®

INDEPENDENT CHRISTIAN COUNSEL

bY CHINASOM UZODIMMA ELEKWACHI

TEACHING AND PASTORAL RESOURCES TRAINING (TPRT)

 

 

The VMFCP Press® & The Visionary Method For Christian Practice® Teaching and Pastoral Resources Training (TPRT) is designed to provide anointed and registered Apostles and Pastors with the confidence, knowledge, skills, and ability to teach and/or pastor with or without the licensed use Independent Christian Counsel educational resources. Some of the Independent Christian Counsel educational resources are featured in The Instructorship and Pastorship Training (IPT), which provides a sound introduction to the proper teaching or pastoral use of Chinasom’s curated teaching and learning resources, as their background theory is also designed to develop a sure understanding of important Christian concepts. The creation of multiple educational resources provides Instructors and Pastors with different options that can be licensed and used according to preference, and therefore the same benefit of preference is also provided to students and/or pastorees.  Furthermore, Independent Christian Counsel’s services allows for the request of TPRT workshops that have a particular conceptual focus, which means that learning can be catered to the interests or professional develop needs of a Church assembly or Christian education institution. Tailored TPRT workshops are paired and taught using an appropriate educational or pastoral resource for the purpose of developing a more advanced understanding of Biblical principles according to professional development needs, as well as the improvement of Biblical literacy skills (reading) to a level that is suited and required of legitimate Apostles, Instructors and Pastors within the Body of Christ.

 

Some basic TPRT is also included in Discipline training  and the IPT (click to learn more), and was designed for the efficient development of skills and ability in critical and contextual thinking processes in a manner that is beneficial to the self and others, which is ensured through Chinasom’s  development of, teaching with and use of Independent Christian Counsel’s Standard Pastoring Questions, Teaching Guidance and Self-help Prompt Guidelines (also used in the IPT). The methodological aspects of TPRT (and The IPT) makes training Apostles, Instructors or Pastors much more effective and efficient, as it is able to increase the transferability and intake of knowledge and understanding. This is made possible because Chinasom’s Educational Resources (and books) have created a “method to the madness” of Christianity, which is written down in the Holy Bible in what is basically  an “organised mess” – and Chinasom’s work does this by drawing together key Biblical concepts that are expressed through many different Scriptures, and unifying them in “one big concept”, which can make the intake and processing of information much easier and faster. Independent Christian Counsel currently features TPRT for the following educational resources, which are also used for different Christian education or pastoral care purposes (dual or mulitpurpose function):

 

Overcoming simple sins & highlighting what is a genuine mistake (not counted as sin).

  • The Be It Model For Christian Choice
  • The Dynamics of Sin Model (Extended Version)

 

Overcoming complex and important sins and/or issues (renewing of the heart and mind i.e. moral conscience, will and mindset)

  • The UKIR Tier of Repentance
  • The Learning-To-lifestyle Reflective model
  • Root Cause Therapy (extended version)
  • Reflection, Extension and Response (Resolution)
  • Love Mapping
  • Thoughtul Thinking

 

Multi-purpose Screening Tools

  • The Disobedience Identification Tool
  • The Repentance Identification Tool
  • The Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool

 

The above educational resoruces may be licensed for use in The EduCare: Individual Education and Pastoral Care Plans

 

NOTE: Independent Christian Counsel’s Educational Resources are founded in Chinasom’s novel, Cognitive Behavioural Paradigm For Christian Practice, which explains the interactions and pattern that exists between the Christian faith; the Christian lifestyle (lifestyle choices); cognitivism; and behavioural psychology, which is used for the purpose of  supporting Christian lifestyle change, whether for Christian educational purposes or pastoral care. The Cognitive Behavioural Paradigm For Christian Practice is outlined in 'The Basic Educational Psychology & Building The Self' Workshop, which is considered mandatory training for those who undergo TPRT for any educational resources to ensure (1) their proper and correct teaching or pastoral use, thereby maximising the effectiveness in the application of their use, and (2) developing the Instructor's or Pastor's understanding of the concept of ‘The Self’, which helps them to further understand the internal and external factors that influence people's lifestyle choices, and therefore how to help people resolve them in a meaningful and realistic way.   The creation of multiple educational resources provides Instructors and Pastors with different options that can be used according to preference, and therefore the same benefit of preference is also provided to those who they teach or pastor. 

 

 

 

THE Be it model for christian choice

 

‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ provides  a simple and active form of teaching and learning that can directly translate into doing, which can improve the outcomes of those who it is used by or for, as it helps develop basic critical thinking skills according to its framework. Therefore, because ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ provides a scaffold for critical thinking, it is easy and practical to use and follow because minimal-to-no skill, knowledge and understanding of thought processes is required. Hence, much like The EMFCP/The VMFCP’s ‘Reflection, Extension and Response (Resolution)’ activity from the Calling Module, ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ is also fool proof. 'The Be It Model For Christian Choice' is a good foundation for Apostleship, Pastorship and Instructor Training because it makes “Core Christian Background Knowledge” even easier to comprehend, which extends to the understanding of any other Christian or Biblical concepts and how they relate to real-life context. Hence, The Be It Model For Christian Choice helps the Pastor guide the pastoree in learning to begin living a Christian lifestyle in a more relaxed manner because they are provided with the understanding of what is and what is not considered sinning based on their personal circumstances. The use of 'The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ is applicable to both  personal and professional contexts, for example, ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ can be used as a guided framework for the development of a churches own meaningful and correct teachings, sermon scripts or pastoral advice that can be used to establish guidelines for Church assembly doctrine amendments during the transitional reform process. ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ is available for licensed use in churches or Christian Education Institutions, but those who undergo its TPRT must be anointed to teach/pastor.

 

The Benefits of ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’ are as follows:

  • Builds a greater level of scriptural understanding (Biblical literacy skills).
  • Builds and improves reasoning skills (critical thinking).
  • Builds knowledge and understanding of how to live a Christian lifestyle.
  • Builds knowledge and understanding  of Scriptures to for professional purposes.

 

 

Click to view an example of a teaching/pastoral advice developed by Chinasom using ‘The Be It Model For Christian Choice’.

THE DYNAMICS OF SIN MODEL

 

The Dynamics of Sin Model (DOSM) is a framework of how and why sin occurs based on the Scripture James 1:13-16. In summary, the DOSM reveals that the heart (moral conscience) and a person’s will (intention of the spirit) are the TWO factors that determine an act of sin, whether it is in thought, behaviours or actions. Overall, the DOSM indicates that the heart and will (intention of the spirit) MUST agree for a sin to occur, therefore, either imparting guilt or excusing it. ‘The Dynamics of Sin Model’ can be used to teach about sins, or it can be used to help people work out why they sin. In this manner, ‘The Dynamics of Sin Model’ is a good tool to diagnose and/or measure the “progress of change”, whether it is used for individual pastoral support or self-help. The DOSM in its extended version can be used to “plan” how change (repentance) may occur, and as a result it is suited to ongoing pastoral care purposes.

 

The DOSM is used in the Instructorship and Pastorship Training (IPT) for the purpose of (1) developing the pastoral knowledge and understanding of those who undergo its training, and (2) addressing areas of sin that those who undergo IPT training may need further pastoral help with, which will occur through a combination of self-reflective learning, peer learning or individual pastoring by Chinasom. Overall, the use of the DOSM  in The IPT is a benefit to those who undergo its training, and therefore by natural extension those who they will continue to teach or pastor in the future. The DOSM is available for licensed use in churches or Christian Education Institutions , but those who undergo The DOSM TRPT must be anointed to teach/pastor.

 THE UKIR TIER OF REPENTANCE

 

The functional basis of ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ is to provide users with a structured or scaffolded guide to help them holistically conceptualise the nature of a sin or wrongdoing, which then enables them to construct their own resolution or act of repentance (change). The holistic aspect of ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ is based on the interconnected nature of each of its four key elements that outline the reflective and critical thinking processes required for genuine Christian lifestyle change. ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ is designed to encourage freedom of thought, choice and individuality in the course of action in a manner similar to The EMFCP/The VMFCP’s Reflection, Extension and Response (Resolution) activity from the ‘Calling: Module’, however, ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ imbeds specific prayer to make use of the Lord’s help when people need to overcome complex and crucial sins such as pride, greed, racism (hatred) and jealousy. More so, ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ can be used for both teaching and pastoral purposes, for example it can be used as:

 

  • A framework to create meaningful and correct church sermons.
  • A reference or teaching tool in Christian education workshops.
  • It can be used in Christian education workshops by individual students.
  • It can be used by a Pastor for a pastoree in individualised pastoral care.

 

The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ provides those who undergo its training with a more advanced understanding of Biblical concepts related to the Christian lifestyle to a level that is suitable and required for Apostles, Instructors and Pastors within the Body of Christ. The inclusion and use of ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ in the IPT is optional.  ‘The UKIR Tier of Repentance’ is available for licensed use in churches or Christian Education Institutions, but those who undergo The UKIR Tier of Repentance TPRT must be anointed to teach/pastor.

 

The Learning-To-Lifestyle

Reflective Model

 

The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model has been designed to guide and prompt sin-solving style thinking in a manner that helps address sins associated with a lack of love or goodness, which allows the sinful behaviour or actions to be modified and overcome in a simple and achievable manner. The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model also takes into account the sin of hatred (extreme end of the sin, which is prejudice in its lesser form), therefore, assisting people in the process of reducing and stopping morally problematic behaviour and actions associated with bias towards other people such as age, race or ethnicity, colourism, classism or sexism.  The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model is founded on the scriptures 1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5:22-23, and James 2:8-9, which describes the characteristics that are “legally good” and/or aspects of love; and by guided reflection upon who these characteristics are directed to or not directed to is what helps in the process of revealing the root of partiality, which can then assist in the process of overcoming different forms and extremes of hatred.This is important because it’s only through the proper awareness of thoughts, behaviours and actions directly linked to the disqualifying sin of hatred that it can be genuinely overcome, and this requires (1) addressing the root cause of hatred, and (2) setting acceptable standards of conduct that are both practical and achievable. Hence, in time non-hatred based conduct becomes the normal and effortless behavioural pattern, and therefore the lifestyle choice of the consumer (student or pastoree), which means that repentant “haters” can also receive the Holy Spirit giving that they are genuinely willing to change. Therefore, the Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model can help improve people’s capacity to genuinely love other people in a more meaningful way that goes beyond empty words or love heart emojis:

 

“Hence, love is simply not saying the words “I love you” but demonstrating that you have love through your behaviour and actions towards other people regardless of factors such as race, biological sex or age. To  conclude, by having and doing love, a person is judged by God to have kept His commandments, as it is written: “8However, if you fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You  shall love  your neighbor as yourself, ”you do well.9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. ~ James 2:8-9.  To clarify, to show partiality is to [intentionally] do evil to another person for [a "bad", immoral or unjustified] reason i.e. wickedness, racism, sexism, ageism or jealousy.” ~ Calling: Special Edition, pg. 21 (Elekwachi, C.U., 2020)

 

The use of The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model in The IPT is a benefit to those who undergo its training, and therefore by natural extension those who they will continue to teach or pastor in the future. The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model is available for licensed use in churches or Christian Education Institutions, where it can be used for the following purposes: 

  • A framework to create meaningful and correct church sermons about hatred.

  • A reference or teaching tool in Christian education workshops.

  • It can be used in Christian education workshops by individual students.#

  • It can be used by a Pastor for a pastoree in individualised pastoral care.#

    • #NOTE:  This resource is suited to people who know their prejudice and hateful lifestyle choices, whereas 'Root Cause Therapy' (extended version) is for people who lack insight and have deeper issues to overcome.

 

*The Learning-To-Lifestyle Reflective Model is informed by the behavioural psychology principle of Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence (A-B-C), which is used to help address the root of sin (antecedent), thereby enabling the conscious ability to change the behaviour in a manner consistent with a Christian lifestyle, which breaks the A-B-C chain, thereby helping to uproot the origin of the sin.  This same behavioural psychology principle is also reflected in other Independent Christian Counsel/The VMFCP Press Educational Resources, which are also informed by other long-established principles of educational psychology, of which Chinasom has found useful for the purposes of Christian education due to the logical aspects of professional knowledge that Christianity can be tied to, which can make the intake and processing of information much easier or “palatable”. For the same reason, the methodological aspects of Independent Christian Counsel/The VMFCP Press Educational Resources makes the Christian lifestyle change more effective, as people become active-learners in their own journey of repentance, rather than remaining passive-learners, some of whom may struggle with implementing change in their own lifestyle based on a simple list of instructions or commandments, especially when someone’s  journey of repentance is mainly linked to emotional based sins, which are known to be more difficult to overcome.

 

The Disobedience Identification Tool

 

 

The Disobedience Identification Tool (DIT) is a guided framework that can be used to help people establish, determine or understand Christian moral reasoning and moral judgement, and therefore what counts as a condemnable sin and what does not. Hence, the DIT is a practical tool that helps diminish the worry and stress associated with making genuine mistakes, which people may confuse for disobedience and disqualification from the Christian faith. The knowledge provided by the DIT helps an assessor clarify the current mindset of an individual person by helping the assessor analyse the different possible factors that determine and define actual disobedience, which is what leads to drying up ‘living waters’ (losing the unofficial Holy Spirit). The insight into the mindset of the assessed individual enables the assessor to determine whether or not the individual has Christian potential or not, and indicates what moral adjustments and lifestyle choices need to be made to increase their Christian potential, which facilitates continued success during the process of repentance.

 

  • NOTE: This means people may believe they have been permanently disqualified from the Christian faith due to disobedience, but for many it is actually unlikely based on the technical complexities of moral judgement.  Therefore, people should continually try their best using the free VMFCP Press eBooks until legitimate Christian services are available, and so, it should be understood that it is not the will of the Lord, the Most High God to destroy the souls of those who are genuinely repentant but struggling i.e. people who would be successful with professional Christian services when it is provided in an open, safe and secure manner. Of course, this is not relevant to people outside the ‘Church in Laodicea’ who (1) supports or continued Christian persecution for money or benefits, (2) continued to misuse my work (theft, lies and fraud), and (3) would never repent  or those who have no intention of repenting i.e. an actual non-Christian person (Satanic loyalist).

 

The Disobedience Identification Tool has a wide range of purposes:

  • A framework to create meaningful and correct church sermons.
  • A reference or teaching tool in Christian education workshops.
  • It can be used by a Pastor for a pastoree in individualised pastoral care
    • Confirming what is and what is not a condemnable sin (moral judgement linked to disqualifying sins).
    • Suitable for children and teenagers (EduCare Junior: Individual Education and Pastoral Care Plans)
  • It can be used as a screening tool for application or registration processes.

 

The Repentance Identification Tool

 

 

The Repentance Identification Tool (RIT) is a guided framework that can be used to determine or establish genuine repentance, and therefore also a lack of repentance. The knowledge and framework provided by the RIT helps an assessor clarify the current mindset of an individual person in relation to their faith. Hence, the RIT activity is designed to help people overcome the common barriers to faith that may hinder genuine repentance. The RIT achieves this by facilitating the identification of why a pastoree’s faith may be weak, which enables the assessor to help them strengthen their faith while they learn how to overcome a specific sin in a simple and practical manner. Hence, the knowledge provided by the RIT enables the pastoree to understand the components of genuine repentance, and therefore it serves as a form of faith-based encouragement for people who are new to the Christian faith. The benefit of the RIT is that the knowledge of being genuinely repentant can make the process of Christian lifestyle change seem more simple and less stressful because the pastoree is able to understand that it is a genuine and honest approach to repentance that is most important – so they should not fear being judged or “graded” by the Lord, the Most High God based solely on past lifestyle choices.

 

The Repentance Identification Tool has a wide range of purposes:

  • A framework to create meaningful and correct church sermons.
  • A reference or teaching tool in Christian education workshops.
  • It can be used by a Pastor for a pastoree in individualised pastoral care
    • Highlights whether a person is repentant and has Christian potential
    • Suitable for children and teenagers (EduCare Junior: Individual Education and Pastoral Care Plans)
  • It can be used as a screening tool for application or registration processes.

 

THE Anti-Social Behaviour

Spectrum Tool

 

 

My newly developed Pastoral Care resource, The Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool, is based on identifying the level and degree to which people commit sins, and is the result of my observance of human behaviour throughout my persecution, and study related to anti-social behavioural patterns that are known to occur in psychopaths and sociopaths. The Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool can be used as a screening tool, or for the assessment of how severely people commit a sin during the process of repentance i.e. it can be used by a Pastor to measure sin progression or regression. The Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool can be used for the purpose of assessing any sins, but it’s best suited to the most serious sins like hatred (racism) and the different forms of sexual immorality. The benefit of the  Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool is that it (1) helps the Pastor understand the pastorees  mindset, circumstances and emotions related to the sin,  which naturally draws on the empathy and sympathy of the Pastor towards the pastoree – this minimises pastoral shock, which may be the natural momentary passing reaction that occurs in relation to hearing certain sins (especially when the Pastor is very innocent), and (2) the  pastoree is able to understand the severity of their sins, which means that they are able to see how their thoughts, expressions, behaviours and actions change as they repent (this can help improve feelings of personal achievement and emotional positivity i.e. self-esteem). Hence, the Anti-Social Behaviour Spectrum Tool is suitable for ongoing Pastoral Care purposes, which makes use of the EduCare: Individual Education and Pastoral Care Plans.

 

 

Root Cause Therapy

(extended version)

 

 

The original ’Root Cause Therapy’ activity was designed during the creation of ‘The Elekwachi Method For Christian Practice’, and is included in the not yet, and likely never to be released ‘Visionary: For Her’ and ‘Visionary: For Him’, which was the origin of ‘The Visionary Method For Christian Practice’ (The VMFCP) as a brand or concept: the use of curated Christian educational information; personalised journaling activities or frameworks with or without media to help people through the process of repentance  or Christian lifestyle change* i.e.  The VMFCP is simply a light-hearted pop-culture version or adaptation of my own method*. The ‘Visionary’ of The VMFCP refers to the use of media such as television show or movies clips to provide examples of human behaviour and relatable  or relevant scenarios; and/or the use of  journaling activities to help the learner gain insight or “vision” about themselves, which is helpful and necessary for Christian lifestyle change because it is the basis for recognising, acknowledging and overcoming sin(s).

 

’Root Cause Therapy (extended version)' was designed to help pastorees identify non-Christian or self-destructive thinking, expression and action patterns. ‘Root Cause Therapy’ (extended version) has been designed to do the aforementioned, but has been adapted to provide a clear and simple means for the Pastor to guide the pastoree in how to overcome the sin(s), while also highlighting the personal consequences as a means of deterrence to committing the sin(s).  Hence, ‘Root Cause therapy (extended version)' helps the pastoree become more aware of themselves, which is necessary when meta-cognitive and self-reflective capacity seems to be limited by (1) self-bias, and (2) the denial of sins out of fear i.e. common among racists (Luke 6:41, James 1:22-24, Isaiah 49:4*).   

 

‘Root Cause Therapy (extended version)' is helpful in addressing or overcoming a large range of problematic sins or issues that include, but is not limited to racism, classism, colourism, ageism, sexism, sexual immorality, low self-esteem, whether self-hatred, eating disorders (or dysfunction relationships with food), body dysmorphia (or poor body image), jealousy, and narcissism (cluster of sins and issues). Hence, this activity focuses on helping reframe and renew the pastoree's thinkng, expression and actions in a manner suited to the Christian lifestyle.  Hence, ’Root Cause Therapy (extended version)' is suitable for ongoing Pastoral Care purposes, which makes use of the EduCare: Individual Education and Pastoral Care Plans.

 

 

 

 

Love Mapping

 

‘Love Mapping’ is derived from ‘The Elekwachi Method For Christian Practice’, and has been added to the Teaching and Pastoral Resources list. The ‘Love Mapping’ framework was designed to help people incorporate thoughts, behaviours and actions consistent with Biblical love into their daily life. ‘Love Mapping’ makes use of exploring the reasoning and motives behind choosing to love others, and also has a review process as part of the framework, which has now been designated for use in ongoing pastoral care purposes. During these times, ‘Love Mapping’ will primarily be used for improving and/or fixing interpersonal relationships, specifically for engaged couples and married couples, so that both parties can, and will be happily married i.e.  Marital Pastoral Mediation, which is essentially Christian couples therapy can be organised to help couples move on from any problems that exist due to past or current reasons.

 

The ‘Love Mapping’ framework is also suitable for fixing strained or broken familial relationships, if all parties are willing to move forward in a harmonious manner according to personal wishes of either forgiveness and distance (moving on), or reforming the broken bonds i.e. peace either way. Hence, ‘Love Mapping’ can be used for Familial Pastoral Mediation purposes.

 

 

Thoughtful Thinking

 

‘Thoughtful Thinking’ is derived from ‘The Elekwachi Method For Christian Practice’, and has been added to the Teaching and Pastoral Resources list. The ‘Thoughtful Thinking’ framework is based on the Scripture Philippians 4:8, and is designed to help the Pastor guide the pastoree in learning how to change their thought (and verbal expression) patterns in a more positive and Christian manner. This means that the ‘Thoughtful Thinking’ framework requires more personal input from the pastoree because  it is the choice of each person as to how they want to think and articulate themselves based on their innate or newfound personality.  Overall, this way of thinking and expression would eventually become habitual, and is suited to a range of personal circumstances such as depressed persons struggling with negative thought patterns; poor body image; and people with skewed perspectives due to different life experiences i.e. people who have experienced trauma.  Hence,  the ‘Thoughtful Thinking’ framework is suited to ongoing and longer-term pastoral care purposes.

 

The ‘Thoughtful Thinking’ framework can help people build their own expression in a Christian manner, which is helpful when discussing sensitive matters, challenging topics or more confidently fostering positive relationships that is made possible due to the development of self-expression.

 

To conclude, Christian people should  try and stay positive, even when it’s tough. To help with this, a prayer for the renewing and guarding of the mind has been provided below.  This prayer can be paired with fasting according to reasonable ability, and can be repeated as deemed necessary i.e. based on your own judgement.

 

  • Prayer for the renewal and guarding of the mind: Glory and thanks be to the Lord, the Most High God who gives me not the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a self-control, so that I can endure and overcome all things. In the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ, I pray that you renew and restore my mind by warding against sources of distraction, unholy ways and spiritual disturbances. I also ask that You help me to think clearly and be sober-minded, so that I am not conformed to the ways of the world, but rather that I walk in the Way of Holiness. 

 

  • Lastly, I pray that You  guard me from the powers of Death and all evil, so that fear, anxiety, depression, and psychological distresses do not overtake me, but that I overcome them in the Name and power of the Lord, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ Name I pray and give thanks, amen.

 

  • Some suggested Scriptures to pair with the prayer:

    • 2 Timothy 1:7

    • 1 John 4:4

    • Romans 12:2

    • Matthew 11:28-30

    • Isaiah 25

    • Isaiah 26

    • Isaiah 35