This blog article discusses the authors, purpose, title, intended audience, contents, and strengths of our book, The Gospel for Disordered Lives: An Introduction to Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling. Continue Reading →
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Part of the ministry we do as church-based counselors—whether as pastors or lay counselors—may involve calling people. We might call simply to check up on the person (a ministry “touch”), to offer a brief word of encouragement or prayer, or to schedule a face-to-face meeting. But some phone contacts are different. The person you call for one of the brief reasons above proceeds to open up a more serious problem and might want to talk right then about more lengthy matters we should normally reserve for a face-to-face counseling session. Or he might initiate the call to speak with you about such a pressing problem. How should we handle those kinds of calls? Continue Reading →
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“Horrified. Betrayed. Ashamed. Angry. Dishonored. Worthless. Sad. Hopeless.” Those were the words my friend Jill used when she learned her dear twenty-year-old daughter was in a committed lesbian relationship. Those descriptors capture the experience of many dads and moms whose children have walked away from their Christian upbringing. Perhaps your son has pursued a reckless path of autonomy that has resulted in addictions, debt, or joblessness. Maybe your daughter’s outward lifestyle appears stable—healthy friendships and a productive career—but she is still lost, “separate from Christ, . . . without hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). Continue Reading →
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While marriage can be difficult, being married to a non-Christian can be doubly difficult. But God can help you. Regardless of how you formed your spiritually-mixed marriage, you now face an array of daily spiritual dangers as a Christian. Consider seven temptations you uniquely meet in your marriage. Continue Reading →
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When disease wracks your body or pain doesn’t relent, what hope do you have? Must you settle for wishful thinking, paltry platitudes, or mere survival? Caring physicians offer medical help, but is that enough? Where can you, as a Christian, find real hope? Thankfully, God’s Word delivers a deeper hope—a Christ-centered hope not dependent on improved health or physical relief. Let’s first hear Paul’s testimony and then unpack three hope-giving guarantees. Continue Reading →
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