Robert W. Kellemen - Gospel Conversations: How to Care Like Christ

I needed a practical guide for pastors, counselors, and laypeople to help them understand the dynamics of gospel-rich conversations with struggling Christians. Now Ive found it! Both rich in theology and Scripture, and at the same time very practical, Bob Kellemens Gospel Conversations is a powerful tool for everyone who wants to think more carefully about how to help others. It skillfully equips Gods people to have heartfelt, empathic, engaging, Christlike, servant-hearted, thoughtful, and gospel-centered conversation.

DR. DEEPAK REJU, President, Biblical Counseling Coalition; Pastor, Biblical Counseling and Families, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Gospel Conversations is just what pastors, local church leaders, and compassionate laywomen and men need as we serve and minister to those God has placed around us. We come in contact with people who are suffering and struggling each and every day. Gospel Conversations will equip us all to better speak both truth and love in a way that is winsome and wise.

STEVE VIARS, Senior Pastor, Faith Church, Lafayette, IN; author, Putting Your Past in Its Place

As a pastor who strives to equip others in the church to do what is covered in Gospel Conversations, I was affirmed, enlightened, challenged, and encouraged by Bobs winsome and relentless gospel focus revealed in this incredible work. I highly recommend Gospel Conversations for your library and as a field guide for your ministry. It displays the very best of Bob Kellemen the instruction of a coach, the love of a pastor, and the wisdom of a teacher.

DR. ROBERT K. CHEONG, Pastor of Care, Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, KY; author, God Redeeming His Bride: A Handbook for Church Discipline

I really appreciate Bobs love of people and his desire to teach others how to be relationally wise with a goal of growth in Christlikeness. Gospel Conversations takes one anothering seriously and teaches us how to put into practice honest, in-depth, and grace-saturated relationships with others. In other words, truly biblical relationships. Thanks, Bob, for guiding us to be more relationally competent to counsel. Dont just read Gospel Conversations practice it, and your church can move from Sunday morning surface relationships to truly dealing with the realities of life on a fallen planet.

DR. ERNIE BAKER, Professor of Biblical Counseling, the Masters College; fellow, the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; author, Help! Im in a Conflict

Gospel Conversations is comprehensive, compassionate, clear, and correct in its insight into Gods Word and wisdom in the arena of biblical counseling. The book not only explains the how of counseling, it does an excellent job in explaining the what and the why. It will significantly impact lay people, pastors, and students for years to come in the arena of biblical counseling.

DR. NICOLAS ELLEN, Professor of Biblical Counseling, College of Biblical Studies, Houston, TX; author, With All Your Heart

Bob Kellemen is a master trainer of counselors and Gospel Conversations is a training masterpiece. Distilling thirty years of counseling training, this book is much more than a training manual. It is a treasury of wise biblical soul care. Bobs approach to counseling is clear, comprehensive, compassionate, and compelling. I found his Four Dimensions of Comprehensive Biblical Counseling Equipping and the wealth of helpful self-counseling and other-counseling questions especially helpful. I plan to reread Gospel Conversations soon as I seek to improve my own counseling training at my church. I enthusiastically recommend it to everyone who aspires to counsel fruitfully and help others do the same.

PAT QUINN, Pastor of Counseling Ministries, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, MI

I am thankful for Bob Kellemens Gospel Conversations equipping manual, which has been carefully designed to apply practical principles of gospel-centered biblical counseling in a small-group setting. What is taught in this book is founded upon careful exposition of Scripture and is rooted in sound theology that has stood the test of time throughout church history. I also appreciate the way Gospel Conversations boils down the key points into tweet-sized statements, memorable word pictures (climb into the coffin), and lists that summarize the principles he is emphasizing.

DR. JIM NEWHEISER, Pastor, Grace Bible Church, Escondido, CA; Executive Director, Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship

Gospel Conversations is a gift to the counseling community at large. It is theologically rich, gospel-soaked, hope-filled, and practically presented. As a Christ-centered approach to counseling, it offers anyone interested in reaching the hearts of hurting people a solid opportunity to be equipped to do so. I highly recommend it to pastors, churches, educators, and missionaries as well as anyone wanting to be equipped or to equip others. I am grateful for the privilege to apply this in my church.

DR. DWAYNE R. BOND, Lead Pastor of Wellspring Church; CEO and Founder of Proximus Group

Everyone has favorite authors, people whose books youll read because you know the content will be solid, innovative, and biblical. Bob Kellemen is one of those authors for me. Gospel Conservations is the book I need every counselor, every Christian in my church to read. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral and counseling ministry, Bob has dedicated his life to equipping biblical counselors for the work of ministry in the church. The work you hold in your hands is the fruit of Bobs labor and ministry which seeks to honor Christ and see others transformed into His image. From personal and private preparation for conversation to the actual engagement, Bob skillfully, compassionately, and biblically navigates us through everyday conversations aimed at Christlike change. In a culture dominated by technologically mediated conversations, Bobs call to gospel conversations is both refreshing and convicting. Read this book, work through it with a small group of people committed to interpersonal ministry, and watch as the Spirit works through our conversations to transform us into the image of Christ. Could there be any more important work for you and me as we labor until Christ comes?

JONATHAN HOLMES, Counseling Pastor, Parkside Church; author, The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship

Bob Kellemen has crafted a relational masterpiece with Gospel Conversations. It is an excellent resource for caring for the souls of hurting people. Bob emphasizes the need to equip by following Christs model of disciple making: training the whole person to be a thoroughly equipped biblical counselor. I have personally benefited from the soul-to-soul, relational counseling style put forth in this book. Truth balanced by love and compassion is the foundation on which Gospel Conversations is based. Rich with applied theology, this book will be required reading for our biblical counseling trainees.

JULIE GANSCHOW, Founder, Reigning Grace Counseling Center; author, Living Beyond the Heart of Betrayal: Biblically Addressing the Pain of Sexual Sin

Bob Kellemens book is a robust, relational, comprehensive training manual. While you can work through it on your own, this manual has much to offer in a group setting to grow all participants to be equipped to compassionately, biblically counsel for Christ. Even if you have been counseling for years, Gospel Conversations offers significant insights from the Scriptures about how to counsel that will help a veteran counsel in a more soul-to-soul manner in accordance with the Scriptures. Ive been counseling for decades and am being greatly helped by Gospel Conversations