By Dr. Don Dunlap
Pastoral Counselor
Personal Testimony of Dr. Don Dunlap
Family Counseling Ministries - I became a Christian in high school through the outreach
ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
I was immediately challenged to begin the process of personal
evangelism, discipleship and ministry equipping. Within a few months of my sixteenth
birthday, I came to believe that I should prepare for pastoral ministry.
After completing my undergraduate degree I attended Seminary
in order to become equipped with the necessary knowledge, resources, and skills
to effectively minister Gods Word in pastoral work. During my final year at Seminary, Debbi and I were married.
Like many young men, I came to marriage thoroughly
unprepared for the responsibilities I had assumed. Although my wife and I were both committed
Christians, neither of us possessed a very clear understanding of how to apply
the Scriptures to our daily lives. Soon
after we were married we began to experience significant conflict. Unresolved bitterness and resentment began
to surface dramatically. The conflict
culminated in near-divorce.
Throughout the course of our marriage we have experienced
the consequences of the absence of a strong biblical foundation in our
formative Christian years. Our problems
continued to intensify and in the end, I was unfaithful to my wife. Only by
Gods grace and the loving intervention of godly counselors, was my marriage
salvaged.
I often express to counselees that I wish I could sit before
them on the basis of a successful life, marriage and ministry. Such, however, is not the case. The truth of the matter is, I sit before
them with a message of failure and weakness. Praise His name that He is a God who makes Himself strong in our
weakness. Where there was brokenness
and humiliation, He provided forgiveness and restoration. My greatest hope lies in the Scripture that
promises, God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others with
the comfort we have received.
I know the pain and heartbreak of a difficult marriage. And I know the miracle of God
granting beauty for ashes. He has given
Debbi and me success in our marriage relationship as we have cried out to Him
for help, sought godly mentors and became accountable.
For the past several years I have met weekly with group of
Christian men. I have submitted my
life, my marriage and my ministry to their scrutiny and their prayerful
support. I thank God for their
consistent and continual encouragement.
The ministry of Dr. Howard Hendricks has significantly
impacted my life. His life and his
teaching ministry have given me a blueprint for how to be the spiritual head of
my home, how to love and cherish my wife, and how to raise my children in a
godly manner.
I remain in the debt of Dr. Jay Adams. His books have provided the theological
basis for my ongoing counseling ministry.
His life and mentoring provided the example of a loving, nurturing
pastor, for which my family and I are profoundly grateful.