Posted on 1/4/2012 by Jay Younts

I have read with interest Heath Lambert’s recent book, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams. On balance, I believe there is helpful information in this book. Lambert does accurately point out some of the changes that have occurred, as new ideas and personalities have emerged in the last two decades of biblical counseling. I would caution readers, however, regarding the emphasis of the book.

The book articulates the necessity of moving beyond the foundational work of Jay Adams. Lambert speaks of the movement maturing and being more sensitive and concerned with building relationships with counselees as opposed to Adams’ more formal approach. Lambert speaks of the need to have more effective ways of addressing such issues as suffering. 

My concern is that we see the work of Jay Adams for what it is—a groundbreaking, courageous alternative to the weak, adulterated attempts at counseling offered by too many in the Christian church in the second half of the twentieth century. Lambert also has numerous helpful quotes from Jay Adams, showing that Adams, himself, was aware of the shortcomings of the beginnings of modern biblical counseling.  As Lambert notes in a quotation from the Christian Counselor’s Manual (160), Adams was intensely self-critical of the movement and his own work, even from its beginning.

Adams’ work is foundational. It is also enduring. The biblical principles he established still robustly serve the church and biblical counseling. Yes, much work remains to be done. Some of that work has to do with fine-tuning and re-tooling some of Adams’ work. More of the work remaining needs to be in areas where Adams did not do much work.  Adams did not write thoroughly in areas such as suffering and child-training.  This should not be seen as a deficiency in Adams’ work so much, but rather as an indication of just how much work remains to be done. For example, exploring the differences in discipleship and counseling and how these two complimentary components of the Christian life fit together. The use of prescription drugs in treating depression is another area in need of careful biblical attention. The understanding of the “idols of the heart” perspective continues to be refined and refocused. In the last 15 years the makeup of the family structure has radically changed. Blended families and single parent families are now the norm.  The reality is that no one man could possibly begin to address all of what needs to be addressed.

The biblical counseling movement exists today largely because of the work of Jay Adams. There is one aspect of Adams’ legacy that I pray counselors will never move beyond, and that is the vital necessity of using the Bible to frame the problems we face in counseling.  Jay Adams is a skilled exegete, an accomplished systematic theologian, and a polished and effective communicator.  He has translated the New Testament and Proverbs, and written a complete set of New Testament commentaries. This rich foundation of biblical truth is one which biblical counseling should never “outgrow.” The biblical counseling movement stands in need of other men to continue the good work of biblical scholarship that Jay Adams has begun.

Adams’ work was and is foundational. He continues to write and offer vital insights for all biblical counselors. He never intended that the movement would stop with him.  Indeed, he has frequently urged counselors to do the careful, exegetical work needed to develop the skills of biblical counseling.

Biblical counseling faces new challenges as the cultural context continues its rapid pace of change. Existentialist thought and post-modern thought are now the dominant forces influencing culture—and sadly, that includes the church more often than not. This represents huge challenges for biblical counselors.  I believe that it will be necessary for a new branch of biblical counseling to emerge—historical theologians with a special focus on analyzing history to see how biblical principles were either neglected or how they impacted the past, and why that matter for today.

Some new work has been done; more needs to be done; many things need to be rethought. I believe Lambert’s book would be stronger if he focused more on the work that still needs to be accomplished rather than emphasizing where Jay Adams’ work is lacking. That Adams’ work is at points incomplete should not be surprising. Indeed, even with all of the work that is being done by so many the movement is still incomplete. May God grant that each biblical counselor have the same passion as Adams for helping Christians encourage one another with the life-changing truth of the Scriptures.

Sign in to post a comment...