Blog Tour Morsels, Part Two: 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.

Today you can enjoy review “morsels” from Jonathan Holmes, Paul Tautges, and Andy Naselli.

Jonathan Holmes 

“In this seminal and landmark work for the church, Equipping Counselors for Your Church, Dr. Bob Kellemen has given us a go-to manual for raising up a new generation of counselors while nurturing the ones currently in our care. Built and crafted from years of experience and based on the solid foundation of God’s Word to us, this book will be a vital, practical, useful manual for generations to come.”

Paul Tautges, Post One 

“Equipping Counselors for Your Church is like having a personal conversation with a private consultant who is committed to coming alongside church leaders—walking step-by-step and hand-in-hand—to equip us to empower the Body of Christ toward biblical, one-another ministry that progressively moves believers toward Christlikeness. I highly recommend it!”

Paul Tautges, Post Two

“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.”

Andy Naselli 

“Endorsed by Paul Tripp, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Ed Welch, and several others, Kellemen’s 4E’s teach: 1.) Envisioning God’s Ministry, 2.) Enlisting God’s Ministers for Ministry. 3.) Equipping Godly Ministers for Ministry, and 4.) Empowering/Employing Godly Ministers for Ministry.”

The Rest of the Story

Tomorrow you can read some “samplers” from Mark Tubbs at The Discerning Reader, Phil Monroe, and Mark Kelly.

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

The Future of Biblical Counseling: Dreaming a Dozen Dreams

As I pen this post, it’s January 1, 2010. It’s not only a new year, but a new decade.

Want to Change Lives?

It seems a good time to take a fresh look at the future of biblical counseling.

By the way, when I say “biblical counseling” I mean exactly what the Bible means by “one another ministry.” God calls all of us to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth–that’s biblical counseling.

My Biblical FAQs document tells you more. You can also learn more by reading my document What Makes Biblical Counseling Biblical. Of course, if you want the whole meal, and not only the delicious appetizers, check out Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends.

But back to a new year, a new decade, and a fresh new look at the future of biblical counseling…

Introduction: What Makes Biblical Counseling Biblical?

As I speak around the country on biblical counseling and spiritual formation, I’m frequently asked the question. “When you say ‘biblical counseling,’ you don’t mean ___________ do you?” Various people fill in that blank with different labels—all negative to them. What a shame that placing the word “biblical” in front of “counseling” causes so many in the church to recoil in fear. Something has gone terribly wrong.

But there’s good news—the tide is turning. Warped caricatures of biblical counseling are being replaced by scripturally and historically accurate portraits of counseling that are truly biblical—and attractive (Titus 2:10). While no one can provide the final, authoritative definition of biblical counseling, I offer for your consideration this summary understanding.

Christ-centered, 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.

Given this working definition, envision with me the nature and shape of the future of biblical counseling—twelve dreams of one possible future for biblical counseling as practiced by lay spiritual friends, pastors, and professional Christian counselors.

To read the rest of this article go here: The Future of Biblical Counseling: Dreaming a Dozen Dreams.

Join the Conversation

What are your dreams for the future of biblical counseling, spiritual formation, spiritual friendship, and one another ministry? 

Divine Counselor