Several weeks ago I published two blog posts about NANC and I would like to give an update on the conference and our hopes for NANC/ACBC going forward. First, however, I have to attend to some important business with you—I need to ask for forgiveness from my readers.
As I reported my concerns about NANC I raised the issue of the NANC board’s non-compliance with the organization’s constitution. While my facts were correct I did not have one important piece of information. The NANC board had sought forgiveness for this. While I was the one who confronted them about this in a letter no one had communicated this to me personally and I had been functioning under the assumption that nothing had been done. Now to be clear, this was not an offense against me personally so there was no need for the board to communicate with me personally. Had I known this, however, I would not have raised it again and I am culpable for publishing without having all the facts at hand. I have communicated with the board and have asked for their forgiveness.
Now about the conference, I came home encouraged about the direction of NANC/ACBC. At a pre-conference meeting of Fellows Heath Lambert, the new Executive Director, laid out some of his plans for the future. I was pleased to hear him address a number of things that had been a concern to us including raising the bar for certification in the area of training, a continuing education requirement of certified members, and a formal procedure for dealing with members who stray from what they professed when they joined. I have also been assured privately that several of our other concerns will be handled in the days to come.
The conference itself was a refreshing change. I was not able to attend all of the plenary sessions but the ones I did attend were most helpful. It was especially encouraging to hear Heath Lambert simply open the Scriptures and show us how a passage in James applies to the work of the counselor. His workshop dealing with the integrationist point of view was also helpful. It allayed some of my concerns that rose from his book The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams (see my review here).
There remains much to be done. I will be praying for Heath and the NANC/ACBC board. After this coming year it will be much clearer what is to become of NANC/ACBC with Heath at the helm and we will be able to take a measure of where NANC/ACBC has moved under his watch. My concerns about inclusiveness and relationships with other organizations that do not share our commitments remain. Let’s compare notes next October and evaluate.