The Biblical Counseling Coalition Interviews RPM Ministries 

Note: The following blog was first posted at the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Grace & Truth blog site. You can also read it there: The Weekend Interview Series: RPM Ministries. 

RPM Ministries

As part of our BCC vision, we want to point you to the best of the best in robust, relational biblical counseling. Each week we’re posting (and then making available as an ongoing resource) interviews with churches, para-church groups, and individuals committed to biblical counseling.

This week we highlight RPM Ministries out of Crown Point, Indiana. To learn more about their biblical counseling equipping ministry, we interviewed their Executive Director, Dr. Bob Kellemen.

BCC: “Bob, please tell our readers about your biblical counseling ministry’s mission and vision.”

RPM: “RPM Ministries exists to equip God’s people to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth through writing, speaking, and consulting on Christ-centered, church-based, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed biblical counseling. We equip pastors, lay people, educators, students, and biblical counselors in the personal ministry of the Word to disciple hurting and hardened people to become more like Christ by speaking the truth in love. RPM is our acrostic for Resurrection Power Multipliers. We based this concept on Paul’s prayer in Philippians 3:10: ‘I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.’ As believers in Christ, we have within us the same power that raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:15-23). God calls us to communion with Christ and connection to one another in the Body of Christ, and thus to tap into Christ’s resurrection power to glorify God.”

BCC: “What is the history of your ministry? Tell us your story.”

RPM: “In my three pastoral ministries and during my fifteen years as a seminary professor, I came to see that most Christians care deeply, but struggle to speak the truth in love. I’ve also found that many Christians find it difficult to obtain relevant biblical training that helps them to care like Christ by bringing hope to the hurting. So in 2004, my associates and I launched RPM Ministries to speak, write, and consult to empower the church and para-church to care like Christ. We long to see God’s people enter deeply into one another’s lives and make a significant difference in the lives of hurting and hardened people. We want to present a comprehensive approach to biblical counseling that focuses both on the evils we have suffered as well as on the sins we have committed—helping people to find grace to help them to grow more like Christ in every life situation.”

BCC: “What is your succinct definition of biblical counseling?”

RPM: “Christ-centered, church-based, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed biblical counseling depends upon the Holy Spirit to relate God’s inspired truth about people, problems, and solutions to human suffering (through the Christian soul care arts of sustaining and healing) and sin (through the Christian spiritual direction arts of reconciling and guiding) to empower people to exalt and enjoy God and to love others (Matthew 22:35-40) by cultivating conformity to Christ and communion with Christ and the Body of Christ.”

BCC: “What resources can people find at your site and through your ministry?”

RPM: “Part of the vision or RPM Ministries is to provide an ever-growing list of free resources. At the Free Resources portion of our website, visitors can download free articles, book reviews, charts, counseling forms, videos, teaching outlines, and comprehensive PowerPoint presentations on biblical counseling and Christian living. At the Writings portion of our site, visitors can download free sample chapters from each of my books: Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, Beyond the Suffering, Sacred Friendships, God’s Healing for Life’s Losses, and Equipping Counselors for Your Church. Also, on our Home Page visitors have access to our daily blog posts called Changing Lives.”

BCC: “What upcoming conferences, seminars, classes, and other training opportunities are you offering?”

RPM: “On our Schedule page we maintain an up-to-date calendar of events for all our conferences and seminars. On our Speaking page, we list the seminars that we regularly present across the country. Three of these include our Changing Lives Seminar: How to Care Like Christ which empowers participants to use the Bible wisely, effectively, powerfully, and lovingly. We also present our God’s Healing for Life’s Losses Seminar which helps grieving people to find hope when they’re hurting and equips participants to help others to face their suffering face-to-face with Christ. A third seminar that we frequently share is our Heroes of the Black Church Seminar. Christians of all races are equipped by the heroes of the Black Church to learn how to bring healing hope to one another.”

BCC: “Bob, how can people be praying for you and your ministry?”

RPM: “First, that my associates and I would be living out what we teach—that we’d be practicing what we preach, walking the talk. Second, that I would have wisdom to prioritize where I focus my ministry time and energy. In addition to my leadership of RPM Ministries, I work with the Biblical Counseling Coalition, with the Association of Biblical Counselors, with Capital Bible Seminary (as an adjunct professor), and with Moody Theological Seminary (as an adjunct professor). Plus, I always have another book project in the works. So I need your prayers for prioritizing my time.”

BCC: “Bob, how can people connect with you and contact you?”

RPM: “People can connect with us through email at rpm.ministries@gmail.com, by phone at 219-662-8138, and by snail mail at RPM Ministries, PO Box 270, Crown Point, IN 46308. In addition, they can follow our blogs and updates at our website, through our Facebook page, through our Twitter account, and via our YouTube channel.”

BCC: “Bob, thank you for helping our readers to learn more about biblical counseling and the ministry of equipping that you provide.”

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Counseling Coalition, Bob Kellemen, RPM Ministries

Robust Resources for Changed Lives 

Where do you turn for in-depth, comprehensive, relational resources that equip you to speak the truth in love so we can all grow together in Christ? There are numerous great sources available in the Evangelical world today. Another cutting-edge resource is coming your way.

Save the date. On Monday, May 2, 2011, the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC) will launch its Blog Site: Grace & Truth. 

The first week, you can enjoy the following posts from leaders in the biblical counseling movement:

• Monday, May 2: Paul Tripp, The Ultimate Lens on Life

• Tuesday, May 3: Elyse Fitzpatrick, Despising the Shame 

• Wednesday, May 4: Steve Viars, Biblical Counseling as a Community Bridge 

• Thursday, May 5: Bob Kellemen, Our Competence Comes from Christ

• Friday, May 6: BCC Staff, Five to Live By: The Best of the Best on the Net in Biblical Counseling

• Saturday, May 7: The BCC Interview: Pastor Deepak Reju of Capitol Hill Baptist Church

The BCC Blog Site will also include a list of Featured Blogs and a list of Recommended Websites. The BCC is not about the BCC. The BCC is about bc—biblical counseling—linking you to valuable resources, best-practice churches, premier para-church groups, and conferences you won’t want to miss.

Just the First-fruits

And this is just the first of several upcoming BCC “launches.”

In late May to early June, the BCC Book Review site will launch. Every week the BCC will post four biblical counseling book reviews. The site will also provide “The Best of Guides” (such as “The Top Ten Books on Biblical Counseling and Dealing with Anxiety”).

Then throughout the summer and on an ongoing basis, the BCC will launch the Free Resources section of the website. Eventually, the BCC plans to provide 1,000s of free articles, forms, counseling guides, videos, and audio resources.

Three Audiences

Every section of the BCC website will focus on three audiences:

• People seeking biblical care: all of us—people in need of change.

• People providing biblical care: pastors, counselors, spiritual friends.

• People equipping biblical care-givers: educators, equippers, writers.

If you’d like to be placed on the BCC e-mailing list to hear more updates and receive periodic e-blasts and e-newsletters, sign-up on the BCC home page.

Join the Conversation

• What blog post topics would you like to see the BCC address?

• What books would you like the BCC to review?

• What free resource topics would you want the BCC to provide?

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Counseling Coalition, Bob Kellemen, Deepak Reju, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Paul Tripp, Steve Viars

What About Bob? What About RPM? 

In less than two minutes, learn about the mission and vision of RPM Ministries, and find out the answer to that age-old question, “What about Bob?”

View the video on YouTube

Tags: Bob Kellemen, Dr. Robert W. Kellemen, RPM Ministries, Video

Announcing the Launch of the Biblical Counseling Coalition

During the past year, over two-dozen leading pastors, biblical counselors, and Christian educators have been prayerfully discussing whether the time is right to launch a new coalition of organizations, leaders, and participants in the biblical counseling movement. Those leaders are excited to announce the official launch of the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

Pastor Steve Viars, the President of the BCC Board of Directors, captures the BCC’s purpose.

“The BCC is all about promoting relationships and providing resources. There are many tremendous organizations and individuals involved in the biblical counseling movement. The BCC seeks to connect such men and women in a way that creates a natural and healthy synergy. We believe that together we can accomplish more.”

The coalition’s Mission Statement further focuses the BCC’s vision.

The BCC exists to strengthen churches, para-church organizations, and educational institutions by promoting excellence and unity in biblical counseling as a means to accomplish compassionate outreach and effective discipleship.

The BCC wants to be a catalyst further strengthening and unifying already-existing biblical counseling ministries, churches, and schools committed to biblical counseling. The BCC is a bridging ministry keeping people connected to and informed about conferences, blogs, resources, and classes offered by other biblical counseling ministries.

The BCC’s Executive Director, Dr. Bob Kellemen, highlights the three-fold audience to which the BCC seeks to minister.

“We want to strengthen the biblical counseling movement by ministering to people who offer care, people who are seeking care, and people who train care-givers. For example, on our site and in links to other sites, people will find blogs, book reviews, videos, and resource articles on a topic such as depression. Some of those resources will be written for those who offer care—pastors, biblical counselors, lay spiritual friends. Some will be written to help the person who is seeking care for depression to find biblical hope and wisdom. Some will discuss depression from a theological perspective so that those who train care-givers can be stretched through the iron-sharpening-iron process.”

The Biblical Counseling Coalition seeks to serve the entire church. Pastor Garrett Higbee, who serves as the Treasurer of the BCC Board, explains that:

“More than counseling, the vision of the BCC is for the entire church to speak God’s truth in love. We want to motivate and equip folks at the most basic levels of self-counsel, one-another ministry, small group leadership, and intentional discipleship. We want counseling with truth and love to become viral in the church and to be a foundational part of every discipleship-based ministry.”

Learn more about the BCC’s robust, relational vision of biblical counseling by visiting the Biblical Counseling Coalition. At the “under construction” website you’ll find:

• The BCC’s Confessional Statement

• The BCC’s Doctrinal Statement

• The BCC’s Mission/Vision/Passion Statement

• A Welcome from Pastor Steve Viars, the President of the BCC’s Board of Directors

• A Welcome from Dr. Bob Kellemen, the Executive Director of the BCC

• Bios of the BCC’s Board of Directors and Council Board Members

• Testimonials: “Why We Need the BCC”

• Coming Soon: A Listing of Resources the BCC Will Be Offering 

Website: www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org

Email: info@biblicalcc.org

Twitter: www.twitter.com/biblicalcc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BiblicalCounselingCoalition

Promoting Personal Change Centered on the Person of Christ

Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Counseling Coalition, Steve Viars

What About Bob?

Yep, What About Bob? was the name of a funny Bill Murray movie. But it’s also what a number of you have been asking me.

You’ve been wondering where my normal seven-day-a-week blogging has gone. Some have even emailed me to say, “I had to check my RSS feed because I was sure it was broken when I didn’t get to read your daily posts!”

Over the last six weeks, I’ve posted more like three times a week instead of daily. Why? Ministry and family.

Wrapping up my book Equipping Counselors for the Local Church was quite the task–fun and worthwhile for sure, but a lot of work.

Working on the many details of the launch of the Biblical Counseling Coalition has also consumed a lot of my time. But this is an exciting ministry that will soon be ready to “go public.”

Preparing to teach a week-long modular class (M-F, 8-5) at Capital Bible Seminary has also been a pressing area of focus.

And then family. What a wonderful time with family and friends from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day. Oh, I worked in-between those days just like most of you. But whenever possible we hosted a host of parties, attended a batch of bashes, and just plain had a ball.

I don’t say any of this to apologize, but only to let people know what about Bob? My readers have come to expect a daily post relating truth to life, and as life allows, that path will continue.

Where’s Bob?

Others have asked, Where’s Bob? They’ve noted that I have yet to post my 2011 ministry schedule.

Yep. I’ve been so busy that I’ve been too busy to even post my upcoming schedule. Here are just a few upcoming events. By the way, I’m booked already through 2011 and I’m taking dates for 2012.

1. January 10-14, 2011: Teaching a seminary class M-F, 8-5 at Capital Bible Seminary. The class is Theology and Psychology. It takes a biblical look at the important issue of the relationship between theology/the Word and psychology.

2. January 16, 2011: Preaching on Celebrating the Heroes of the Black Church at Cornerstone Community Church in Hobart, IN.

3. January 17-28, 2011: Focused full-time for two weeks on about a dozen launch issues for the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

4. January 29, 2011: Presenting my all-day Changing Lives Seminar (9-4) at Grace Bible Church of Lorton, VA. It’s a one-day, interactive summary of how to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth so we learn how to care like Christ.

5. February 7-11, 2011: Teaching five times at the Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry Conference in Lafayette, Indiana. Also a boatload of meetings.

6. February 12, 2011: Participating in the Walk for Hope breast cancer fund-raiser in Munster, IN. I’ll be donating multiple copies of God’s Healing for Life’s Losses as part of the silent auction.

7. February 13, 2011: Partying with my wife on her birthday!!!

There’s a lot more, and I’ll eventually post my entire schedule on the web site under Where’s Bob? But that’s enough to get you started.

Tags: Bob Kellemen, Schedule, What About Bob

Quotes of Note about God’s Healing, Part 7

Note: The following Quotes of Note are excerpted with permission from Chapter 6 of God’s Healing for Life’s Losses.

“Spiritual emergencies can produce spiritual emergence.”

“Faith looks back to the past recalling God’s mighty works. Hope looks ahead remembering God’s coming reward.”

“In Christ, loss is never final. Christ’s resurrection is the first-fruit of every resurrection.”

“Biblical hope is so heavenly minded that it is of great practical earthly good.”

“When we wait on God, we cling to God’s rope of hope, even when we can’t see it.”

“Hope waits. Hope is the refusal to demand heaven now.”

“Waiting is trusting God’s future provision without working to provide for myself.”

“Waiting is refusing to take over while refusing to give up. Waiting refuses self-rescue.”

“In biblical waiting, we neither numb our longings nor illegitimately fulfill them.”

“Healing says, “God is good—He’s good all the time.”

“In healing, God rolls the stone away. We celebrate the resurrection. We trust in our God who raises the dead.”

“I choose to embrace Christ’s healing hope. I choose to embrace the biblical truth that ‘it’s possible to hope and supernatural to grow.’”

“In suffering, instead of turning back, look back with eyes of faith to recall how God has rescued you in the past.”

“In suffering, instead of trusting in yourself, trust in God and look ahead with eyes of hope to remember the future God beckons you toward.”

Join the Conversation

Which quote most impacts you? What other quote brings you comfort during times of suffering?

Tags: God's Healing, Kellemen, Quotes