Ray Ortlund begins his foreword to Jared C. Wilson's Gospel Wakefulness like this: What is the spiritual future of our churches? If our future is going to be better than our present, we have to change. How does change happen? Not by our own brilliance or willpower. Not even by agreement with the gospel. We … Continue reading Awakening to the Gospel
Biblical Counseling: The Growth of a Movement
I first read Jay Adams' landmark work Competent to Counsel in 1990, 20 years after it was first published. At that time, I was an investment banker serving as a lay youth worker in a growing Southern Baptist church, and Adams opened my eyes to a ministry that I had never before considered. Three years … Continue reading Biblical Counseling: The Growth of a Movement
Tim & Kathy Keller on Marriage
W.H. Auden, in A Certain World: A Commonplace Book, wrote this of marriage: "Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotions but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate." Could this statement be true? The assertion that any relationship … Continue reading Tim & Kathy Keller on Marriage
Equipped to Counsel: A Training Program in Biblical Counseling
Accompanying the recent growth in the biblical counseling movement has been an increased need for training and skill development in this paradigm. To that end, I am excited to offer this review of Equipped to Counsel: A Training Program in Biblical Counseling, developed by John Henderson, PhD. Dr. Henderson is an experienced biblical counselor in private … Continue reading Equipped to Counsel: A Training Program in Biblical Counseling
Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support
"Community is an instrument of worship, a weapon against sin, and a tool for evangelism - all for the exaltation of Jesus." This statement from the Introduction to Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support is both Brad House's bold thesis for the book as well as his vision for what healthy small groups can … Continue reading Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support
King Solomon and Our Thirst for Money, Sex & Power
Walter Isaacson's highly anticipated authorized biography of Steve Jobs will hit bookstore shelves tomorrow, and I am sure it will contain tantalizing details of the life of one of the great icons of American culture. Jobs' intellect and creativity were rewarded with virtually all that this world can offer, and Jobs, like Solomon before him, … Continue reading King Solomon and Our Thirst for Money, Sex & Power
The Gospel in the Here and Now
What causes people who have experienced God’s forgiveness from past sins and who trust in a glorious future with Him in Heaven to lead what the apostle Peter describes as “ineffective or unfruitful” lives (2 Peter 1:8) in between? Why do I, in my struggle against sin, often find myself trying to perfect by the … Continue reading The Gospel in the Here and Now
Powlison’s X-Ray Questions
I've been reading How People Change, by Lane and Tripp. The book asks and answers an important question for those of us engaged in the practice of counseling: What does it take for lasting change to take root in a person's life? Generally, when people come our way, it is with the idea in mind that … Continue reading Powlison’s X-Ray Questions
Fear, Worry & the God of Rest
Every Christian who struggles with anxiety, fear, worry, panic and the like should read Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest, by Ed Welch. Likewise, pastors, counselors, parents and others who shepherd those struggling with anxiety, fear, and worry should also read this very helpful book. If we're honest, to some extent, all … Continue reading Fear, Worry & the God of Rest
Tempted and Tried
I don't particularly like country music, but I really like country music's favorite theologian and theology's biggest country music fan, Dr. Russell D. Moore. I respect Dr. Moore as on outstanding theologian, scholar, pastor and teacher. As an adoptive parent myself, I also respect him as an advocate for adoption. But I most respect Moore's … Continue reading Tempted and Tried
Soul Care Blog 