Caleb Ministries
Dear Friends,We would like to introduce ourselves and the counseling ministry that Caleb Ministries is providing here in the Eastern Iowa area.
Kristi and I were married in Sioux Falls, SD in 1973 and have 3 children, Rebekah, Naomi and Joshua. I graduated in 1971 from Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota and following college spent 5 years as a teacher and coach in the public schools and 3 years as a commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army. From 1980-1984 I attended North American Baptist Seminary where I received a Master of Arts in Counseling. Both Kristi and I have taken additional training through the “Institute In Biblical Counseling” dealing with sexual abuse, marital and adolescent counseling. In March of 2001 we received training in Polk County and were rostered with the 6th District Court as marriage mediators with the state of Iowa.
From 1984-1987 I was the Executive Director of Keys to Living. In 1987, I began a private counseling practice and in 1998 named this practice Caleb Ministries. In 2000 we incorporated as a Non-Profit Corporation. In April of 2002 I became a member of The National Coalition of Men’s Ministries and currently sit on their Board of Directors Steering Committee in addition to being one of their National Training Coaches. The NCMM provides a forum for Christian leaders to meet and share resources and build unity to address the current spiritual needs of the men in America.
Kristi graduated from Utah State University in 1971 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and has taken additional graduate courses working towards her professional degree in counseling. Kristi home schooled each of our 3 children until they re-entered the public schools during later Elementary and Middle School years.
Naomi graduated from Colorado Christian University in 2000 with her Master of Arts in Professional Counseling. She counseled one year within the graduate counseling program at CCU, supervising and training first year counseling students and worked for a year and a half as the Director of Client Services of the Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Denver, Colorado before joining Caleb Ministries in the fall of 2001.
The name of our ministry comes from the character Caleb in the Old Testament who was one of the leaders sent by Moses to spy out the Promised Land. The scriptures say that Caleb looked at the land that had to be conquered with a heart that believed. He returned from viewing the Promised Land and knew that God would faithfully lead them and help them be victorious no matter what the difficulties. When the Israelites finally divided the conquered land, Caleb specifically requested the mountainous territory containing “Giants”, promised to him by Moses. He saw the giants not as problems to run from but as opportunities for God to continue to show His faithfulness.
In the same way, we want to help individuals find the courage to face those personal and relational problems that are the equivalent to Caleb’s “Giants”. Our desire is that as they do, they will find God to be a faithful and loving Father. And like Caleb, find strength and confidence in God’s power and goodness.
Our Biblical Counseling Philosophy:
The Biblical Counseling philosophy we hold to is consistent with the good news of Jesus Christ and with his admonitions encouraging each of us to be more concerned with the attitudes of our heart not just with external behavior. His advice in Matthew 23:24 was to “clean the inside of the cup and the outside will be clean also”. We counsel with the goal of helping individuals change from the inside out, working from the attitudes of the heart outward to specific problem behaviors and feelings. We feel this approach more clearly follows Biblical teachings about real change.
To better explain counseling from this perspective I would like to quote from the introduction of Dr. Larry Crabb’s book entitled “Inside Out”:
“When we reflect deeply on how life really is… a quiet terror threatens to overwhelm us… There is something terribly attractive about knowing what to do to make things better. If we can explain why we feel so bad in terms of something specific and correctable, then we can do something about it. Into this personal agitation comes the soothing message of modern Christianity (and of some modern Christian Counseling): relief is available! … Better still, it is within our power to arrange for the relief we long for … problems in your world will settle down when you develop enough faith… claim more bible promises… avoid outward sin… practice new forms of meditation… become more involved in church activities… study your Bible more… the list of possible activities goes on and on. These are good things to do but the expectation is that if I do these things, I will experience no more struggle, disappointment or heartache. In fact I can experience heaven now.”
If counseling stays at this level where people are encouraged to change some activity or behavior or seek some experience, real inside change is avoided.
“When we face the fact that life is profoundly disappointing, the only way to make it, is to learn to love. And only those who are no longer consumed with finding satisfaction now are able to love. This kind of internal change that permits a richer taste of God and love for others is possible, but it requires surgery. Only when we commit our yearnings for perfect joy to a Father we have learned to deeply trust are we free to live for others despite the reality of a perpetual ache. Real transformation of character enables us to taste enough of God now to whet our appetite for the banquet later.”
The direction that we take in our counseling is directed toward this kind of personal inward change. We try to address the longings, desires and strategies we use that keep us from deeply trusting God.
We would like to be a referral source for you as you become aware of people wanting to locate a Christian counselor in the Eastern Iowa area and also to be available to you or your church for special programs, seminars or marriage retreats. If you have any counseling needs or specific questions about the ministry of CMI please give us a call.
Sincerely,
Rick and Kristi Casteel & Naomi Thompson