Biblical Counseling For Today

In his preface to this challenging book Jeff Watson describes biblical counseling as "a noble adjective married to a nervous noun." Believers are wise to be skeptical of much that is done in the name of counseling in secular settings. Even under the umbrella of "Christian counseling," one has heard horror stories of cases where God's Word has been misused. But Jeff Watson makes a strong case in this volume for the legitimacy of marrying "biblical" and "counseling." Christian counselors, says Watson, need to cultivate three fundamental skills in their patients: How to tell their stories; How to choose their goals wisely; and How to practice changes in their lives. Watson helps counselors achieve these goals by drawing on the interactions of Christ, the commands of Scripture, and the actions of the apostles and prophets. Thus he marries counseling and biblical principles. To those of us who are called on to counsel on any level, Charles Swindoll says, "This book will become an invaluable tool for you. I urge you to let it become your manual for proper counseling."

This book from award winning author Dr. Larry Crabb seeks to think through a model of counseling which can be integrated into the functioning of the local church. It contains a chart appendix.

What role does Scripture play in counseling? Today, we face a weakening of confidence in the Bible. This is just as true for the pastor offering counsel in his office as it is for the person in the pew talking with a struggling friend. We need to regain our confidence in God's living Word as sufficient to address the real-life issues we face today. Scripture and Counseling will help you understand how the Bible equips us to grow in counseling competence as we use it to tackle the complex issues of life. Divided into two sections, Part One develops a robust biblical view of Scripture’s sufficiency for "life and godliness" leading to increased confidence in God's Word. Part Two teaches how to use Scripture in the counseling process. This section demonstrates how a firm grasp of the sufficiency of Scripture leads to increased competence in the ancient art of personally ministering God's Word to others. Part of the Biblical Counseling Coalition series, Scripture and Counseling brings you the wisdom of twenty ministry leaders who write so you can have confidence that God’s Word is sufficient, necessary, and relevant to equip God’s people to address the complex issues of life in a broken world. It blends theological wisdom with practical expertise and is accessible to pastors, church leaders, counseling practitioners, and students, equipping them to minister the truth and power of God’s word in the context of biblical counseling, soul care, spiritual direction, pastoral care, and small group facilitation.

Are you looking for a brief introduction to what the biblical counseling movement is and how it has changed over the years? In Developments in Biblical Counseling , J. Cameron Fraser turns a journalistic eye to this question and presents a concise assessment. Introducing us to the formative work of Jay Adams, Fraser outlines several themes of biblical counseling that became foundational for the movement as a whole and observes how the movement received criticisms from outside and made necessary developments from within. He points out that some of these developments have an affinity with Puritan approaches to counseling that Adams rejects but may point in a more consistently biblical direction. Table of Contents: 1. Some Foundational Views of Nouthetic Counseling 2. Some Criticisms of Nouthetic Counseling 3. Some Developments in Biblical Counseling 4. Biblical and Puritan Counseling

Since the beginning of the biblical counseling movement in 1970, biblical counselors have argued that counseling is a ministry of the Word, just like preaching or missions. As a ministry, counseling must be defined according to sound biblical theology rather than secular principles of psychology. For over four decades, biblical theology has been at the core of the biblical counseling movement. Leaders in biblical counseling have emphasized a commitment to teaching doctrine in their counseling courses out of the conviction that good theology leads to good counseling…and bad theology leads to bad counseling. A Theology of Biblical Counseling is a landmark new book that covers the history of the biblical counseling movement, the core convictions that underlie sound counseling, and practical wisdom for counseling today. Dr. Heath Lambert shows how biblical counseling is rooted in the Scriptures while illustrating the real challenges counselors face today through true stories from the counseling room. A substantive textbook written in accessible language, it is an ideal resource for use in training biblical counselors at colleges, seminaries, and training institutes. In each chapter, doctrine comes to life in real ministry to real people, dramatically demonstrating how theology intersects with the lives of actual counselees.

Seasoned counselors and professors Ron Hawkins and Tim Clinton offer a comprehensive guide that empowers Christian counselors by clarifying their task: to help people take possession of their souls... through the power of the Spirit under the authority of the Word in a supportive community of accountability that they may be like Christ The authors address head-on today's enticing new imitations of true peace and tantalizing opportunities for people in pain to anesthetize themselves. But they also highlight the foundation of hope: God loves, he empowers, and he refuses to abandon his passion for connection with his children. Case studies illustrate how to help people take possession of the thinking self, the feeling self, the decision-making self, the physical self, and the relational self. This comprehensive plan for effective intervention is perfect for lay counselors, students, and professionals looking for ways to integrate their faith and practice.

With compassion and urgency, this book makes a plea for parishioners to engage in 'grappling soul to soul with troubled lives.' It looks toward a method of counseling which neither overlooks sin nor is reduced to a simplistic model of confrontation and exhortation.

If you have been waiting for someone to write a practical and effective book on Biblical counseling, this book is for you! Christians today are seeking professional psychological services in increasing numbers. The local church has always been a community resource for people in emotional need, but Christian psychology has marginalized pastoral and Biblical counseling. It is time to return the ministry of pastoral counseling to the church. What Christian counselors need is a model of biblical counseling that is simple, doctrinally sound, and strategic. Dr. Burts says: I journeyed away from God because of confusion about my identity in Christ. Upon discovering these truths, I became impassioned to advance personal spiritual growth in the church through the ministry of Biblical counseling. I have used the principles of Strategic Biblical Counseling for many years with great success. People are changed as they understand who they are and what they have "in Christ."