiration.

Revelation exists to produce reformation.

The Kingdom of God is meant to become visible on earth.

And the earth begins to look like heaven when people begin to think, love, forgive, and live more like Christ.

That includes our minds.

Our emotions.

Our relationships.

Our behaviors.

Our communities.

Everything.

This is why I spend so much time studying psychology, counseling, trauma, addiction, development, neuroscience, and spiritual formation.

Not because I’ve become less convinced of Christ.

Because I’ve become more convinced that Christ is present in places we have often refused to look.

The Next Generation of Ministry

I believe God is raising up ministers who will not simply preach truth.

They will demonstrate it.

They will understand both the language of heaven and the language of human experience.

They will help people see that God’s wisdom isn’t threatened by genuine scientific discovery.

It is revealed through it.

The Church has nothing to fear from truth.

Truth belongs to Christ.

Always has.

Always will.

The systems we’ve built may pass away.

The traditions we defend may change.

But truth remains.

And wherever truth is found, Christ is waiting to be recognized.