The Law and Church Counseling: Part Three—Scope of Care

Posted on 1/16/2012 by Bob Kellemen

Note: You’re reading Part Three in a blog mini-series on The Law and Church Counseling. Read Part One Caring Carefully (embed link) and Part Two The Legal History and Climate (embed link). I’m summarizing these posts from material in chapter twelve of Equipping Counselors for Your Church. To learn more about the book, visit Equipping Counselors (embed link http://bit.ly/EC4YC4E).

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The Law and Church Counseling: Part Two—The Legal History and Climate

Posted on 12/14/2011 by Bob Kellemen

Note: You’re reading Part Two in a blog mini-series on The Law and Church Counseling. Read Part One Caring Carefully (embed link from Part One). I’m summarizing these posts from material in chapter twelve of Equipping Counselors for Your Church. To learn more about the book, visit Equipping Counselors http://bit.ly/EC4YC4E.

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The Law and Church Counseling: Part One—Caring Carefully

Posted on 11/14/2011 by Bob Kellemen

Note: You’re reading Part One in a blog mini-series on The Law and Church Counseling. I’m summarizing this series from material in chapter twelve of Equipping Counselors for Your Church. To learn more about the book, visit Equipping Counselors (embed link http://bit.ly/EC4YC4E).

The Elephant in the Room

When I discuss legal and ethical issues in my seminars on Equipping Counselors for Your Church, I show a PowerPoint slide with a picture of an elephant in a living room. No one likes to talk about ethical and legal concerns in church counseling. They are often the unspoken elephants in the room that motivate church leaders to squelch biblical counseling ministries.

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How to Be a Biblical Spiritual Friend Part Six: Gospel Conversations—The Remedy to “Take Two Verses and Call Me in the Morning”

Posted on 10/17/2011 by Bob Kellemen

Do you want to remedy the shallow stereotype of “take two verses and call me in the morning?” Are you ready to stop placing band-aids on your friends’ suffering and sin? Then engage in mutual gospel conversations based upon a biblical way of looking at and living life.

Gospel Conversations: Ephesians 4:29

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How to Be a Biblical Spiritual Friend Part Five: Five Scriptural Reasons for Biblical Listening

Posted on 9/21/2011 by Bob Kellemen

Listening carefully to people’s words is biblical, not secular. Listen to what God’s Word teaches about listening to human words:

Words Are Powerful

Words Are Meaningful

Words Convey Soul Messages

Words Are Worthy of Soulful Attentiveness

Words Reflect One of Two Life Interpretations

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How to Be a Biblical Spiritual Friend Part Four: Six Principles of Biblical Listening: LISTEN

Posted on 9/19/2011 by Bob Kellemen

When our friend is hurting or struggling in life, how do we listen biblically? We can use the acrostic LISTEN to remind ourselves of basic components of competent biblical listening.   

L  Loving Motivation: Proverbs 21:13

I   Intimate Concern: Galatians 6:1-3; Colossians 4:6; James 3:17-18

S  Slow to Speak: Proverbs 18:13; James 1:19

T  Timing: Proverbs 15:23; 25:11

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How to Be a Biblical Spiritual Friend-Part Three: God’s Art Gallery of Spiritual Friendship

Posted on 8/15/2011 by Bob Kellemen

In the midst of spiritual crisis, we need spiritual connection—spiritual friendship. But just what does spiritual friendship look like? Would we know it if we saw it?

Allow me to guide you on a tour through God’s art gallery filled with walls lined with pictures of spiritual friendship. View pictures of spiritual friendship as:

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It’s Wonderful to Be Forgiven

Posted on 7/15/2011 by Bob Kellemen

The Big Idea: Learn how to help others to receive the wonders of Christ’s forgiveness. (Excerpted from Spiritual Friends.)

Grace Dispensers

When a brother or sister repents of sinful patterns of the heart, we need to become dispensers of Christ’s grace who communicate “it’s wonderful to be forgiven."  Three categories summarize the types of gospel

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