“Communicating gospel truth about grace-focused sanctification in word, thought, and action through one another relationships that have integrity, genuineness, authenticity, transparency, and reliability, done in love to promote the unity and maturity of the body of Christ for the ultimate purpose of displaying the glory of Christ’s grace” (Robert Kelleman, Equipping Counselors for Your Church, […]
Gospel Counseling
“Gospel counseling is a way of loving one another by understanding the struggles of unbelief and ties in the midst of sin and suffering through listening to and exploring the heart, while proclaiming how Christ and His gospel truths apply in deeply personal and particular ways, so that we can live out and grow in […]
Tight Bible Study
“Of course we want to say that he should handle it wisely and well, but this is not helpful when it comes to the basics of exegesis. Wisely and well by what standard? Most conservative evangelical pastors have been trained in what is called the historical/grammatical method of exegesis, but which might more accurately be […]
Six Unavoidable Facts
1. Someone had a problem in your church this week. 2. We have everything we need in the Gospel to help that person (2 Peter 1:3). 3. People seek help first from friends, family members, or pastors before professionals. 4. That person either got no help, bad help, or biblical, gospel-centered help. 5. If they […]
prepare God’s people
“Instead, we listen to the modern church culture that screams, ‘The pastor is the preacher, caregiver, and CEO!’ It’s time to listen to the Head of the church. ‘It was he who gave some to be… pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service’ (Eph 4:11-12). Christ’s grand plan for His church […]
They Already Are
The local church is a-counseling ministry. The question is not, “Should Christians counsel each other?” because they already are. Most Christians are ministering to one another on a personal basis. So the question is, “What kind of counseling is offered? How effective is the ministry? Do people have confidence that the Word of God has […]
Specialized Discipleship
“Our goal is to be a church of biblical counseling—we want these truths to permeate everything we do….Call it counseling; call it specialized discipleship. It doesn’t matter. We want to be a progressive sanctification machine, a discipleship factory. We want people growing and changing where god’s Word and Sprit make each of us more like […]
A Church of Biblical Counseling
“I love biblical counseling, but we can’t see it as a ministry of a few people to a few “unhealthy” people. Biblical counseling is the calling of all of God’s people all of the time because we are all striving to grow in Christ all the time.” “Does that mean we shouldn’t launch local church […]
A Definition of Biblical Counseling
“Christ-centered, church-based, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally informed biblical counseling depends upon the Holy Spirit to relate God’s Word to suffering and sin by speaking and living God’s truth in love to equip people to love God and on another (Matt. 22:35-40). It cultivates conformity to Christ and communion with Christ and the body of Christ, […]