Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 3

Note: You’re reading Part 3 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 and Part 2.  

In Parts 1 and 2, we enjoyed quotes regarding Luther’s ministry of biblical sustaining: bringing people God’s comfort by empathizing with their suffering. In Parts 3, 4, and 5, we learn from Luther’s ministry of biblical healing: bringing people encouragement and helping them to find Christ’s healing hope.

To promote spiritual maturity, Luther pointed people away from relief and to God. Luther was less concerned with “solutions” and more concerned with “soul-u-tions”—Christ-dependence.

The Spiritual Significance of Suffering: God Shouts to Us in Our Pain—Delicious Despair

“By these vicissitudes He teaches us not to be arrogant, as we might be if we were always strong. We are best off when we ourselves acknowledge that we are framed of dust and are mere dust” (LSC, p. 41).

“I believe that this trial comes to you, as it does to other brethren who occupy high stations, in order that we may be humbled” (LSC, p. 41).

“Therefore, we should willingly endure the hand of God in this and in all suffering. Do not be worried; indeed such a trial is the very best sign revealing God’s grace and love for man” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 184).

God sends pain and suffering because He “wishes to break your will. He is apt to lay His hand upon us just where it will give us the most pain, in order to slay our old Adam” (LSA, p. 172).

“Whether man believes it or not, it is most certain and true that no torture can compare with the worst of all evils, namely, the evil within man himself. The evils of sin within him are more numerous and far greater than any which he feels. If a man were to feel his evil, he would feel hell, for he has hell within himself” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 125).

Suffering: God’s Healing Medicine against the Disease of Self-Trust

“This is the school in which God chastens us and teaches us to trust in Him so that our faith may not always stay in our ears and hover on our lips but may have its true dwelling place in the depths of our hearts” (LSC, p. 56).

“The most dangerous trial of all is when there is no trial, when everything is all right and running smoothly. That is when a man tends to forget God, to become too independent and put his time of prosperity to a wrong use. In fact, at this time he has more need to call upon God’s name than in adversity” (LW, Vol. 44, p. 47).

“Inasmuch as tribulation serves the same purpose as rhubarb, myrrh, aloes, or an antidote against all the worms, poison, decay, and dung of this body of death, it ought not to be despised. We must not willingly seek or select afflictions, but we must accept those which God sees fit to visit upon us, for he knows which are suitable and salutary for us and how many and how heavy they should be” (LSC, p. 165).

Reinterpreting Suffering: Viewing Life with a Scriptural Lens 

“The Holy Spirit knows that a thing has only such value and meaning to a man as he assigns to it in his thoughts” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 124).

“By the help of God I have learned how to heal those under temptation and by experience I have learned how one should act when afflicted with sadness, despair or other heart sorrow, or has a worm gnawing in his conscience. Let us first lay hold of the comfort of the divine Word and then seek the conversation of pious Christian people and we will soon be better” (LSA, p. 175-176).

“Human reason cannot be content until it has looked about for human help” (LSA, p. 176).

“Therefore, whenever anyone is assailed by temptation of any sort whatever, the very best that he can do in the case is either to read something in the Holy Scriptures, or think about the Word of God, and apply it to his heart. The Word of God heals and restores again to health the mind and heart of man when wounded by the arrows of the devil” (LSA, p. 178).

“Christ heals people by means of his precious Word, as he also declares in the 50th chapter of Isaiah (verse 4): ‘The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to speak a word in season to the weary.’ St. Paul also teaches likewise, in Romans xv 14, that we should obtain and strengthen hope from the comfort of the Holy Scriptures, which the devil endeavors to tear out of people’s hearts in times of temptations. Accordingly, as there is no better nor more powerful remedy in temptations than to diligently read and heed the Word of God “(LSA, p. 179).

Without the Word, a Christian is like a soldier, “entering upon conflict naked and unprotected” (LSA, p. 180). With the Word, the Christian could defeat even the “most practiced and experienced warrior” (LSA, p. 180).

The Rest of the Story

In Part 4, we’ll learn from Luther how to gain a faith perspective on our suffering.

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 for $15.

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Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 2

Note: You’re reading Part 2 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.  

In Part 1, we enjoyed quotes regarding Luther’s ministry of biblical sustaining: bringing people God’s comfort by empathizing with their suffering. Foremost in this process was helping people to turn their eyes to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross.

Having turned people to Christ for His infinite comfort, Luther then became “Jesus with skin on” by empathizing with his hurting spiritual friends.

Participation in Suffering: I Suffer with You

“I wish to write this to you because I am anxious about your illness (for we know not the hour), that I might become a participant of your faith, temptation, consolation, and thanks to God for his holy Word . . .” (LSC, p. 31).

“So I pray that the Lord will make me sick in your place.” (LSC, p. 48).

“We must support one another and be supported” (LSC, p. 40).

“I know that your trials contribute to the glory of God and to your profit and that of many others. I, too, suffered from such trials, and at the time I had nobody to console me. When I complained about such spiritual assaults to my good Staupitz, he replied, ‘I don’t understand this; I know nothing about it.’ You now have the advantage that you can come to me, to Philip (Melanchthon), or to Cordatus to seek comfort . . . .” (LW, Vol. 54, pp. 132-133).

“Accordingly we all are deeply grieved by his death . . . As is natural, your son’s death, and the report of it, will distress and grieve your heart and that of your wife, since you are his parents. I do not blame you for this, for all of us—I in particular—are stricken with sorrow” (LW, Vol. 50, p. 51).

Permission to Grieve

“It is quite inconceivable that you should not be mourning. In fact, it would not be encouraging to learn that a father and mother are not grieved over the death of their son. The wise man, Jesus Sirach, says this in ch. 22: ‘Weep for the dead, for light hath failed him . . .’” (LSC, p. 61).

“Grace and peace. My dear Ambrose: I am not so inhuman that I cannot appreciate how deeply the death of Margaret distresses you. For the great and godly affection which binds a husband to his wife is so strong that it cannot easily be shaken off, and this feeling of sorrow is not so displeasing to God . . . since it is an expression of what God has assuredly implanted in you. Nor would I account you a man, to say nothing of a good husband, if you could at once throw off your grief” (LSC, p. 62).

“Grace and peace in Christ. My dear Cordatus: May Christ comfort you in this sorrow and affliction of yours. Who else can soothe such a grief? I can easily believe what you write, for I too have had experience of such a calamity, which comes to a father’s heart sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the marrow, etc. But you ought to remember that it is not to be marvelled at if he, who is more truly and properly a father than you were, preferred for his own glory that your son—nay, rather his son—should be with him rather than with you, for he is safer there than here. But all of this is vain, a story that falls on deaf ears, when your grief is so new. I therefore yield to your sorrows. Greater and better men than we are have given way to grief and are not blamed for it” (LSC, p. 60).

“When I asked him about the passage in which Jeremiah cursed the day in which he had been born and suggested that such impatience was a sin, he (Martin Luther) replied, ‘Sometimes one has to wake up our Lord God with such words. Otherwise he doesn’t hear. It is a case of real murmuring on the part of Jeremiah. Christ spoke in this way. ‘How long am I to be with you?’ (Mark 9:19). Moses went so far as to throw his keys at our Lord God’s feet when he asked, ‘Did I conceive all this people?’ (Num. 11:12).’ Accordingly it is only speculative theologians who condemn such impatience and recommend patience. If they get down to the realm of practice, they will be aware of this” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 30-31).

“The Scriptures do not prohibit mourning and grieving over deceased children. On the contrary, we have many examples of godly patriarchs and kings who mournfully bewailed the death of their sons. At the same time you ought to leave room for consolation” (LSC, p. 67).

Comfort in Community: Do Not Grieve Alone

“‘He’s gnawing at his own heart, said Luther. ‘I, too, often suffer from severe trials and sorrows. At such times I seek the fellowship of men, for the humblest maid has often comforted me. A man doesn’t have control of himself when he is downcast and alone, even if he is well equipped with a knowledge of the Scriptures. It is not for nothing that Christ gathers his church around the Word and the sacraments and around prayer and hymns and is unwilling to let these be hidden in a corner. Away with monks and hermits! These are inventions of Satan because they exist apart from all the godly ordinances and arrangements of God. According to the plan of creation every man is either a domestic or a political or an ecclesiastical person. Outside of these ordinances he is not a man, unless he is miraculously exempted. Accordingly a solitary life should be avoided as much as possible’” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 268).

“The papists and Anabaptists teach: ‘If you wish to know Christ, try to be alone, don’t associate with men, become a separatist.’ This is plainly diabolical advice which is in conflict with the first and second table . . .” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 140).

“Thereupon he entreated Weller to cultivate the company of men when he is afflicted with such melancholy and not live alone. ‘Woe to him who is alone,’ the preacher says (Eccles. 4:10). When I’m morose I flee above all from solitude” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 276).

“Be very careful not to leave your husband alone for a single moment, and leave nothing lying about with which he might harm himself. Solitude is poison to him. For this reason the devil drives him to it” (LSC, p. 91).

“This is my only and best advice: Don’t remain alone when you are assailed! Flee solitude!” (LSA, p. 277).

“Seek the company of others who may be able to rejoice with Your Grace in a godly and honorable way. For solitude and melancholy are poisonous and fatal to all people, and especially to a young man. No one realizes how much harm it does a young person to avoid pleasure and cultivate solitude and sadness” (LSC, p. 93).

“All Christians truly are of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except to office. Paul says in I Corinthians 12 that we are all one body, yet every member has its own work by which it serves the others. This is because we all have one baptism, one gospel, and faith, and are all Christians alike; for baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people” (LW, Vol. 44, p. 127).

The Rest of the Story 

In Part 3, we’ll see how Luther, having first turned empathized with and comforted others, next encouraged others to find Christ’s healing hope.

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 for $15.

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

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 1

In my Ph.D. dissertation, I studied Martin Luther’s pastoral care. The official title was Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. 

I learned so much about biblical counseling from Luther that I want to share with you Quotes of Note from my study. In Part One of this blog mini-series, we enjoy quotes regarding Luther’s ministry of biblical sustaining: bringing people God’s comfort by empathizing with their suffering.

Specifically, Luther began his sustaining ministry by joining people in developing a faith perspective on their suffering. Foremost in this process was helping people to turn their eyes to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross.

Developing a Faith Perspective on Suffering

“If only a man could see his God in such a light of love how happy, how calm, how safe he would be! He would then truly have a God from whom he would know with certainty that all his fortunes—whatever they might be—had come to him and were still coming to him under the guidance of God’s most gracious will” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 154).

“The mercy of God shows us in our infirmity that even though death should not be taken away, its power has been reduced by him to a mere shadow” (LW, Vo. 42, p. 150).

“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).

“He who does not believe that he is forgiven by the inexhaustible riches of Christ’s righteousness is like a deaf man hearing a story. If we considered it properly and with an attentive heart, this one image—even if there were no other—would suffice to fill us with such comfort that we should not only not grieve over our evils, but should also glory in our tribulations, scarcely feeling them for the joy that we have in Christ.” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 165)

“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).

“And it is equally true that we measure, feel, or do not feel our evils not on the basis of the facts, but on the basis of our thoughts and feelings about them” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 127).

“Faith, is, as it were, the center of a circle. If anybody strays from the center, it is impossible for him to have the circle around him, and he must blunder. The center is Christ” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 45).

“In speaking of the consolations which Christians have, the Apostle Paul in Romans 15:4 writes, ‘Brethren, whatever was written, was written for our instruction, so that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ In this passage he plainly teaches us that our consolations are to be drawn from the Holy Scriptures” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 124).

“Her illness is, as you see, rather of the mind than of the body. I am comforting her as much as I can, with my knowledge. In a word, her disease is not for the apothecaries (as they call them), nor is it to be treated with the salves of Hippocrates, but by constantly applying plasters of Scripture and the Word of God” (LC, p. 402).

Turn Your Eyes Upon the Cross of Christ: Christ Suffers with Us

“The flesh cries out against the belief that God is good, but the suffering Savior brings consolation that this is indeed true” (LSA, p. 157).

“God’s friendship is a bigger comfort than that of the whole world” (LW, Vol. 49, p. 306).

“When, therefore, I learned, most illustrious prince, that Your Lordship has been afflicted with a grave illness and that Christ has at the same time become ill in you, I counted it my duty to visit Your Lordship with a little writing of mine. I cannot pretend that I do not hear the voice of Christ crying out to me from Your Lordship’s body and flesh saying, ‘Behold, I am sick.’ This is so because such evils as illness and the like are not borne by us who are Christians but by Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, in whom we live even as Christ plainly testifies in the Gospel when he says, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” (LSC, p. 27).

“Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has by his most holy touch consecrated and hallowed all sufferings, even death itself, has blessed the curse, and has glorified shame and enriched poverty so that death is now a door to life, the curse a fount of blessing, and shame the mother of glory. Suffering has been touched and bathed by Christ’s pure and holy flesh and blood and thus have become holy, harmless, and wholesome, blessed, and full of joy for you. There is nothing, not even death, that his passion cannot sweeten” (LW, Vol. 42, pp. 141-142).

“Grace and peace in the Lord. Christ has given me abundant testimony of you, dear brother Lambert, that you do not need my words, for He Himself suffers in you and is glorified in you. He is taken captive in you and reigns in you, He is oppressed in you and triumphs in you, for He has given you that holy knowledge of Himself which is hidden from the world.” (LC, p. 213).

“Herewith I commend you to Him who loves you more than you love yourself” (LW, Vol. 49, p. 270).

“True faith draws forth the following conclusion: God is God for me because He speaks to me. He forgives my sins. He is not angry with me, just as He promises: ‘I am the Lord your God.’ Now search your heart, and ask whether you believe that God is your God, Father, Savior, and Deliverer, who wants to rescue you” (LW, Vol. 4, p. 149).

(Discussing Psalm 119, “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.”) “The first verse teaches us where we should turn when misfortune comes upon us—not to the emperor, not to the sword, not to our own devices and wisdom, but to the Lord, who is our only real help in time of need. ‘I cried unto the Lord in my distress,’ he says. That we should do this confidently, cheerfully, and without fail he makes clear when he says, ‘And he heard me.’ It is as if he would say, ‘The Lord is pleased to have us turn to him in our distress and is glad to hear and help us’ (LSC, p. 204).

“Our sufferings have not yet become so deep and bitter as were those of his own dear Son and of the mother of our Lord. By the thought of these we should be comforted and strengthened in our sufferings, as St. Peter teaches us (first epistle, iii.18): ‘Christ has once suffered for us, the just for the unjust’” (LSA, p. 148).

The Rest of the Story

In Part Two, we’ll see how Luther, having first turned people to Christ for His infinite comfort, then became “Jesus with skin on” by empathizing with his hurting spiritual friends.

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 for $15.

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

The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams by Heath Lambert, Reviewed by Bob Kellemen

Note: This review was first posted at The Gospel Coalition and is re-posted with permission. You can read it there at The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams. 

Book Details

• Purchase a Copy: The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams

• Author: Heath Lambert

• Publisher: Crossway

• Publication Date: September 2011

• Pages: 224

• Category: Biblical Counseling, Church History

• ISBN: 978-1-4335-2813-2

• Retail Price: $17.99

• Reviewer: Bob Kellemen

What Is Biblical Counseling?

During a recent presentation at the Evangelical Theological Society, I was reminded that well-informed Christian leaders continue to hold stereotypes about “biblical counseling.” During the Q/A time after my paper on A Theologically-Informed Approach to Sexual Abuse Counseling, one attendee stated, “That’s a more robust and relational approach to biblical counseling than I’ve heard before. Previously, I would not have referred a victim of sexual abuse to a ‘biblical counselor’ because I assumed they would simplisticly and heartlessly quote Scripture at them, and not empathetically grieve with them.”

Heath Lambert’s, The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams, addresses whether that was ever an accurate depiction of “first generation biblical counseling”—Jay Adams’s nouthetic counseling. It also explores whether it is an accurate portrayal of “second generation biblical counseling”—the focus of Lambert’s work.

Understanding the Historical Context 

From the outset, Lambert clarifies several important misconceptions. First, he notes that “counseling is ministry, and ministry is counseling. The two are equivalent terms” (p. 21). Second, Lambert explains that “if counseling is equivalent to ministry, it means that it must be informed by the Bible and that those who do it are theologians” (p. 21).

He notes that even conservative, Bible-believing, Christ-exalting ministers of the gospel fail to grasp that counseling is an essential part of ministry. “They demonstrate the misunderstanding every time they say things like, ‘Oh, I don’t counsel people; I’m a preacher.’ Or, ‘Counseling takes too much time way from my other ministries.’ Or, ‘I don’t think the Bible has anything to say about this problem; you need to see a professional’” (p. 22).

It is at this point that Lambert connects his own view of biblical counseling to Adams’s original purpose and calling in launching the nouthetic counseling movement. “I was captivated by Adams’s vision to reclaim counseling as a theological and ministerial task and of his mission to make counseling an enterprise that was centered on Christ, based on his Word, and located in the local church” (p. 23).

This is one of numerous times where Lambert demonstrates his understanding of the historical context behind nouthetic counseling and his respect for the role that Adams played in returning the church to the personal ministry of the Word. Lambert traces the history of pastoral counseling in America and builds the case that “the absence of theology in counseling was the order of the day when, in 1970, Jay Adams published Competent to Counsel” (p. 35). It is impossible to understand or appreciate the pioneering work of Adams apart from grasping that “it was the role of Adams to begin to restore to the church an understanding that it had held before the American Civil War, namely, that counseling was within the realm of the church, every bit as much as its counterpart in public ministry, preaching” (p. 36).

Lambert is careful to express his appreciation for Adams. “This is a book about how biblical counselors have grown up and matured since the initial leadership of Jay Adams, but it is not a strike against Adams…. His work revolutionized the way thousands of people do ministry…. God has used him mightily to recalibrate the church’s thinking about how to help hurting and struggling people. I have no interest in any sort of unkind or ungodly attack on a man to whom the church owes much” (p. 47).

A Family Metaphor

That said, The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams is not hagiography. “Jay Adams’s work was imperfect…. Adams built a movement from scratch, almost alone, and was doing so against powerful forces opposed to his model. It is my goal to honor Dr. Adams by carefully considering his work and the context in which he built it and by highlighting the efforts of the men laboring in the tradition he began, to improve upon the good work he started” (p. 47).

It is within this context that Lambert selects the family or generational metaphor. He references Adams as “the first generation of biblical counseling” and refers to the leadership of David Powlison and others who followed him in improving Adams’s thoughts as “second generation biblical counselors.”

It is here that Lambert’s solid historiography could have been strengthened. In introducing this second generation, Lambert opines that “…by the late eighties and early nineties new leadership began to rise up, mostly out of one of the organizations founded by Adams, the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF)…. The new blood consisted of men such as Ed Welch and Paul Tripp, but the clear leader was David Powlison” (p. 44).

While many familiar with the biblical counseling movement might agree with Lambert’s summary, he provides only anecdotal support for who should be considered representative of each generation. Lambert’s two-generational model could have been reinforced by an operational definition of first generation and second generation biblical counseling followed by a quantitative examination of the literature over the past forty years to determine who best represents which generation. This might have raised to the surface additional counselors and organizations that could have broadened, deepened, and enriched the contrasts/comparisons between these two proposed generations of biblical counselors.

Families Grow and Develop 

Still, The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams is a valid and valuable book for anyone who wants to understand what makes biblical counseling truly biblical, and how the modern biblical counseling movement has developed over the past forty years. Throughout the book, Lambert focused on three areas of advancement from the first to the second generation:

• Advancements in Counseling Theory/Conceptual Models: How counselors think about counseling; fundamental beliefs; counseling models of people, problems, and solutions.

• Advancement in Counseling Methods: How counselors do counseling; foundational roles; the process of change.

• Advancement in Counseling Apologetics: How counselors talk to and about other counseling systems; the tone of the conversation; the level of engagement and investigation.

In each section, Lambert culls from Adams’s writings to summarize Adams’s approach to theory, methods, and apologetics. He then compares and contrasts Adams’s views with those of second generation counselors like Powlison, Tripp, Lane, Welch, and a few select others.

Advances in How Biblical Counselors Think about Counseling

Lambert highlights two areas of perceived development in counseling theory: advancement concerning sin and suffering, and advancement concerning human motivation.

Regarding sin and suffering, Lambert provides a helpful summary of his view of the contrast. “The model that Jay Adams developed included a heavy emphasis on confronting sin patterns observed in counseling. While the second generation has not abandoned the need to confront sin, it has sought to advance the movement by seeing the counselee in a more nuanced way as both a sinner and a sufferer” (p. 50).

Lambert places Adams within his historical context—the need to draw the church back to a focus on responsibility. He sees Adams as someone who understood human suffering and the Bible’s teaching on it, but who, because of the historical context, did not develop a robust theory or methodology for counseling the suffering.

In contrast to the stereotype illustrated in the beginning of this review, Lambert provides copious documentation of second generation biblical counseling writings about a parakaletic approach to sufferers. Their biblical “sufferology” includes biblical comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-11), biblical connection (Romans 12:15), biblical compassion and identification (Hebrews 2:10-18; 4:14-16), and much more.

The section on advancement concerning human motivation is likely to be hotly debated by people “within and outside the movement.” Lambert explores the charge that Adams’s model was behavioralistic (a charge Adams ferociously denies), and he provides documentation proposing that second generation biblical counselors have constructed a more thorough understanding of heart motivations.

Advancements in How Biblical Counselors Do Counseling

Lambert begins this section by noting several areas of overlap between first and second generation biblical counseling methodology. He then contends that Adams’s overall methodology was “overly formalized” (p. 87), and that “Adams’s emphasis on pastoral authority tended to obscure the importance of building loving relationships with counselees” (p. 88).

While appreciating the historical context behind Adams’s strong emphasis on formality and authority, Lambert applauds second generation methodological advancements. These include counseling that: is familial (pp. 90-91), demonstrates affection (pp. 91-92), is sacrificial (pp. 92-93), is person-oriented (pp. 94-96), sees the counselor as a fellow sinner and sufferer (pp. 96-97), and addresses suffering before sin (pp. 97-98).

Advancement in How Biblical Counselors Talk about Counseling

Lambert tells the fascinating story of eight stages in the history of biblical counseling dialogue with “non-biblical counselors.” In the process, he outlines three primary areas where second generation apologists matured:

• Construct: To “construct” is to highlight a positive focus on the development of a robust biblical model of helping people with their problems.

• Confront: To “confront” is to speak the truth in love out of concern by demonstrating how secular models fail to understand people, and fail to offer people the hope that is found only in the living Word (Christ) and the written Word (Scripture).

• Consider: “In a tertiary way, biblical counselors should consider what there is to learn from alternative models” (p. 116).

In this section, the changing tone (more gentle) and attitude (more respectful) of the second generation counselors was touched upon, but could have been examined further.

Increasingly Competent Counseling 

Readers who are unfamiliar with the modern biblical counseling movement would be wise not only to read The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams, but also The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context by David Powlison. In many ways, Lambert’s work is “the sequel.”

While not everyone will agree with all of Lambert’s contrasts and comparisons, especially those most loyal to Jay Adams and his nouthetic counseling model, the book successfully breaks down many still-existing stereotypes about the modern biblical counseling movement. More importantly, it articulates a robust, relational approach to one-another ministry while teaching about the history of the movement.

Join the Conversation 

What is your evaluation of The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams?

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Comfort Food for Mutual Ministry by Paul Tautges

Note: Pastor Paul Tautges shared this blog post this week at his Counseling One Another blog. You can read the entire post at Comfort Food for Mutual Ministry.  

Here’s an excerpt from his post about his favorite page from Equipping Counselors for Your Church.

Comfort Food for Mutual Ministry by Paul Tautges

Last fall I posted a review of Bob Kellemen’s new book, Equipping Counselors for Your Church. You can read that review here.

Today, I draw your attention to one of the best pages in the book, which calls us to the mutual ministry of comfort. Bob effectively argues for balance in two areas of biblical counseling: confrontation and comfort. Both, he rightly affirms, are Scriptural priorities we must grow in as we counsel one another. Here’s a lengthy quote that received a smiley face and a “Yes!” in the margin of my copy. In the context of this quote the author has just finished explaining the importance of noutheteo, warning, and now urges for the equally-important ministry of parakaleo, coming alongside in mutual ministry to comfort and strengthen one another.

Paul never intended Romans 15:14 to be the final or only word on the nature of biblical counseling. Nor did he use noutheteo as the only or even the primary concept to describe the personal ministry of the Word. For instance, in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul uses five distinct words for biblical counseling. “And we urge [parakaleo] you, brothers, warn [noutheteo] those who are idle, encourage [paramutheomai] the timid, help [antechomai] the weak, be patient with [makrothumeo] everyone.”

Among the many New Testament words for spiritual care, parakaleo predominates. Whereas noutheteo occurs eleven times in the New Testament, parakaleo (comfort, encourage, console) appears 109 times. In 2 Corinthians 1:3–11, Paul informs us that we are competent to comfort (parakaleo) one another. Those who have humbly received God’s comfort, God equips to offer comfort to others.

Continue reading at Comfort Food for Mutual Ministry.

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What does comprehensive, compassionate one-another care look like?

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

Blog Tour Morsels, Part Four: Equipping Counselors for Your Church

I’m very grateful for the many bloggers who have reviewed Equipping Counselors for Your Church.  

I’ve collated links to a dozen of the reviews and interviews. They’ll be running throughout this first week of 2012 with brief “snippets” from each review and a link back to the full review.

In Part One, I posted samplers from David Murray, Brad Hambrick, and Thabiti Anyabwile.

In Part Two, I posted summaries from Jonathan Holmes, Paul Tautges, and Andy Naselli.

In Part Three, I posted selections from Mark Tubbs, Phil Monroe, and Mark Kelly.

Today you can enjoy review “morsels” from Elizabeth Hankins, Julie Ganschow, and Conrad Yap.

Elizabeth Hankins, Part One

“Equipping Counselors for Your Church is helpful for all those who are passionate about one-another ministry. It helps the reader establish a Biblical vision for God’s Church and personal ministry. There are a number of useful lists within this book including Scripture passages and doctrine/theology to study; qualifications and proficiencies to pursue, character traits to cultivate; and commonly used materials for Biblical counseling. One of my favorite features is the excellent evaluation/application questions throughout the text and at the end of each chapter.”

Julie Ganschow 

“I recently had the pleasure of previewing a fantastic new resource for those interested in how to equip others for the work of Biblical Counseling and Discipleship. Our work goes by many names, but it is essentially intensive biblical discipleship. Bob Kellemen’ new book, Equipping Counselors for Your Church, may just be the most complete resource I have encountered on how to equip others for this task.”

Conrad Yap 

“Kellemen’s teaching passion and wisdom is evident. His experience is wide, and his knowledge deep. Obviously, the material is compiled from his many years of teaching and ministry. I recommend this book for Church leaders, boards, and anyone in the congregation who is passionate about equipping the called.”

Join the Conversation

What resources do you recommend for equipping one-another ministers in the local church?

Note: If you are a blogger and would like to review Equipping Counselors for Your Church, email rpm dot ministries @ gmail dot com

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