Church-based counseling incorporates a dozen-plus benefits that private practice can’t provide, including the experience of Christ-exalting worship that counselors and counselees share which vigorously complements our biblical counseling ministries. Let me describe several components in a recent Sunday gathering that especially helped me and the fellow church members I counsel. Continue Reading →
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When it comes to worry, we have a lot to worry about. We could fill a blog with a dozen-plus reasons people might be anxious or fearful in this fallen world. And we could generate another article detailing the dozen-plus negative consequences our worries bring. Instead, let’s hear from God. In 1 Peter 5:6-7, the apostle addresses the problem of anxiety and provides us with hope-giving, life-changing help to handle it. Continue Reading →
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Since the Greek New Testament words merimna and merimnaō can be translated either as worry or as concern, by observing their similarities and differences we can help our anxious counselees to see how their legitimate concerns become sinful worries and how to reverse the flow and submit their worries to the Lord. Continue Reading →
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The church should be a reconciling body of believers who help each other be reconciled with God and others when we go astray. The foundation for this is the initiative God has taken in Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. Romans 1 and 3 describe God’s righteous wrath against us because of our sin. But by His grace, God poured out that wrath, not upon us, but upon His own Son, Jesus Christ, our substitute. Romans 5 and Romans 8 tell us we were once enemies of God. We hated Him in our hearts, but through Christ, God changed our hearts, so we now love Him. His divine love poured into our hearts by His Spirit can now enable the church to be a family of brothers and sisters who seek to redeem fractured relationships like our Savior. Continue Reading →
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As biblical counselors, we should be the consummate Christian peacemakers, experts in interpersonal conflicts and helping each other handle our differences. After all, as Christians, we belong to the God of peace who has given us His Spirit, His Word, and His church to enable us to pursue relational peace. Moreover, as biblical counselors, we have training and experience in applying Scripture to counseling problems, and others have affirmed our relational graces and communication skills. At the same time, we have differences with each other in how we understand and practice biblical counseling. And, sadly, we sometimes allow them to divide us. How should we navigate our relationships and address our varied viewpoints? Let me propose four movements to make. Continue Reading →
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