Author: Andy Farmer

On Building Convictions and Wearing Masks

On Building Convictions and Wearing Masks

Posted by | Dec 7, 2020 | |

This time last year, I could have imagined I might write a blog on building Christian convictions. But I could not imagine it would have been about wearing masks. Yet here we are facing contention in our communities, families, and churches on the issue of wearing masks during the current pandemic. I have had my share of conversations with folks who believe masks are essential to saving lives in a pandemic. Others are equally convinced that masks are at best an unfounded government overreach and possibly part of a larger plan to abridge personal freedoms. I’ve been sent mountains of information and study data (from both positions) that have, frankly, left me more bewildered than anything else. Continue Reading →

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The Relentless Lean of Love

The Relentless Lean of Love

Posted by | Aug 28, 2020 | |

I find myself increasingly in conversations about sexuality and gender. These can be some of the most heartbreaking counseling experiences I know. In my particular role as a pastor, I’m usually dealing with parents, siblings, or friends of someone who is going through some kind of change in gender/sexual orientation. Often the person they’re concerned about has been raised in the church or had at one time made a profession of faith. In some cases, it has been an adult, perhaps a marriage partner, who, after years of living in traditional gender and sexuality, suddenly announces the change, throwing years of family stability into chaos in the process. But more and more, it is late adolescents or college-aged people through whom this difficult trial comes. Continue Reading →

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Why the Enemy Seems Victorious

Why the Enemy Seems Victorious

Posted by | Jun 10, 2020 | |

Richard Sibbes’s (1577-1635) book, The Bruised Reed, is a must-read for anyone engaged in biblical counseling and soul care. It is a thorough pastoral exposition of Matthew 12:18-20. Sibbes tackles a question that has always perplexed me regarding the activity of Satan in the lives of believers. If we are victorious in Christ over the Devil, why does he seem to have the upper hand in our lives so often? Knowing we have an enemy and understanding why we can struggle in our fight against him is an important part of authentic biblical counseling. Continue Reading →

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Pastor… and Counseling Consumer Advocate?

Posted by | Feb 24, 2020 | |

A woman in our church approached me at the end of the Sunday service. She was clearly carrying a burden on her heart. As soon as we sat down, her anguished concern came spilling out. Her daughter, a college-aged young woman raised in the church, had confided in her that she was struggling with panic attacks and had also started cutting. She asked if I knew any counselors in the town where her daughter attended school. These types of requests are becoming more and more a part of my pastoral experience. In my ideal ministry world, everyone I meet with as a pastor would be helped through the rhythms of church-based pastoral counseling. But at times, I’m called upon to advise folks who are seeking counseling for themselves or others beyond my sphere of care. Continue Reading →

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Don’t Make the Andy Mistake

Posted by | Dec 2, 2019 | |

In my last BCC post, I wrote a blog called “Don’t Make the Hamilton Mistake,” which was inspired by some summer reading I was doing. I was struck by how easy it is in ministry and life to grab a principle that seems important to us and make it an issue of conscience. Using a fateful event in Alexander Hamilton’s life, I showed how we could become myopic to the point of justifying almost any decision appealing to our conscience or our personal principles. Well, I got that off my chest. Burden delivered, insight spread to the masses, the world changed just a little bit for the better. My work here was done. But God’s work in me apparently wasn’t accomplished. Continue Reading →

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