Robust Resources for Changed Lives

Robust Resources for Changed Lives

Where do you turn for in-depth, comprehensive, relational resources that equip you to speak the truth in love so we can all grow together in Christ? There are numerous great sources available in the Evangelical world today. Another cutting-edge resource is coming your way.

Save the date. On Monday, May 2, 2011, the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC) will launch its Blog Site: Grace & Truth.

The first week, you can enjoy the following posts from leaders in the biblical counseling movement:

• Monday, May 2: Paul Tripp, The Ultimate Lens on Life
• Tuesday, May 3: Elyse Fitzpatrick, Despising the Shame
• Wednesday, May 4: Steve Viars, Biblical Counseling as a Community Bridge
• Thursday, May 5: Bob Kellemen, Our Competence Comes from Christ
• Friday, May 6: BCC Staff, Five to Live By: The Best of the Best on the Net in Biblical Counseling
• Saturday, May 7: The BCC Interview: Pastor Deepak Reju of Capitol Hill Baptist Church

The BCC Blog Site will also include a list of Featured Blogs and a list of Recommended Websites. The BCC is not about the BCC. The BCC is about bc—biblical counseling—linking you to valuable resources, best-practice churches, premier para-church groups, and conferences you won't want to miss.

Just the First-fruits

And this is just the first of several upcoming BCC “launches.”

In late May to early June, the BCC Book Review site will launch. Every week the BCC will post four biblical counseling book reviews. The site will also provide “The Best of Guides” (such as “The Top Ten Books on Biblical Counseling and Dealing with Anxiety”).

Then throughout the summer and on an ongoing basis, the BCC will launch the Free Resources section of the website. Eventually, the BCC plans to provide 1,000s of free articles, forms, counseling guides, videos, and audio resources.

Three Audiences

Every section of the BCC website will focus on three audiences:

• People seeking biblical care: all of us—people in need of change.
• People providing biblical care: pastors, counselors, spiritual friends.
• People equipping biblical care-givers: educators, equippers, writers.

If you’d like to be placed on the BCC e-mailing list to hear more updates and receive periodic e-blasts and e-newsletters, sign-up on the BCC home page (www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org).

Join the Conversation

• What blog post topics would you like to see the BCC address?
• What books would you like the BCC to review?
• What free resource topics would you want the BCC to provide?

Enjoy Five Book Trailer Videos

Enjoy Five Book Trailer Videos

Enjoy Equipping Counselors for Your Church: Watch the book trailer video sharing how to equip others to speak the truth in love.

Enjoy Soul Physicians: Watch the book trailer video sharing how to change lives with Christ's changeless truth.

Enjoy Spiritual Friends: Watch the book trailer video sharing how to care like Christ.

Enjoy Beyond the Suffering: Watch the book trailer video sharing how we can learn from the heroes of the Black Church.

Enjoy What About Bob?: No, not the movie by the same name. Watch a video that finally answers the question, "What does 'RPM' mean?"

Enjoy Our New RPM Ministries YouTube Channel: We've posted over a dozen videos on Christian living and biblical counseling.

To Boldly Go

For our new blog site with daily updates and a boatload of free resources, visit RPM Ministries.

My web/tech guy, Jon Barnes created this for me. What a riot! Live long and prosper:

A Plea for Listening to One Another

The State of Biblical Counseling Today:
Discussing the ABC Symposium

Part III—A Plea for Listening to One Another

Note: This is Part Three of a three-part blog mini-series about the Symposium on Biblical Counseling that took place on May 14, 2009 at the Association of Biblical Counselors’ National Conference. For Part One, in which I highlighted the bios of the speakers, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj. For Part Two, in which I highlighted the distinctive DNA of each speaker, visit: http://tinyurl.com/r8kf7r.

My Plan Today, And My Hesitancy Today

My plan today is to discuss some possible stereotyping that may continue to exist in the field of biblical Christian counseling today. To be very honest, I am very hesitant.

The ABC Symposium was an incredible bridge-building time—which is a major passion of mine. Since the event, I have received numerous emails and comments like the following one, which was posted on the blog of my friend Dr. Phil Monroe: (http://tinyurl.com/oxpjr9):

“My gratitude to the four Doctors. I had the privilege of attending the symposium and listening to the discussion. The evidence of love for things primary was apparent. The respect for disagreement on tertiary matters was exemplary. The love for each other in Christ was encouraging. Hats off ‘gentle-men’. Thanks ABC.”

I believe that the vast majority of people connected with the modern biblical Christian counseling movement interact and think like “the four Doctors.” They/we all try to evidence love for things primary, and respectful disagreement on tertiary matters, with a love for one another and for Christ.

So, why bring up any possible “stereotyping”?

Precisely because of my passion for building bridges of communication.

A Hypothesis

Here’s my hypothesis. We all give people we identify as being in “our group” a much greater benefit of the doubt than we give to people we identify as being in “another group.”

I do a great deal of teaching, writing, speaking, and consulting on Christ-based Intercultural Relationships. The Bible has a tremendous amount to say about relating across cultures. In fact, everyone one of the ten classic doctrines of systematic theology address intercultural relationships!

And guess what, our alphabet soup of counseling groups involve intercultural relating. We don’t think of it that way because we often think of “culture” as ethnicity and race and color of skin. But culture includes any way we have been taught to relate, think, choose, act, and feel by the “group” we associate with, are connected to, and surrounded by. Keep that in mind as you keep reading.

Here’s What Struck Me

Pastor Steve Viars is a great friend of mine since kindergarten! Honest—we attended the same elementary school, middle school, high school, Bible college and seminary, were saved in the same church, and discipled in the same youth group. Pastor Steve is a past President of NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counselors). I assume that the majority of the nearly-500 people at the symposium self-identify with the NANC more than they do with the group I am with—the American Association of Christian Counselors’ Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Forum (AACC/BCSFN).

Pastor Steve talked with passion about his church’s nine-month residential treatment center for young women: Vision of Hope. Pastor Steve also talked about wondering if he and more of his staff might want to become state licensed so that more referring agencies would be able to refer. (I am paraphrasing and certainly encourage you to buy the DVD).

I assume that the vast majority of people who self-identify with Pastor Steve thought, “Incredible. Wonderful. They are reaching out to hurting women. They are taking biblical counseling places it has not always gone!” I do not assume that most people who self-identified with Pastor Steve thought, “He’s going liberal. He’s an “integrationist. He’s sold out!”

But what if I had highlighted similar ideas and ministries? Would people who do not know me as well, who are not members of the AACC/BCSFN, who may have some caricatures about the AACC, have given me the same benefit of the doubt? Or, would some possibly have taken some of my words out of context and perhaps reported that, “Dr. Kellemen is an “integrationist”?

Now, in all fairness. I have had Pastor Viars speak for me at an AACC/BCSFN event. When he spoke candidly and passionately on Ephesians 4:17-32, did all those who self-identify with the AACC/BCSFN truly “hear” what he said? Did they all truly “hear him out”? Or perhaps did some “hear him” only through their stereotyping grid of “nouthetic counseling” and misinterpret what he said, why he said it, and what he meant?

Here’s the Thing

As the TV detective, Adrian Monk, would say, “Here’s the thing.” Let’s be good biblical Christian counselors and listen to one another—really listen—without preconceived notions, false caricatures, and unhelpful, inaccurate stereotypes. I’d like to think that is exactly what was modeled by “the four doctors” and President Jeremy Lelek.

Putting It into Practice

So how could we put this “cross-cultural listening” into practice? Here are a few practical suggestions, in no particular order.

1. Learn from those “outside your group.” Buy books and attend seminars of folks from the AACC, BCSFN, CCEF, SCP, NANC, FBCM, etc.

2. As we read and hear folks from outside our “circles,” allow them to define their own terms. Too often people think, “He used the word _____. Other people use it to mean ______. And I think it means _____. So he obviously thinks it means ______ and that is bad!” Instead, we need to listen with interculturally-sensitive ears so we really hear one another. Only once we’ve accurately heard and understood can we adequately assess.

3. As we read and hear folks from other agencies, we need to be good Bereans, not bad Corinthians. That about sums it up. Bereans rightly divide the Word of God. Corinthians wrongly divide the people of God. Bereans have a critical mind minus the critical spirit. Corinthians have a critical spirit minus with a shallow mindset. No one is saying “buy everything every person from every group says.” Instead, I am saying, “Let’s all practical good biblical counseling listening where we accurately hear one another without bias, where we rightly divide the Word of God, and when we disagree, we do so without a critical spirit, but with a sharp mind and a loving heart.

What Do You Think?

And thus ends my three-part blog mini-series on the ABC Symposium on the State of Biblical Christian Counseling. For those of you who attended and for those of you purchase the DVD, what do you think about the ABC Symposium?

What is the state of modern biblical Christian counseling?

How can we build bridges of understanding where we rightly divide God’s Word with sharp minds and loving hearts?

The DNA of Biblical Counseling

The State of Biblical Counseling Today: Discussing the ABC Symposium, Part II—The DNA of Biblical Counseling

Note: This is Part Two of a several-part blog about the Symposium on Biblical Counseling that took place on May 14, 2009 at the Association of Biblical Counselors’ National Conference. For Part One, in which I highlighted the bios of the speakers, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj.

The Plan

My plan, Lord willing, is to blog (www.rpministries.blogspot.com) several days this week about this significant event. Today, I summarize the unique biblical counseling DNA of each speaker.

“But You Didn’t Disagree Enough!”

It was interesting during the Intermission, directly afterwards, and the day after the Symposium, how many times the four speakers plus President Lelek heard comments like, “There wasn’t enough disagreement!” Perhaps some people were expecting a “Biblical Counseling Four Views Debate.”

More likely, most people simply wanted to hear how four leaders from four different counseling organizations distinctively nuanced what makes biblical counseling truly biblical. I’d challenged readers to purchase a copy of the DVD (the ABC will have them for sale on their website soon: www.christiancounseling.com). Then…do what good biblical counselors do—listen well. I guarantee that you will hear the distinctive vision and passion of each speaker.

Tertiary, Not Primary Differences

What may surprise many is that the differences you will hear are, as David Powlison noted, tertiary (third level) and not primary. Primary differences would be foundational differences in our beliefs about the sufficiency of Scripture.

We don’t have those! David Powlison (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation—CCEF), Steve Viars (National Association of Nouthetic Counselors—NANC, Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries—FBCM), Eric Johnson (Society of Christian Psychologists—SCP for the American Association of Christian Counselors—AACC), and Bob Kellemen (Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Network—BCSFN for the AACC, and RPM Ministries) really are “on the same page about primary issues like the sufficiency of Scripture.”

The Unique DNA of Each Speaker

That said, the four speakers were not clones of one another. Again, listen carefully to the DVD and you’ll hear clearly the different perspectives, the unique passions, and the individual emphases of each speaker.

My goal today is to highlight something of the unique thumb print of each speaker. Obviously, I can do a better job remembering my own words and conveying my own passion, than I can those of my three fellow speakers. I’d love to hear each of them summarize what they shared during the Symposium.

Eric Johnson’s Unique DNA

Listen to Dr. Eric Johnson’s (see http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj for his bio) interactions throughout the Symposium and you’ll hear several messages.

1. A Humble, Gentle Heart and a Brilliant Mind

First, Eric uniquely balances a gentle heart and a brilliant mind. Eric is a theologian/philosopher of biblical Christian counseling. Yet, he is no mere “academic.” His passion for people, his humble heart, and his desire for people to grow in grace all came across loud and clear throughout the Symposium.

2. Reclaiming “Psychology” for the Church

Second, listen to Eric on the DVD and you will pick up his passion for “psychology”—Christian psychology, biblical psychology. Eric, like myself, is a student of Church history. He knows that psychology is native to our faith—not secular psychology, but biblical psychology. Eric wants to build a foundation for soul care from a biblical and historical (Church history) basis. He wants the biblical counseling movement to reclaim what is rightfully theirs—understanding people, diagnosing problems, and prescribing solutions—biblically. Eric spoke consistently about how biblical counseling must mine the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God’s Word to develop a theological grid out of which we then build our counseling approaches.

Steve Viars’ Unique DNA

Listen to Pastor Steve Viars (see http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj for his bio) interactions throughout the Symposium and you’ll hear several messages.

1. A Passionate Heart and a Love for the Church

Steve got people fired up about biblical counseling in the church—because Steve is fired up about it! And his words are not mere theory. Faith Baptist Church practices what Steve preaches. They are on the cutting edge of equipping people to be biblical counselors. They are not a church with biblical counseling, they are a church of biblical counseling. Principles of progressive sanctification flow through everything they do. How they preach, teach, do small groups, do evangelism, etc.—all flows from their model of biblical counseling.

2. Reclaiming Biblical Counseling for the Community

What may surprise some, because it blows away the false stereotypes about Nouthetic counseling, is Steve’s passionate commitment to community outreach through biblical counseling. Every Monday nearly 50 people from their community receive biblical counseling through Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries. These are not church members (they receive counseling from one another and from the staff throughout the week). Unbelievers are coming to Christ, having their sins forgiven, and their lives healed every week through biblical counseling.

Another example is Faith Baptist’s Vision of Hope Ministries. Vision of Hope Ministries recognizes the worth and sanctity of human life by ministering to young women, children, and families in a Christ-centered environment. They offer a faith-based residential treatment program for girls age 14 to 28 struggling with: unplanned pregnancy, alcohol or drug abuse, eating disorders, and/or self-harm. Steve Viars is convinced that God’s Word has real answers for real people with real problems.

David Powlison’s Unique DNA

Listen to Dr. David Powlison’s (see http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj for his bio) interactions throughout the Symposium and you’ll hear several messages.

1. A Love for People and a Love for God’s Word

Clearly, David Powlison loves people and loves God’s Word. He uniquely united these twin loves in every interaction during the Symposium. He is a biblical scholar with a pastor’s heart.

2. Reclaiming the Sufficiency of Scripture for Theory and Practice

Repeatedly I heard David highlight the sufficiency of Scripture in theory-building and for counseling practice. David does not believe in a one-verse-one-problem-one-solution simplistic approach to biblical counseling. Rather, he wisely builds his model on a thorough, theological-biblical understanding. Every life issue, when considered conceptually, is addressed with wisdom in the Bible. Our role is to trace conceptual categories of living throughout the Bible and relate those to modern categories people face today.

No mere theoretician, listen to the DVD and you will hear great practical wisdom from David about how the counselor/pastor can interact in love, insight, creativity, and engagement with a counselee/parishioner. You can tell quickly that David has remained active in the field—as a practitioner. His use of images, humor, stories, biblical vignettes with people bring his counseling to life.

Bob Kellemen’s Unique DNA

Listen to Dr. Bob Kellemen’s (see http://tinyurl.com/pvq3wj for his bio) interactions throughout the Symposium and you’ll hear several messages.

As I noted, obviously I know my own passion for counseling better than the passion of Eric, Steve, or David. And, I remember better what I said—because it is what I would say in any setting. Anyone who knows me will listen to the DVD and say, “That’s Kellemen! I’ve heard him highlight that a million times!”

Since it would seem arrogant for me to attempt to categorize my own “heart” and “mind,” I’ll let others attempt that. Instead, I’ll share two summary areas of theory that I recall highlighting during the Symposium.

1. Reclaiming the Profundity and Relevancy of Scripture for Theory and Practice

If I said it once, I said it half-a-dozen times, “true biblical counseling must be comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed.” The “comprehensiveness” of biblical counseling comes out, in part, when we think of the profound nature of Scripture. I believe 100% in the sufficiency and supremacy of the Word of God. I also happen to believe that if we talk about the Scripture’s sufficiency but ignore how it deeply relates to life, then we’ve missed the point entirely. Our calling is to relate Christ’s changeless truth to our changing times. Our calling is to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. God’s Word, rightly interpreted and aptly applied, has real answers to real problems of real people. During the Symposium, I shared the example of 2 Samuel 13 and the rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon. Carefully exegete that passage in context, and you begin to see the profound wisdom of the Word for the horrors of sexual abuse and sexual sin. You begin to see the amazing timeliness and relevance of God’s Word for life as we live it today.

2. Reclaiming the Necessity of Compassion for Theory and Practice

I also highlighted passages like Romans 12:15; Philippians 1:9-11; Romans 15:14; Ephesians 4:15; and 1 Thessalonians 2:8; all of which insist upon speaking the truth in love. I called upon us as biblical counselors to be like the Apostle Paul who said that he loved the saints so much that he gave them not only the Scripture, but his own soul, because they were dear to him. Do a DNA analysis of Kellemen’s biblical counseling approach, and you will find truth and love. I believe that in modern biblical counseling we have not emphasized enough the relationship of the counselor to the counselee. We have at times been too focus on “information in” (listen to data) and “information out” (read a verse/apply a principle). Instead, when listening—we should be engaging, feeling (that’s not a bad word!), empathizing (another good, biblical word), and climbing in the casket (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-11) as we weep with those who weep. And, when sharing truth, we should be doing it soul-to-soul, in a three-way trialogue relationship—counselor, counselees, and the Divine Counselor—it is a collaborative, relational, even intimate interaction.

Part of that truth-compassion connection that I highlighted at the Symposium also means that we must deal both with the evils people have suffered and with the sins people have committed. Modern biblical counseling has done good work dealing with sin. But it has, at times, not done as much work developing a biblical “Sufferology”—a theology of how to apply God’s Word to suffering parishioners and spiritual friends. It should never be either/or: suffering or sin. Biblical and historically, the Church has always dealt with both. We need to develop biblical approaches to soul care for the suffering through sustaining and healing. And we need to develop biblical approaches to spiritual direction for sin through reconciling and guiding.

The Distinct DNA Was There!

I could go on and on about each of us. The differences were there. God fearfully and wonderfully and uniquely created each of us with individual passion, calling, life experiences, personality. It all came out in numerous ways during the Symposium.

And Tomorrow . . .

Tomorrow I take a risk. I’m going to address some stereotypes and the dangers thereof. See you then.

The State of Biblical Counseling Today, Part I

The State of Biblical Counseling Today:
Discussing the ABC Symposium, Part I

The Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC) (www.christiancounseling.com) made history on May 14, 2009, at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, TX (www.ccbcfamily.org). ABC President, Jeremy Lelek, convened leaders from four major biblical Christian counseling organizations to converse about the state of biblical counseling today.

The Plan

My plan, Lord willing, is to blog (www.rpministries.blogspot.com) several days this week about this significant event. Today, I want to give a “shout out” to Jeremy Lelek, and then I will share a brief biography of each participant (along with links for further information).

In the coming days, I will share a summary of what occurred, along with my own perspective as one of the participants. My hope is to continue the conversation as readers leave their comments and responses.

A “Shout Out” to Jeremy Lelek and the ABC

The Association of Biblical Counselors is a new organization—the “new kid on the block.” Like any newer organization, they are carving out their niche and creating their own identity. Thus, in my opinion, it was an amazingly bold move for them to invite speakers from four different biblical Christian counseling groups to join together at their first annual conference.

The risks, potentially, were great. Attempts in years past to convene diverse speakers to discuss the state of biblical counseling have, shall we say, not necessarily ended well.

Additionally, our modern tendency to stereotype people based simply on affiliation, could have left the ABC open to criticism such as, “By inviting _______, you’re not endorsing the _______ are you!?”

For these and many more reasons, I applaud Jeremy Lelek and the ABC for great courage. In order to equip the nearly 500 attendees, the ABC rejected the fear of man. They built bridges. They extended the conversation. They have my utmost respect.

The Symposium Participants

Joining Dr. Lelek and Dr. John Henderson were the following leaders in the field of biblical Christian counseling (in alphabetical order):

Dr. Eric Johnson

Eric is Professor of Pastoral Care at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY (http://www.sbts.edu/theology/faculty/eric-johnson/). Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous books and articles, including co-editor of Christianity and Psychology: Four Views, and author of Foundations for Soul Care. He also is the Director of the Society of Christian Psychologists (www.christianpsych.org), a Division of the American Association of Christian Counselors (www.aacc.net).

Dr. Robert Kellemen

Bob is the Founder and CEO of RPM Ministries (www.rpmministries.org) where he equips God’s people to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. He is the Chairman of the MA in Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD (www.bible.edu). Dr. Kellemen has authored over 75 articles. He is also the author of the books: Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friend, and Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. He is the Director of the Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Network (www.aacc.net/divisions/bcsfn/) for the American Association of Christian Counselors (www.aacc.net). Bob has pastored three churches.

Dr. David Powlison

David is a counselor and professor at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) (www.ccef.org). For almost two decades Dr. Powlison has served as the Editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He has authored scores of articles and many books, including Seeing with New Eyes, and Speaking Truth in Love. David is also adjunct professor at Westminster Theological Seminary (www.wts.edu) in Philadelphia, PA. David is an internationally-known and gifted speaker, equipping believers around the world.

Dr. Steve Viars

Dr. Viars is the Sr. Pastor of Faith Baptist Church (www.faithlafayette.org) in Lafayette, IN. Pastor Viars also oversees Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries (http://www.faithlafayette.org/ministry4.aspx) which trains 1000s of biblical counselors around the globe. Under Steve’s direction, Faith Baptist recently launched their own church-based seminary, Faith Bible Seminary (http://www.faithlafayette.org/Ministry3.aspx). Steve is a past President of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (www.nanc.org). In his many roles, he is a nationally-known speaker who is passionate about equipping churches for biblical counseling.

The Next Step

I invite you to return tomorrow as I will attempt the impossible: summarizing the symposium.

Biblical Counseling Symposium

Biblical Counseling Symposium

Are you interested in the state of modern biblical counseling?

Jeremy Lelek, President of the Association of Biblical Counselors, has organized a Biblical Counseling Symposium to address just that issue. What is the state of biblical counseling? What is the future of biblical counseling? How do we even define the term “biblical counseling.”

On May 14, from 6:30-9:30 PM at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, TX four leaders from four counseling organizations will gather for three hours to discuss from their various perspectives biblical counseling.

1. Dr. David Powlison, Editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling and leader in the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.

2. Dr. Steve Viars, Senior Pastor Faith Baptist Church and leader of Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries.

3. Dr. Eric Johnson, Director of the Society for Christian Psychology and Professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

4. Dr. Bob Kellemen, Director of the Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Network and Chairman of the Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department at Capital Bible Seminary.

Over 350 people have already registered.

The purposes of the Symposium include, to provide a platform of conversation that will:

1. Allow discussion from various perspectives in biblical and Christian counseling.

2. Provide panel members an opportunity to model Christian character when discussing areas of disagreement within Christian and biblical counseling.

3. Identify distinctions among panel members.

4. Identify areas of commonality among panel members.

5. Allow panel members to identify areas of potential collaboration in reestablishing Scripture as the basis and lens of all things “Christian counseling.”

6. Allow panel members to consider areas of potential collaboration in restoring “soul care” to the Body of Christ.

To register: http://www.christiancounseling.com/en/cev/157

Learn more about Dr. Kellemen's model: http://www.rpmministries.org/