Serving Together: The Gospel Coalition and the Biblical Counseling Coalition 

Chicago will host the 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference, April 12-14. The theme of this year’s conference is They Testify About Me which highlights how all of Scripture, including the Old Testament, center on Christ: His person and work.

The theme is appropriate as The Gospel Coalition exists as ”a fellowship of evangelical churches deeply committed to renewing our faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming our ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures.” This year, the newly launched Biblical Counseling Coalition will have four active roles in the conference. This, too, is fitting, as “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.”

 David Powlison’s Workshop Session

Dr. David Powlison, of the CCEF and Board Member of the BCC, will lead a Wednesday (11-noon) session on The Pastor’s Counseling Ministry.

BCC Q/A Special Event

Dr. Powlison, Garrett Higbee (BCC BOD Member), Steve Viars (BCC BOD President), and Bob Kellemen (BCC Executive Director) will lead a BCC Q/A focused around Recent Advancements in Biblical Counseling. This special event will run from 12:30-1:30 PM on Wednesday.

BCC and Pastoral Care

Throughout the conference, the BCC will be providing pastoral care for attendees. This offering is motivated by TGC and the BCC’s concern for Christian leaders: who cares for the care-givers, who shepherds the shepherds?

BCC Booth

The BCC will also host a booth at the conference (booth 99) with literature related to the BCC, sample BCC documents, and sample materials authored by BCC Board Members and Council Board Members.

Join the Conversation

What are the benefits of para-church organizations serving together?

Tags: Biblical Counseling Coalition, Bob Kellemen, David Powlison, Garrett Higbee, Gospel Coalition, Steve Viars

The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling

Note: The Gospel Coalition originally posted the following article I wrote on The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling.

As I speak around the country on biblical counseling, I typically hear two very different responses. Sometimes I’m asked, “When you say ‘biblical counseling,’ you don’t mean ___________ do you?” Various people fill in that blank with different labels—negative to them. What a shame that placing the word “biblical” in front of “counseling” causes some in the church to recoil in fear.

But there’s good news—the tide is turning. I consistently hear comments like, “God has used biblical counseling to change my life.” And, “Our church’s biblical counseling ministry is impacting our entire congregation and our community for God’s glory.”

It’s exciting to reflect on what God is doing as He empowers leaders to equip His people to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:11-16). With that reality as the backdrop, here are the top ten positive trends that I see in biblical counseling today—shared in reverse order, of course, to heighten the anticipation.

10. A Collegial Spirit

Increasingly, members of biblical counseling organizations are choosing to work together and to learn from each other. The 2010 launch of the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC) is just one example. The vision of Pastor James MacDonald and Pastor Steve Viars, 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. BCC President Steve Viars, explains this collegial vision:

“The BCC is about relationships and resources. Relationships because we believe that together we can accomplish more. Resources because we want to help everyone interested in practicing biblical counseling in their churches to have the best tools and training possible.”

To read the rest of the post, visit The Gospel Coalition site for The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling.

To read the entire post in a PDF format, visit the RPM Ministries site at The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling.

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Biblical Counseling Coalition, Gospel Coalition, James MacDonald

The Best of the Best Around the Christian Net: This Week’s Top 5

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

The Top 100

Michael Hyatt tells us what Christian books sold best in 2010. Read all about it at The 100 Bestselling Christian Books of 2010. 

Seeing through a Glass Darkly

Ed Welch of CCEF has a very helpful, practical, insightful post about how depression distorts our perspective. See his thoughts at Depression’s Odd Filter.

Knowing God

Over at Between Two Worlds, Justin Taylor shares a brief but significant post about Devotion and Doctrine.

Biblical Counseling Today

Collin Hansen and the good folks at The Gospel Coalition invited me to share the following post that links you to the best of the best in modern biblical counseling. Read about it at The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling.

6 E-Book Trends

I rarely include two posts from the same blogger in the same week, but here’s an exception. Michael Hyatt has an interesting post about Six E-book Trends to Watch. The post also includes a great Yogi Berra quote: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Join the Conversation

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

Tags: Ed Welch, Justin Taylor, Michael Hyatt, The Best of the Best

Biblical Counseling, The Gospel Coalition, and Tim Challies

It’s not a bad day in the Christian blogosphere if The Gospel Coalition or Tim Challies make mention of your existence. It’s a humbling day when both sites highlight your thoughts or materials about biblical counseling. Such has been the past twenty-four hours for RPM Ministries.

I was honored when Collin Hansen and the folks at The Gospel Coalition asked me to share my thoughts about the current state and future trends in biblical counseling. You can find that post at the GC site at The Top Ten Trends in Biblical Counseling. One of aspects that I most enjoyed about that post was the opportunity to share well-deserved shout-outs to groups like CCEF, Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries, the Association of Biblical Counselors, and the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, along with shout-outs to a few of the many outstanding leaders in biblical counseling such as James MacDonald, Garrett Higbee, David Powlison, Steve Viars, Rob Green, Jeremy Lelek, John Henderson, Deepak Reju, Robert Cheong, Laura Hendrickson, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Charles Ware, Mike Wilkerson, Heath Lambert, and Kevin Carson.

I was equally honored when Tim Challies decided to offer gift packs of my books for his weekly Free Stuff Fridays. Check out today’s offer at Free Stuff Fridays. You’ll find summaries of and be able to sign up for a chance to win free copies of my first five books: Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, Beyond the Suffering, Sacred Friendships, and God’s Healing for Life’s Losses.

My passion, and thus the passion of RPM Ministries is to assist in equipping God’s people to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. If these two posts advance that vision, for the glory of Christ, then indeed, it is a good day.

Tags: Biblical Counseling, Gospel Coalition, Tim Challies

The Best of the Best Around the Christian Net: This Week’s Top 5

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

The Personal Ministry of the Word and the Pulpit Ministry of the Word

What is the relationship between biblical counseling and biblical preaching? Great question and Ed Welch provides a compelling answer in How Biblical Counseling Affects Preaching.

Living Nativity

Pastor Steve Viars ponders The Beauty of Serving Together in his post about meaningful service in the Body of Christ as members unite to build and “be” a living nativity scene. As the Apostle Paul said, we are epistles written on the heart…

Declining Interest in Marriage?

Jim Daley, President of Focus on the Family writes a guest article for Christianity Today in response to the recent Pew Survey of Americans’ view of marriage. Read his view in Marriage in Obsolescence.

What Is Justification?

Collin Hansen of the Gospel Coalition posts a long, detailed blog on the recently completed Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) meeting just completed in Atlanta. The keynote addresses and responses focused on the issue of the nature of justification. For an excellent summary of the discussion, read Hansen’s post: Justification: A Debate Long Overdue.

Justification, Take Two

Mike Wittmer pens a briefer yet still important and compelling post about the same ETS meeting. For his take on the controversy, read Wright at ETS.

Join the Conversation

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

Tags: CCEF, Gospel Coalition, Justification, N. T. Wright, The Best of the Best

Top 20 Sister Blogs

Yesterday I noted that this week is the One-Year Anniversary of the launch of the new RPM Ministries website. As part of “Anniversary Week,” today I’m sharing the Top Twenty Referral Sites. These sites referred the most readers, but more importantly, they are excellent sites for your life and ministry. I thank each of them for their referrals and for their ministry in my life.

1. Challies.Com: The Internet home of Christian blogger and book reviewer, Tim Challies—one of the most popular Christian bloggers in the world.

2. The Gospel Coalition: The premier site for Evangelical Christians deeply committed to renewing their faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures.

3. Discerning Reader: A site dedicated to reviewing Christian books (I post reviews on Discerning Reader on Christian living, biblical counseling, church history, and multi-cultural ministry).

4. CCEF: The Christian Counseling and Education Foundation—home to blogs and resources by leading biblical counselors such as David Powlison, Tim Lane, Paul Tripp, Ed Welch, and Mike Emlet.

5. Monergism: This one pleasantly surprised me coming in this high, simply because I had not realize they were linking this often and sending this many visitors. Monergism exists to equip Christians in the truth by making available the finest classic articles and resources of historical orthodoxy.

6. Everyday Christian: Your source for Christian views on the news (I post my take on topics relevant to Christian living and the news).

7. Kingdom People: The Net home of author (Holy Subversion) and blogger Trevin Wax. Among other great resources his “Trevin’s Seven” keeps you current on the best blogs each week.

8. GriefShare: An excellent ministry with resources and small group recovery ministries. My book God’s Healing for Life’s Losses is the first ever “GriefShare Presents” book.

9. Don’t Stop Believing: Mike Wittmer’s blog provides excellent, easy-to-read insights into Christian theology for everyday living.

10. Adrian Warnock: Adrian is a Christian writer, blogger, and author of Raised with Christ.

11. Phoenix Preacher:  Linking you to up-to-date Christian resources on the web.

12. Grace Dependent: The web home of Pastor Mark Kelly, a good friend, godly pastor, and skilled biblical counselor.

13. The Gospel Coalition Review: A Christian book review ministry of the Gospel Coalition (I post book reviews for them on biblical counseling topics).

14. Counseling Solutions: Rick Thomas’ site where you’ll find excellent resources for biblical counseling and Christian living.

15. Brad Hambrick: Blogs and resources from a biblical counselor with great biblical insight and practical information.

16. Wise Counsel: Phil Monroe’s site: Musings of a Christian Psychologist. Provides thought-provoking daily blogs.

17. Lucy Ann Moll: Caring biblical counselor, speaker, blogger, and writer.

18. Biblical Counseling for Women: The blog home of Julie Ganschow—an excellent biblical counselor and insightful blogger.

19. Dr. Laura Hendrickson: Laura is a psychiatrist and biblical counselor—a rare combination, and her refreshing insights are well worth applying.

20. Capital Bible Seminary: The seminary where I teach and where I launched and chaired the MA in Christian Counseling and Discipleship department.

Join the Conversation

What Christian blogs minister to you the most?

Tags: Discerning Reader, Gospel Coalition, Tim Challies, Trevin Wax