John Bushnell, or as I politely refer to him,” Mr. Bushnell.”
He’s been someone I’ve known for about a decade now. We hadn’t connected prior to this episode in about half of that. But it was genuinely insightful to reconnect with him on this episode.
And a real treat to have him give me some genuine compliments about my podcast and the presentation of said Podcast. So, That was genuinely appreciated!
Excerpts from our episode together:
“Chris (Host): We go back to quite a few years ago, when we were involved with a nonprofit together, me as a student, you as an instructor, and that was, that was some interesting times for sure.
But, yeah, now we're both at points where we have podcasts, and, you know, the world of podcasting is very alive and active these days.
John Bushnell:
Sure is.
Yeah, I don't even know that I knew what a podcast was seven years ago.”
Chris (Host):
”So, in your journey through academia at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, were there specific teachings or principles that became foundational to your approach in pastoral counseling?
John Bushnell:
Let's say I give them a survey; they take it, and it helps us identify the main issues.
And usually, communication is one of them.
And so that's the first thing we'll start working on is communication, usually within three sessions.
They have the tools they need to move on.
And then let's say the next thing is really conflict resolution.
So then, we'll start the process of working on conflict resolution.
And that might take five, six, or, seven sessions, depending on how mature or not mature they are.
And then once we're done with that, then we can move on to
communicating about their finances because one thinks they shouldn't have a budget, and the other one thinks they should have a budget.
Well, that's a conflict.
Let's resolve it, but it's a very specific one that might take two or three sessions.”
John Bushnell:
“In our modern, Western, mostly American world, we're very entitled, we're very soft, that we really think we deserve a good, easy life, right?
So the philosophy that why do bad things happen to good people
is what a lot of counseling is based on.
However, biblically speaking, there's no such thing as a good person.
Chris(host)
Yeah.
Oh, definitely.
John Bushnell:
So we run off the cliff right away, and then we wonder why we're still falling. But I'm giving good counsel. Why are we still falling?
Because we're not dealing with the issue that we jumped off the cliff, that is why we're falling.
So those are the things that impacted me the most in that journey.
Chris (Host):
Yeah, no kidding.
It's funny; you touch on a good point with some of the perspectives.
We often think that you know, as they say, we're no Mother Teresa, but we're not Hitler either.
So, you know, and I think a lot of times people use that expression to say, I'm not the best person, but I'm not a bad person.
Like, I put money in the collection plate, or I go to church every Sunday, or I do this.
I don't do that.
I don't steal.
I don't sleep with my neighbor's wife.
And it's like, well, great. You shouldn't do that anyway, but that doesn't mean you're a good person.
So, you know, I read a book a while back from this author, Clay Jones, and the book was,
Why Does God Allow Evil.
And it surmises in the first chapter or so that, realistically speaking, just as you say, there's no such thing as a good person. And people have the capacity to be inherently evil.
John Bushnell:
That's pretty heavy, so... Yeah, and it's not that they just have the inherent... I mean, compared to the purity of God and the righteousness of God and the justice of God, all of us fall short of the glory of God.”
Check John Bushnell’s Podcast at: http://www.bushnellproject.com/
He is currently going through the individual books of the bible at a digestible pace, really digging in and taking his time to glean as much as possible from what he’s reading.
So, check it out! You won’t regret it!
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Coffee on the Couch: Episode Twenty-Two John Bushnell