Five to Live By

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

Linsanity

Owen Strachan provides some insight (plus some great video clips!) into emerging NBA star and committed Christian, Jeremy Lin. Read and view at Linsanity—Jeremy Lin, Christian, Basketball Star. Is Lin the next Tebow?

6 Ways to Help People Pray 

Michael McKinley at 9Marks shares Six Ways to Help People Pray. He develops each point in the following outline:

• Set aside a lot of time in your gatherings to pray.

• Pray different kinds of prayers in your gatherings.

• Pray big prayers.

• Put work into your prayers.

• Tell your people that/how you are praying for them.

• Give your people good resources.

The Pastor As Counselor

CCEF has re-launched the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Every article is online for free. An excellent example is David Powlison’s fine article The Pastor As Counselor. This article is not only for pastors, but for everyone who is committed to one-another ministry in the local church.

Step to Living Porn Free 

Brad Hambrick reviews Tim Chester’s book Closing the Window: Steps to Living Porn Free. Learn more about this valuable resource from Pastor Hambrick.

10 Digital Commandments 

David Murray provides ten practical principles to apply so that we will use technology wisely and effectively for the greater glory of God. Read his insights in 10 Digital Commandments.

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?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling

The Biblical Counseling Coalition and Harvest House Publishers have announced their partnership in the production of Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling. Forty-one co-authors are now working on twenty-eight chapters with a target publication in 2013. 

In line with the BCC’s mission and vision, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling will provide a positive presentation of the sufficiency of Scripture for progressive sanctification. Each chapter will share a robust and relational message of confidence in the sufficiency, relevancy, authority, and profundity of God’s Word. In line with the BCC’s passion, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling will promote personal change centered on the person of Christ through the personal ministry of the Word.

The Book’s Partnership

The mission of Harvest House is “to glorify God by providing high-quality books and products that affirm biblical values, help people grow spiritually strong, and proclaim Jesus Christ as the answer to every human need.”

The Biblical Counseling Coalition 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’s mission is to foster collaborative relationships and to provide robust, relevant biblical resources that equip the Body of Christ to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth.

The Book’s Purpose

Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling purposes to equip God’s people to understand how to change lives with biblical truth. The goal of the book is to increase people’s confidence in the sufficiency and relevancy of God’s Word to address real-life issues.

Just as there is currently an encouraging return to Gospel-centered preaching, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling seeks to become a catalyst for the return of God’s people to Gospel-centered one-another ministry. The message readers will receive about the church is that it is not simply a place with a biblical ministry, but a place of biblical counseling—a place saturated by confidence in the power of God’s Word shared in love by God’s people to change lives for God’s glory.

The focus of each chapter will be truth applied to life. This focus will be developed as each contributor in every chapter blends theological wisdom and practical expertise.

• Readers will receive a robust, loving, best-practice guide not only for why the authors love biblical counseling, but why the reader should embrace biblical counseling.

• Readers will be encouraged to trust God’s Word to provide rich insight for living in the midst of even the most difficult times of suffering and relational conflict and the most distressing battles against besetting sins.

The Book’s Audience

Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling will be written for people in the pews, pastors in their studies, counselors in their offices, and students in Christian college, graduate school, and seminary class rooms. In addition to those already self-identified as “biblical counselors,” the audience for Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling includes thousands of Christian lay people, pastors, para-church leaders, counseling practitioners, students, and educators who are hungry for a truly biblical approach to counseling.

• Pastors will be encouraged to be confident in their God-given competence to minister to their people in the historic tradition of soul physicians.

• God’s people will be encouraged to be confident in their God-given competence to minister to one another in the historic tradition of spiritual friends.

Learn More 

We’re very early in the process. Over the next year, if you’re interested in learning more about the book (including co-authors, chapter titles, production updates, cover images, etc.), click here to sign up for our BCC email updates.

Join the Conversation

What aspects of the book’s purpose most resonate with you?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

The Return of the CCEF’s Journal of Biblical Counseling

I’m excited to join CCEF to announce that as of February 7, 2012 they are re-launching the Journal of Biblical Counseling as an online publication. CCEF has been on the “cutting edge” of biblical counseling for decades and I highly prize their ministry. 

The CCEF Announcement

“e have been working behind the scenes for four years in anticipation of this day. Readers will find the Journal of Biblical Counseling (JBC) easy to access on the CCEF website and will be able to share it worldwide with friends and colleagues.

JBC’s mission is to develop clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling and make it available to pastors, counselors and others in helping and discipling ministries. We want Christ to be honored and Christ’s church to grow wise in both the content and the methods of counseling. David Powlison continues in the role of Senior Editor, guiding the selection and development of content.

Articles in the current issue include “Listening to Prozac… and to the Scriptures” by Mike Emlet, and “The Pastor as Counselor” by David Powlison. We are also initiating two new regular columns in the JBC. Counselor’s Toolbox will offer concrete, succinct helps for counselors. Lives in Process will present first-person case studies. We will also continue to offer a variety of book reviews, sermons and interviews.

The current online issue of JBC will be free of charge. We also plan to sell a print edition and hope to make past issues available online.

View David Powlison’s Announcement

Dr. David Powlison discusses the return of the Journal of Biblical Counseling after a four-year hiatus. Watch here. 

Find Out More Via CCEF

For daily updates and direct links, be sure to visit the following CCEF sites:

• CCEF’s Home Page

• CCEF’s Journal Page

• CCEF on Facebook

• CCEF at Googel+

• CCEF on Twitter.  On Twitter follow #JBC.

Join the Conversation

What past articles from JBC have most impacted your life and ministry?

What future article topics would you like to see JBC cover?

What books would you like to see JBC review?

Note: This article was first published at the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Grace & Truth blog site. You can also read it there at The Return of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. 

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Jay Adams Is Deep and Compassionate

My two-hour flight home from two days of team meetings at Capital Bible Seminary provided some time for reflection. In particular, I pondered Jay Adams’ nouthetic counseling model. 

Here’s a summary of my “second look” at Adams.

Jay Adams Was/Is a Model Builder and a Movement Builder 

While the Puritans were great builders of soul care and shepherding models, since their day few Christians have developed, from scratch, a biblically-based approach to people, problems, and solutions. Adams has done so…from scratch, not building on other current models, but building on God’s Word.

Whether or not you agree with Jay Adams’ model is not my point. My point is to affirm the facts: who else in Christian circles in the past fifty years has independently built a unique, new, fresh, comprehensive approach to counseling?

Add to that…a model that became a sustained “movement.” The “biblical counseling movement” is now entering its third generation. It has grown, changed, and developed as Powlison’s book and Lambert’s book indicate. But it traces its roots to Jay Adams.

I try to imagine what it must have been like to be starting from scratch in the early 70s. Counseling every day, studying Scripture, applying truth to the lives of hurting and hardened parishioners, teaching others, writing books, and shepherding a growing movement. Again, disagree with “the movement” if you want to, but let’s give Jay Adams credit for the massive work of building a fresh model and a sustained movement while pastoring/shepherding/counseling real folks with real life issues.

Jay Adams Was/Is a Comprehensive Theorizer 

While the Puritans were great soul physicians developing theological manuals about the soul, since their day few Christians have developed a counseling/shepherding/pastoring-focused theological and practical manual. Adams has.

Yes, many today are penning “Christian counseling” and “biblical counseling” books. But few seek to provide a comprehensive theology/theory of people, problems, and solutions. Adams did throughout his writings, and particularly with A Theology of Christian Counseling: More Than Redemption, The Christian Counselor’s Manual, and Competent to Counsel.

In the past fifty years a few others have sought to develop a comprehensive theory of Christian/biblical counseling: Larry Crabb with Understanding People and his other writings, Eric Johnson with Foundations of Soul Care, myself with Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends. While these authors vary greatly from one another, they have in common writing not only about particular counseling issues and practical counseling methods, but seeking to develop a comprehensive Christian theory. Adams paved the way.

Like or dislike his theory/model, but don’t call him shallow. Disagree with him at specific points if you decide to, but do it engaging his actual (copious) writings, not as a broad brush stroke: “He’s not deep,” or “He’s too ________.” It’s easy to make those charges about anyone…in the abstract…

Here’s one specific example. Some claim that Adams’ “dehabituation and rehabituation” model is shallow and behavioral. Anyone saying that should read Kent Dunnington’s Addiction and Virtue. While I suspect that Adams might disagree with a decent amount of Dunnington’s book, nonetheless, the book demonstrates that “habit” is a deeply theological and philosophical construct with literally 1,000s of years of history behind it.

Dunnington builds a sophisticated case that habit is anything but “behavioralistic.” Habit, rightly understood, as Adams did, is about motivations of the heart—how they are structured, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Again, disagree with Adams “take” on “habituation” if you wish, but at least engage the depth of his insights with specific reasons for disagreement…

Jay Adams Was/Is a Rare Combination: A Theologian/Practitioner 

I’ve already “hinted at” this category. Jay was doing all of this “theological theorizing” while pastoring, shepherding, discipling, and equipping. His in-depth thinking about the Bible’s truth about people, problems, and solutions was never done as some “ivory tower academic.” It was never uncoupled from the real life struggles that parishioners and counselees were bringing to him daily.

Fifty years later, we have some folks who are good writers of theory/theology of biblical/Christian counseling. Some who are good writers of practice/methodology of biblical/Christian counseling. Some who are good counselors-practitioners. Few combine all these talents.

Agree or disagree with Jay, but let’s give him his due. He was/is that rare combination of theologian/practitioner, thinker/doer, visionary/movement builder.

Jays Adams Was/Is Compassionate 

This header, perhaps more than others, may be met by some with dismay and statements like: “But Jay and nouthetic counseling are all about harsh confrontation!” First, that in itself is an inaccurate and unfair caricature.

Second, while Jay’s writing and counseling style may not be as “warm and fuzzy” and “empathetic” as some of us may prefer, that’s different from assessing his level of heart compassion. Think about one of Jay’s basic definitions of nouthetic counseling: to confront out of concern for change.

Real people were coming to Jay. They had been to “secular counselors” and their problems in living were not being addressed effectively and biblically. They had been to their pastors who either provided warmed-over secular therapy or admitted that they had no training in pastoral care.

These hurting, struggling folks were coming to Jay with their besetting sins. He strove to help them biblically to change for good. By “for good,” I’m implying both: a.) for the long term, and b.) for good and godly motivation: for God’s glory and so they could minister more effectively in the lives of others.

People were stuck in their sins and Jay wanted to turn to the Bible to help people change. That strikes me as compassionate.

Pastors sensed that they lacked competence to help their hurting parishioners. Ministers lacked confidence in the Bible’s ability to address the real life issues their sheep were struggling against. Jay sought to help pastors, in particular, to regain their confidence in God’s Word and to develop competence in using God’s Word to help their flock. That strikes me as compassionate.

What’s Up with Bob?

Some may be wondering, “What’s up with you, Bob? When did you become Jay Adams’ ‘apologist’?” I’m not anyone’s apologist. Jay Adams does not need me to “defend” him. I’m simply sharing some reflections from 36 hours ago at 36,000 feet.

Others may be wondering, “Who are you targeting with this blog post? Who are you taking shots at?”

No one.

Well, if anyone, perhaps myself.

Perhaps in taking “a second look,” I am doing some “nouthetic self-confrontation” regarding my past level of appreciation for Jay Adams as a model builder, movement builder, comprehensive theorizer, theologian/practitioner, and compassionate care-giver.

If that same shoe fits for you, then you can choose to wear it also.

My “model” and my “style” still are not identical to Jay’s nouthetic counseling. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t deeply appreciate and respect who he is in Christ and what he has done for the Body of Christ through Christ’s grace.

Join the Conversation 

What do you think? Is Jay Adams deep and compassionate?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 8

Note: You’re reading Part 8 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. 

So far we’ve shared quotes from Luther’s pastoral care ministry of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding. Now we shift focus to factors that shaped Luther’s pastoral counseling: his spiritual trials and his theological convictions.

Spiritual Trials and Biblical Counseling 

Luther called his spiritual trials anfechtungen (the plural form for spiritual trials) or anfechtung (the singular form of the same word). He clearly connected these strivings to his theological development.

Bainton emphasized the importance of anfechtung, while he also provided a working definition.

“Toward God he was at once attracted and repelled. Only in harmony with the Ultimate could he find peace. But how could a pygmy stand before divine Majesty; how could a transgressor confront divine Holiness? Before God the high and holy Luther was stupefied. For such an experience he had a word. The word he used was Anfechtung, for which there is no English equivalent. It may be a trial sent from God to test man, or an assault by the Devil to destroy man. It is all the doubt, turmoil, pang, terror, panic, despair, desolation, and desperation which invade the spirit of man” (p. 42).

“I didn’t learn my theology all at once. I had to ponder over it ever more deeply, and my spiritual trials were of help to me, for one does not learn anything without practice” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 50).

“If I live longer, I would like to write a book about anfechtungen, for without them no person is able to know Holy Scripture, nor faith, the fear or the love of God. He does not know the meaning of hope who was never subject to temptations” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

Speaking of his battle with anfechtungen, Luther wrote, “living, dying and being damned make the real theologian” (LW, Vol. 41, p. xi).

“I can say nothing about grace outside of those temptations” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

“Theology is not learned on a peaceful path, or through tranquil reflection: it is acquired per afflictions” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

“Anfechtung is the touchstone which teaches you not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting the Word of God is, wisdom beyond all wisdom” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

Luther As Physician of His Own Soul

“When I was in spiritual distress (anfechtung) a gentle word would restore my spirit. Sometimes my confessor said to me when I repeatedly discussed silly sins with him, ‘You are a fool. God is not incensed against you. God is not angry with you, but you are angry with God’” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 15).

“It is not as reason and Satan argue: See there God flings you into prison, endangers your life. Surely he hates you. He is angry with you; for if He did not hate you, He would not allow this thing to happen. In this way Satan turns the rod of a Father into the rope of a hangman and the most salutary remedy into the deadliest poison” (LW, Vol. 16, p. 214).

“I was very pious in the monastery, yet I was sad because I thought God was not gracious to me” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 95).

“How can I face the terror of the Holy? The words ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness of God’ struck my conscience like lightning. When I heard them I was exceedingly terrified. If God is righteous I thought, he must punish me” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 193).

“He (the devil) can make the oddest syllogisms: ‘You have sinned. God is angry with sinners. Therefore despair!’ Accordingly we must proceed from the law to the gospel and grasp the article concerning the forgiveness of sin” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 275).

The Rest of the Story 

In Part 9, we’ll explore how Luther attempted to cure his own soul using the church culture remedies of his day. Then in Part 10 we’ll examine how Luther’s theological convictions about salvation by grace alone through faith alone through Christ alone led to Christ’s healing of Luther’s soul.

Join the Conversation 

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store. 

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 7

Note: You’re reading Part 7 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. 

In historic guiding, the pastoral counselor helps people to live out their faith in love in the power of grace: it’s supernatural to mature. In Luther’s guiding, he helped people to ask and find answers to questions about loving God and others in the daily outworking of life’s obligations.

Luther taught that when Scripture was dogmatic, then the counselor could be dogmatic. The spiritual director can say, “Thus saith the Lord,” if it is clearly written in the Word (LW, Vol. 48, pp. 256-263). Since the Scriptures purposely do not address every detail of life, wisdom is necessary. He wanted people seeking answers to wisdom questions such as these.

• What are my home, work, community, and church relationships like?

• In these relationships, am I doing those things which are indicative of faith in Christ?

• In these relationships am I doing those things which are indicative of love for others?

• In these relationships am I doing anything which is contrary to my conscience?

Principle # 1 in Discerning God’s Will: Am I Doing What Is Indicative of Faith in Christ?

“There is only one article of faith and one rule of theology, and this is true faith or trust in Christ” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 157).

“Concerning the verse in Galatians (5:6), ‘faith working through love,’ we also say that faith doesn’t exist without works. However, Paul’s view is this: Faith is active in love, that is, that faith justifies which expresses itself in acts. Faith comes first and then love follows” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 74).

“All that remains is for us now to pray that our eyes, that is the eyes of our faith, may be opened that we may see. Then there will be nothing for us to fear” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 163).

“The devil is a master at finding the spot it hurts most. He can fashion the oddest syllogisms. For example, ‘You have sinned; God is wrathful toward sinners; therefore despair.’ Here it is necessary that we proceed from the Law to the Gospel and lay hold of the article of the forgiveness of sins” (LSC, p. 100).

Principle # 2 in Discerning God’s Will: Am I Doing What Is Indicative of Love for Others

“One must not flee into a corner. So the second table teaches that one must do good to one’s neighbor. We ought not to isolate ourselves but enter into companionship with our neighbor. Likewise it (this notion) is in conflict with marriage, economic life, and political existence and is contrary to the life of Christ, who didn’t choose solitude. Christ’s life was very turbulent, for people were always moving about him. He was never alone, except when he prayed. Away with those who say, ‘Be glad to be alone and your heart will be pure’” (LW, Vol. 54, pp. 140-141).

“God created man for society and not for solitude. This may be supported by the argument that he created two sexes, male and female. Likewise God founded the Christian Church, the communion of saints, and instituted the Sacraments, preaching and consolations in the Church” (LSC, p. 95).

“A woman suckling an infant or a maid sweeping a threshing floor with a broom is just as pleasing to God as an idle nun” (LW, Vol. 6, p. 348).

“God wants no lazy idlers. Men should work diligently and faithfully, each according to his calling and profession, and then God will give blessings and success” (LW, Vol. 14, p. 115).

Principle # 3 in Discerning God’s Will: Never Do Anything Contrary to the Conscience

“Everything that is not of faith is sin, because it goes counter to faith and conscience; for we must beware with all possible zeal that we may not violate our conscience” (Commentary on Romans, p. 206).

“What the Apostle teaches is that in the new Law (the Gospel covenant) everything is free and nothing necessary (for salvation) for those who believe in Christ, except ‘charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned’ (I Tim. 1:5) (Commentary on Romans, p. 195).

“We fail to take into consideration that we should do all things not under the pressure of coercion, or driven by the goad of anxious fear, but moved by a cheerful and fully free will, if they are to please God. In all we do, we must consider not what we have done or what there is to be done; not what we failed to do or what we should fail to do; also not what good we have done or what good we have omitted, or what evil we have done or omitted. But we should rather consider of what nature and how strong our good will has been, and the readiness and cheerfulness of our heart with which we have done all or intend to do all” (Commentary on Romans, p. 197).

The Rest of the Story

In Part 8, we’ll shift focus from Luther’s actual pastoral care to shaping factors in Luther’s life that influenced how he sustain, healed, reconciled, and guided others.

Join the Conversation

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth