The past few years I have become quite excited about the idea of holistic biblical care. The idea really began to germinate in my heart when a definition of biblical counseling emerged from my dissertation (and reached consensus by top scholars in Christian soul care) that, in part, read as follows: “The biblical counselor does […]
Biblical counseling can be defined as a fluid event and process of a Spirit-empowered Christ follower providing face-to-face ministry of the Word to others. Biblical counseling is a process of focused discipleship. It is one aspect of discipleship. It is an aspect of discipleship focused on the application of God’s Word and walking in God’s […]
(Excerpt from When Home Hurts, by Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson, releasing September 10, 2021. Find more information and pre-order at christiancounseling.com) I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality always helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the […]
Biblical counseling is a discipline that has always been dedicated to rich, theologically informed biblical care. Since the seminal work of the late Dr. Jay Adams who outlined a biblical counseling model that positioned itself within Christian counseling as uniquely biblical, the movement has continued to experience helpful developmental processes that have served to deepen and […]
Mercy is defined as getting that which we don’t deserve. If I get pulled over for speeding and the officer lets me off with a warning, we would say he had mercy on me. He gave me the gift of passing on an offense that should have cost me time and money. “Blessed be the […]
This is an edited excerpt from Darby Strickland’s book Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying and Helping Victims of Domestic Abuse. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (Matt. 7:16) Matt and Sarah routinely fought about how to spend their weekends. Sarah valued her […]
These five distinctives and ten statements of biblical counseling hopefully provide some structure and support for our biblical counseling worldview. In a previous post, we discussed particular truths and distinctions that make the biblical counseling worldview unique. This lesson continues that discussion by considering five distinctives of biblical counseling that hopefully provide some structure and […]
Jesus came to us when we couldn’t come to him. Jesus loved us when we couldn’t love him. Jesus gave us life when we couldn’t get it for ourselves. Jesus sought us when we were utterly lost. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave […]
As muddled a topic as identity can be in the lives of people, I have found God’s Word to bring great clarity on the topic of identity, self-worth and value. The idea of identity is one of those nebulous concepts that can be hard to understand. Yet, in my pastoral and counseling ministries, I consistently […]
While it is right to lament life’s brevity, we can also find in it at least 4 reasons to be glad that life is short. One of the great sorrows of life is its brevity. This life is but a breath, a vapor, a mist that vanishes with the sun. Even the eldest among us […]
