IMPLEMENTATION
School of Ministry doctoral student Ellen Rocha has been awarded the 2024-25 Eudokias Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to those pursuing dissertation topics of interest to the Foundation. The Eudokias Foundation fosters spiritual growth and mental well-being by supporting scholarship in the fields of pastoral counseling and Christian counseling. Congratulations, Ellen!
We are currently providing grants for research that would assist us in equipping counselors, pastors, and mentors in helping people more deeply know God's glory and grace, including implementing truths from the Thomas Chalmers Exegetical Scholarship.
Counseling Coursebook Scholarship
We are also currently developing a Counseling Coursebook Scholarship for students in Christian counseling and pastoral counseling programs. The Counseling Coursebook Scholarship will be awarded annually to students in recognition of outstanding essays providing detailed outlines of recommendations for coursebooks consistent with our mission. Additional details will be provided as they become available. We are also interested in reviewing proposals for research funding that would be useful for the development of such coursebooks.
Many of us consider ourselves to be mature Christians and would argue that we already fully believe in God's amazing love for us. However, many of us nevertheless struggle with worries, anxieties, and fears, e.g., worrying about the political direction of our country, worrying about our own children, worrying about having enough money for retirement or worrying about what other people might think of us in different contexts. Because perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), it is more likely that we are not in touch with our heartfelt beliefs or unknowingly maintain inconsistent beliefs. Perhaps the idea expressed in Mark 9:24 is more common than we think, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Of course, we are predisposed to resist this idea since it is a fearful thing to believe that we may not be in complete control of our own beliefs, particularly as it relates to God and our eternal security.
We need the constant filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18), giving us power (Eph 3:14-21) to continually encounter His love and thereby be used in ways beyond our imagination to produce the abundant fruit of the Spirit and true freedom. Christ instructed us to seek the kingdom of God instead of worrying (Matt 6:33), and He elsewhere revealed that the kingdom of God is found in becoming like little children (Luke 18:15-17), who have no reason to fear, worry, or control. Our King of Glory is also our Father of Grace, desiring us to see ourselves as He actually sees us, always beloved and always little in comparison to Him
