Author: Nate Brooks

If They Can’t Make It, How Can I?

If They Can’t Make It, How Can I?

Posted by | Oct 23, 2020 | |

One of our favorite shows in the Brooks household is BBC’s Planet Earth. Each episode is striking as the filmmakers have patiently and painstakingly compiled footage of some of the rarest and hardest to capture animals and events in nature. One such event is the death of an Amazonian forest giant. A deafening crack sounds as a blast of wind or water suddenly exposes years of internal rot inside an otherwise healthy-looking tree. Almost 300 feet of trunk and crown plunge from the canopy above, coming to rest in the mud below. The death of a forest giant rips a hole in the Amazon’s lush canopy as the tree’s sudden fall takes many other things with it. Plants, saplings, and even smaller mature trees may be crushed by the tree’s falling bulk. Animals who have called its branches home must relocate in a hurry or risk becoming collateral damage. So it is with a fallen Christian leader. Continue Reading →

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Does Secular Psychology Affect How We Talk About Change?

Does Secular Psychology Affect How We Talk About Change?

Posted by | Jul 8, 2020 | |

The most important facet of any system of counseling is its theory of change. A system’s theory of change is the sum total of its view of the human condition, the human person, and authority. Biblical counseling views change as being a work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart through the means of grace, with Scripture taking center stage to evoke transformation. However, different streams in biblical counseling emphasize different means that the Spirit uses and the Word promotes in order to organize the practical business of reordering our hearts. Continue Reading →

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Interpreting Counselees’ Experience

Interpreting Counselees’ Experience

Posted by | Apr 29, 2020 | |

In this article, I outline a three-tiered framework for interpreting counselees. Interpreting the Bible is, in many ways, easier than figuring out a complicated, sprawling narrative of suffering, sin, and sorrow. Despite the difficulty, rightly comprehending an individual’s narrative is critical, as we must come to a true understanding of what’s going on in their lives in order to offer wise biblical counsel. Continue Reading →

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Book Review of Human Nature from Calvin to Edwards by Paul Helm

Posted by | Feb 11, 2020 | |

Every biblical counselor worth their salt cares deeply about theology. Biblical and theological studies are the lifeblood of our discipline, as our counseling will only be as strong as our grasp of God’s explanations of who we are and what we ought to be. Theology provides the framework for what we’re doing in counseling, driving our interpretation of the Scriptures, our understanding of man, and how we interpret human experience. To be a biblical counselor is to be a theologian and to be interested in theology. However, a distinction ought to be drawn between being interested in theology and interested in academic historical theology. Just as not every Scripture is equally relevant to the question at hand in a counseling situation, not every work of theology is equally relevant to the practice and craft of counseling. Continue Reading →

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