Bob Kellemen - Biblical Counseling and the Church: Gods Care Through Gods People

Biblical counseling should be a natural and vital component of discipleship within the covenant community that the Bible calls the body of Christ. It should also be a means of reaching out beyond the community to minister redemptive grace to the nations. This book, written by thirty-four committed biblical counselors, will equip a church to do both. I am happy to commend its widest reading and use.

Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC

In an age when too much of the care and cure of souls takes place outside the church, this book offers a clarion call to embed counseling ministry within local congregations. It provides not only the biblical-theological rationale for this interpersonal ministry of the Word, but it also draws upon the multifaceted experiences of many authors to describe specifically what counseling looks like in the trenches of church life. Whether you are a pastor tasked with the shepherding of Gods flock or a layperson who takes seriously the one-another passages of Scripture, you will be further motivated and equipped to be a conduit of Gods care.

Michael R. Emlet, MDiv, MD, Faculty and Counselor, the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF); author of CrossTalk

To say there is a lot of trouble in the world today would be to state the obvious. Trouble is everywhere but its not just in the world out there; its in the church in here. The question facing every pastor is, How can I possibly help all the people whose lives are overflowing with troubles, conflicts, emotional problems of every kind, and relational breakups? This book will help provide you with answers. The Lord of the church has gifted us with all we need to minister to those within our walls who are suffering. The authors are seasoned, wise counselors, committed to the local church and to the sufficiency of the Word of the churchs Lord. I highly recommend it.

Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of Counsel from the Cross

Biblical Counseling and the Church is packed with the wisdom of todays leaders in biblical counseling. This book will greatly assist in moving the care of souls out of the exclusive realm of the counseling office and into small groups and every aspect of church life! I am excited to watch as this book revolutionizes how we connect counseling and the church!

Julie Ganschow, Director of Reigning Grace Counseling Center; author of Seeing Depression Through the Eyes of Grace

Since my first counseling class in seminary, Ive aspired to preach like a counselor. Jesus preached as a counselor, and those who heard him felt like he knew everything about them. To apply the gospelfull of grace and truthto the multifaceted brokenness in peoples lives is the essence of Christian ministry. The authors of Biblical Counseling and the Church demonstrate that gospel-centric counseling is not just for a select few, but the responsibility of every believer. If you want to help people progress in the gospel in meaningful ways, you need to read this book.

J. D. Greear, PhD, Pastor, The Summit Church; author of Gaining by Losing and Jesus Continued

How can biblical counseling shape the week-by-week work of ministry? What effect should our approach to counseling have on small groups, church discipline, evangelism, and more? Throughout this book, seasoned ministry practitioners articulate clearly and practically the impact of biblical counseling in every area of the local churchs life and work. A much-needed resource for church staff!

Timothy Paul Jones, C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family Ministry at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author of PROOF

This is the Biblical Counseling Coalitions best and most compelling book to date. The authors are pastors and counselors who know their craft. They have developed a thriving culture of biblical counselors and formal counseling ministries that not only help but also equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). If you believe the church should set the standard for compassionate, life-giving counsel and that making disciple-makers is part of the Great Commission, this book will both inspire and equip you to do it better.

Dr. James MacDonald, Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel; author of Act Like Men and Vertical Church; JamesMacdonald.org

It is rare for me to read a book and have it be all that I hoped it would be. I wanted a big, bold vision for biblical counseling in the church. That is what I got. This book is a treasure trove because time and time again my heart soared as the authors held up the Bible as the Book above every book for the church of Jesus Christ.

Jason C. Meyer, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church

Treacherous, painful, and lengthy are words and moments Id typically rather avoid. Counseling can be an emotionally devastating work for the faithful and feeling elder. But counseling in the church isnt optional. In fact, counseling is a gift to us who live under the curse of sin and a means of grace to bring growth and health to the church. This collection of authors take Gods Word out of the abstract and into the concrete for Gods people. Ministry practice without sound doctrine is a disaster. Buy this book and wear it out for the love and care of the church.

Daniel Montgomery, Lead Pastor of Sojourn Community Church, Louisville; Founder of the Sojourn Network; author of Faithmapping and PROOF

The church is a place of real-life change. Central to that vision and hope is the specific connection between what the Bible teaches and how to help people change. Im grateful for Biblical Counseling and the Churcha powerful resource that identifies how any local church can become a culture of life change through biblical counseling in all aspects of the ministry. This book is practical, needed, and important.

Mark Vroegop, Lead Pastor, College Park Church, Indianapolis, Indiana

ZONDERVAN

Biblical Counseling and the Church

Copyright 2015 by the Biblical Counseling Coalition

ePub Edition October 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-52063-4

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Biblical counseling and the church : Gods care through Gods people / Bob Kellemen, general editor; Kevin Carson, managing editor.

pages cm

A Biblical Counseling Coalition book.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-310-52062-7 (hardcover)

1. CounselingReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Kellemen, Robert W., editor.

BR115.C69B53 2015

253.5dc23

2015018730

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.