Author: Robert Jones

Redemptive Church Discipline as Christian Love

Redemptive Church Discipline as Christian Love

Posted by | Apr 8, 2022 | |

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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Pursuing Peace When Our Positions Differ

Pursuing Peace When Our Positions Differ

Posted by | Mar 16, 2022 | |

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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Handling Counseling-Related Phone Calls

Handling Counseling-Related Phone Calls

Posted by | Jun 16, 2021 | |

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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Seven Recommendations for Parents of Prodigal Children

Seven Recommendations for Parents of Prodigal Children

Posted by | Jan 21, 2021 | |

“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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