About

Hi, I’m Aaron. I am a disciple of Jesus, a husband, a father, a pastor, and a counselor. I live with my wife and three kids on the western edge of the Twin Cities suburbs. We enjoy the outdoors, gardening, music, and all sorts of board games. In my spare time, I enjoy watching college football or basketball. I also like learning and putting into practice the latest research on nutrition, fitness and sleep for healthier, holistic living.

I serve as an associate pastor at Mound Evangelical Free Church. There, I oversee a biblical counseling church ministry. I exclusively provide counseling through LHPC.

Over the past decade, I have counseled individuals, couples, and groups in both local churches and counseling centers. I have helped people in many areas, such as with marriage, parenting, and family issues, fear and anxiety, anger and conflict, abuse/oppression, depression, guilt and shame, addictions (especially sexual), obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and ministry life. I often work alongside churches and other counselors as a part of a care team. 

I have taught biblical counseling in the local church and as Adjunct Professor of Biblical Counseling at Bethlehem College and Seminary. I have provided supervision and consultation to counselors and counselors-in-training, both in the local church and in counseling centers.

My interest in helping other started at the U. of Illinois, where I studied psychology and biology. To this day, I look to provide care that addresses both the body and the soul. Next, I completed a masters in social-personality psychology at the U. of Missouri. I wanted to better help people with their struggles, so I began the doctoral program in counseling at the U. of Minnesota.

While there, God drew me to himself. I read the Bible and began trusting in Jesus Christ, savoring the good news of his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of my sins. I completed a masters in counseling before preparing for pastoral ministry through seminary.

Degrees:

  • B.S. in Psychology and in Molecular & Cellular Biology — University of Illinois
  • M.A. in Social-Personality Psychology — University of Missouri
  • M.A. in Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology — University of Minnesota
  • M.Div. — Central Baptist Theological Seminary.
 Certifications:
  • Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF): Completed Level One, Two and Three certificates.
  • Prepare & Enrich: Certified facilitator for pre-marital and marital assessment.
  • DISC: Administer and coach the Portrait Systems DISC personality assessment.

My Passion

It is a privilege to sit with people and be invited to listen and talk about the real and hard stuff of life. As we dialogue, I work to connect your story to the Author of The Story, the story of salvation. Jesus offers abundant life and a lasting hope for real change. He has done it for me. I have seen him do it for countless others. I am hopeful he can do it for you.

FAQs about Biblical Counseling

Through a dialogue, I strive to know you — an individual who thinks, feels, and acts. What is it like to be you, physically and spiritually? We talk about relationships with others — people, creation, and ultimately God. We work to get to the heart of the matter — what really drives you to do what you do? Along the way, we will explore what is good, hard and bad. Then we work to connect your story to the Author’s story. We pray to the God who hears and knows, who promises to be with us. We listen to his Word. The Spirit empowers heart change. We discern how to walk forward in life, one step at a time, growing in wisdom and love. We don’t do this alone. We consider how other people walk alongside you.

It can be a big step to admit you need some help. Yet facing our struggles is not something we can do alone. You don’t have to! Reaching out for help is an initial step in the journey to finding lasting hope.

You don’t have to be a Christian to meet with a pastoral counselor. If you’re open to considering who Jesus is and what he offers you in your struggles, I can help.

I am grateful for the clinically-informed training I received in graduate school at the University of Minnesota. I have been greatly influenced, both personally and professionally, by the training I received through CCEF.

At LHPC, I ascribe to the confessional statement of the Biblical Counseling Coalition:

“Biblical counseling occurs whenever and wherever God’s people engage in conversations that are anchored in Scripture, centered on Christ and the Gospel, grounded in sound theology, dependent upon the Holy Spirit and prayer, directed toward sanctification, rooted in the life of the church, founded in love, attentive to heart issues, comprehensive in understanding, thorough in care, practical and relevant, and oriented toward outreach.”

Pastoral, biblical counseling is not the same as licensed counseling. I do not provide counsel as a registered, licensed or certified professional within the State of Minnesota (e.g. licensed professional counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, marriage and family therapist, social worker) or any other jurisdiction.