April 22, 2024
WBS student Kia Wakefield deepens her counseling practice through seminary studies
Having grown up the daughter of a Southern Baptist Pastor in Texas, Kia Wakefield developed a love for the Bible and theological learning early in life. “Even as a child, I can recall books in our house by Chuck Swindoll and Charles Stanley, and just loving them,” she says. Like many followers of Christ, she experienced a “dark time” of becoming a “prodigal daughter” in her late teens and early twenties, but God faithfully drew her back to himself.
Soon, she found herself helping others with life issues as an occupation. “I worked for several years as a Life Coach,” Kia says, “But I found that people kept coming to me who were facing deep emotional problems and childhood trauma that I was not equipped to deal with.”
The desire to meet their needs led her to pursue a degree in counseling at Ohio Christian University. That was when she encountered Wesleyan theology for the first time. “I discovered that I resonate with John Wesley perhaps more than any other theological figure,” she says. “I had received good teaching in my church growing up, but I was hungry to learn more about sanctification—how to live holy, and how to become part of a community that helps you grow in holiness.”
I found that people kept coming to me who were facing deep emotional problems and childhood trauma that I was not equipped to deal with.
Kia explains that, while secular psychological training is important to her understanding of counseling, a spiritual worldview is essential to her ministry. “I can’t imagine doing the work I do without the insight that comes from cooperating with the Holy Spirit,” she says. “It’s good to have talk therapy, but let’s put Jesus in the middle of this.”
Her love for continued learning and Wesleyan theology led her to WBS, where she is seeking to deepen her knowledge of the Bible. “I love studying the Word,” she says, “and I also love this community. My professors are great, and I learn just as much from my classmates.” Kia also notes the level of spiritual care she has received: “The first time I talked to anyone at WBS—an admissions counselor named Annie—she was so kind and compassionate, I immediately wanted to be part of this community. It’s great to be in an academic setting where we are praying for each other in class. I have several classmates’ numbers in my phone, and we check up on each other during the week.”
Kia now lives in Oregon, where, between practice, work as a writer, WBS studies, and her family (husband, 13-year-old son, and 6-year-old daughter), she stays busy. However, she remains committed to helping people through places of brokenness. “In my own experiences with grief,” she says, “I’ve found that suffering either pulls you closer to Christ and to others, or it leads you toward isolation.” She sees isolation as a particular problem across the nation in the aftermath of COVID-19.
I can’t imagine doing the work I do without the insight that comes from cooperating with the Holy Spirit. It’s good to have talk therapy, but let’s put Jesus in the middle of this.”
In her classes at WBS, she sees the solution to that isolation as rooted in the nature of God. “Dr. L is always saying, ‘perichoresis, perichorisis!’ In every class,” she laughs, referring to Dr. Lohrstorfer and his emphasis on the ancient teaching of the interpenetration of the three persons of the Trinity in a dance of interrelationship. In the same way, humans are called into communities of holy love where they build relationships with each other in Christ.
In her interview, Kia repeatedly protests that she doesn’t understand why Dr. Lohrstorfer would recommend that we share her story as one of our students. Yet hearing her heart to see the transforming power of the Holy Spirit bring healing and connection to people who are isolated and broken, it is evident she is exactly the kind of “trusted leader” that WBS exists to equip.