Attachment to God and Communion With God: Related, Different, or Opposed?

About the Workshop

“Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.” We’ve all heard that, and though misleading (Christianity is a religion), it’s a well-intended reminder that is nonetheless difficult to put into practice in the modern world. Christian counselors, however, are required to work within the relational world of our counselees, and that includes a continual focus on the quality of our relationship with them and understanding and working with their relationship with God, if they are open to it. One of modern psychology’s most significant discoveries, especially for the Christian community, was the attachment bond that children form with their moms and other caregivers in the first two years of life, because it influences human relationships for the rest of one’s life, including our relationship (or communion) with God. This is particularly problematic growing up fallen, in a fallen world. Yet, all this interrelationship is part of God’s design plan, for his glory and our ultimate benefit. We will finish with a consideration of the role that Christian counseling can play in this relational agenda.

About our Speaker

Eric L. Johnson

Founder & Director of Training

Eric L. Johnson, Ph.D., Eric L. Johnson, Ph.D. (Michigan State University), is the Director of Training at Christian Psychology Institute (www.christianpsychologyinstitute.org). He has taught psychology and counseling for over 35 years at Christian universities and seminaries and practiced Christian counseling in local churches for over 25 years. He edited Psychology & Christianity: Five Views, co-edited Evidence-Based Practices for Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy, and Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology, and Mission in a Changing World. In addition to writing over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles or chapters and collaborated with Joshua Knabb on Christian Psychotherapy in Context, he wrote Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal and God and Soul Care: The Therapeutic Resources of the Christian Faith, which lay out a framework for distinctly Christian therapy, and is currently working on a Christ-centered model of therapy that incorporates a variety of evidence-based strategies. He’s married to Rebekah, and has an adult child and three grandchildren, and he loves to hike and ride his bike. Visit ericljohnson.org to explore his writings and latest insights in Christian Psychology.