Mark Tubbs’ Discerning Reader Blog-Through of Soul Physicians

A Book for Every Pastor, Every Counselor, and Every Christian: Part 2, Act One

Note: Mark Tubbs, the Editor of the Discerning Reader Christian book review site, posted the following review of Soul Physicians on May 24, 2010. (For Part 1, click here).

Excerpt: In what is probably the finest biblical exposition of the creation, fall, and evil activity of Lucifer I have read thus far, Bob “puts flesh” on this pitiful but powerful creature of overweening self-love and deadly pride.

Act One: Love’s Eternity

In the opening chapter of Act One, chapter four of Bob Kellemen’s magnum opus Soul Physicians, Bob takes us behind the scenes, as it were, to behold divine love’s fountainhead: the eternal inter-relationship existing between the persons of our Triune God.

In the Prologue, which I blogged about last month, Bob set the stage for the narrative we find ourselves following in Act One by introducing us to the main characters in the history of the universe. Bob’s point in weaving this narrative, besides drawing us into a greater love for God Himself, is the practical application of biblical truth in biblical counseling. In other words, putting the implications of the gospel into practice in everyday life.

The preface to Act One, subtitled “Love’s Eternality – Community,” outlines the path taken in the next four chapters. Long before sin, long before Satan, long before us, the Trinity existed in harmonious transcendence. Here is a helpful couplet:

o In the beginning God Created

o Before the beginning God Related

I don’t care what you say (well, I do, but I like the expression), that’s a fresh and memorable way to express God’s pre-creation activity. Proposing that too many biblical counselors start off on the wrong foot by either using sin or redemption, Bob suggests “that we construct a biblical counseling method that begins before the beginning.” He goes on:

I suggest we build our model of Christian counseling on the foundation of the Triune relationship that existed before the foundations of the earth. If we are going to learn spiritual friendship, then let’s look to the ultimate Spiritual Friend and the eternal Spiritual Friendship: the Trinity.

Chapters five and six are straightforward but rich. The former mines the biblical data for God’s attributes and presents them in superlative, glowing terms. The latter introduces God’s adversary, known in this book as False Seducer. In what is probably the finest biblical exposition of the creation, fall, and evil activity of Lucifer I have read thus far, Bob “puts flesh” on this pitiful but powerful creature of overweening self-love and deadly pride.

Finally, chapter seven contrasts False Seducer’s strategies with those of God Himself. Bob is at his best when providing fresh insights into familiar biblical texts using helpful and accurate explanation and exegesis. And true to form, the adept and articulate biblical counselor that he is, Bob rounds out Act One with a real-life counseling scenario that demonstrates the theological, “theoretical” content of the previous four chapters. This is sure to become a go-to passage for any pastor or counselor who can commit its general structure to memory.

I enjoyed 99% of the material in this section of Soul Physicians. I could do without the image of the Trinity engaging in heavenly hugs and hi-fives, but this may be more a reflection on my mere thirty-something years of life than anything else. I still maintain, as I mentioned in my blog on the Prologue, that this is a book for every pastor, every counselor, and indeed, every Christian.

Buy Soul Physicians directly from Bob Kellemen here at a significant discount.

Mark Tubbs’ Discerning Reader Blog-Through of Soul Physicians

A Gospel-Centric Counseling Book: Part 1: The Prologue

Note: Mark Tubbs, the Editor of the Discerning Reader Christian book review site, posted the following review of Soul Physicians on April 26, 2010.

Excerpt: “It’s easy to advocate for a text this effective, this accessible, and this gospel-centric. I’m so convinced of its helpfulness that I urge all pastors and leaders who read this blog entry to invest in a copy and spend the summer reaping its benefits, not only for their counseling ministries but for their church(es) at large.”

The Prologue

Biblical counselor Bob Kellemen of RPM Ministries has become a good friend and reviewing colleague since he joined the Discerning Reader Reviewing Team. In this BlogThru entry I’m pleased to present insights I have gleaned and knowledge I have gained from the first section of his counseling text, Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction (Revised Edition, BMH Books, 2007).

Soul Physicians is divided into six sections: prologue, first act, second act, third act, fourth act, and epilogue. If you’re wondering why the book is set up like a play, Bob explains that besides it being a useful way to divide the book’s contents, its structure mirrors the narrative of the cosmos: God’s pre-existence, our creation in His image, our betrayal and subsequent fall, His reconciliation and redemption of us, and our eventual restoration to full heavenly communion with Him.

Bob even labels his “characters” appropriate to his dramatic motif: Satan is the False Seducer; the Church is the Bride; we Christians are Romancers, Dreamers, Creators, Singers and Actors; and God, of course, is the Worthy Groom. In many authors’ hands, this set-up might come across as trite, but Bob’s sincerity and earnestness wins the day. Unpacking this narrative approach is the central aim of chapters one through three.

Paradigm-Shifting

Even earlier in the book Bob provides a four-part rubric for “infusing Biblical Counseling with Christian theology.” Thus far, it is the most paradigm-shifting ingredient in the book. Based on the premise that we need to learn how to read the Bible “with confidence that theology is God’s story [which] gives meaning to our individual and group stories,” Biblical counseling must therefore synthesize:

• An academic theology that provides us with a way of thinking about life God’s way

• An historical theology that gives a voice…to past perspectives and practices in caring for souls

• A spiritual theology of life that re-ignites our first love for Christ…and relate[s] God’s truth to human relationships

• A practical theology that equips us to deal with suffering and sin as Christ would.

Bob’s approach balances soul care, which he defines broadly as caring for the sufferer, with spiritual direction, which he describes as helping the counselee investigate and overcome his or her habituated sinful patterns. All counseling situations will comprise a mix of the two, which is a departure from the widespread “take two verses and call me in the morning” pastoral counseling approach of recent decades.

Real Life Scenarios

Practically and helpfully, Bob peppers the text with real-life scenarios and situations demonstrating his approach at work. The scenario I found particularly enlightening was that of “Pastor Bill” and the lies he was feeding himself, egged on by Satan. Compassionately embracing Bill as sufferer and sinning saint, Bob narrates how he employed a combination of all four theologies to guide Bill away from a morass of recriminatory and destructive self-talk, toward “accepting [his] acceptance in Christ.” No longer was Bill “vulnerable to the whispers and the shouts of Satan’s story.” He was now re-invested as a participating cast member in the grace narrative of the purposes of a good God.

Application helps are provided at the end of each chapter under the headings of “Caring for Your Soul: Personal Applications” and “Caring for Others: Ministry Applications.” Also available is a companion workbook, Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Don’t be fooled—unlike some study guides and workbooks that seem to be little more than money-grabs for publishers, this one provides just as much food for thought and meat for study as the text we are concerned with here.

Recommendation

I end this mini-review by rewinding to the very beginning of the book, where three-and-a-half pages of endorsements testify to the effectiveness of Bob’s wholistic approach to Christ-centered soul care and spiritual direction. Knowing Bob, all he had to do was simply ask for these pastors, professors, counselors, students, and ministry directors to put their thoughts in print, and they readily obliged.

As I can attest, it’s easy to advocate for a text this effective, this accessible, and this gospel-centric. I’m so convinced of its helpfulness that I urge all pastors and leaders who read this blog entry to invest in a copy and spend the summer reaping its benefits, not only for their counseling ministries but for their church(es) at large. There’s no member, young or mature spiritually, that will fail to take something away that enriches devotion to Christ.

And if you don’t believe me, stay tuned for weekly posts through the remaining five sections of Soul Physicians.

Join the Conversation

What books do you recommend for equipping in pastoral counseling, biblical counseling, lay counseling, Christian counseling, soul care, spiritual direction, and spiritual friendship?

The Best of the Best Around the Net

One of my passions is bridge-building, connecting, and highlighting other ministries and ministry resources—so that the Body of Christ is built up and Christ is magnified (Ephesians 4:15-16). My weekly post, The Best of the Best Around the Net, links you to blog posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. Check out the following links you can trust.

Strategic Discipleship

Over at Church Matters, the blog site for 9Marks Ministry, Pastor Deepak Reju has posted a very helpful blog on “Picking Fruit Off of a Tree.” He explores practical principles for discipling leaders.

Scandalous

John Bird over at Discerning Reader reviews D. A. Carson’s Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. “In his inimitable style, Carson returns us to where we must forever dwell theologically: Christ’s cross and resurrection.” Read the rest of John’s review here.

6 Views on Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity

I normally don’t post about my own post, however, this really isn’t “my” post. I’ve updated a post where I link you to six different views on McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity. If you’re interested in what to make of this book, visit here.

What Is the Character of God and Why Does It Matter to Me?

Ed Welch of the CCEF has a very practical blog where he asks, “Is God Picky?”. How we see God is the most important thing about us.

Ingredients of Successful Blogs

Michael Hyatt is the leading Christian thinker about Web 2.0, social networking, blogging, ministry-based-marketing, etc. In this post, he invites a guest blogger to discuss “The Third Ingredient of a Successful Blog”. Also find the links to the first two posts in the series. What good does it do if you write a great blog, but nobody reads it? Or, put another way, “If a blog is written in the woods, does anyone see it?”

Join the Conversation

Of my Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why?

What blog posts have you read this week that you want to share with others?