In my seminary’s counseling class, professors challenged the pastoral training class to find a good counselor or psychologist and outsource the vast majority of their counseling once they became pastors. The professors explained that the risks, frustrations, and relational pitfalls of counseling people would far outweigh the benefits that a pastor devoted to counseling might see. For many in the class, … Read More
How to Be Light in the Darkness
I had a great talk with a friend who leads a family-strengthening organization who was quite disappointed in recent developments in our home state of Illinois. Despite rallying churches and families to seek to pass moral laws, our state is seemingly unconcerned with what God thinks about many moral issues. That he was disappointed was not a surprise to me. What … Read More
7 Insights on Staying Power
As we learn the staying power of Jesus and how he stepped into the crisis moments of our lives, we can help others. We too have the ability to endure. Please share this article by Dr. Donna Hart, which appeared first here on her blog, with the people you care about. Thanks. We often wonder how we should respond to … Read More
A Daughter’s Eulogy for Dad
My dad died on Easter the year it was also April Fool’s Day. God picked the day. And it suited Dad. Ever the jokester, he’d think it funny that God chose this particular day for his homecoming. But none of this was funny at the time, of course. Grief is hard. And it’s personal and lonely and hard. Yes, I said … Read More
Helping Churches Arrive at Healthier Place
You’re invited to our 3rd Annual Biblical Counseling Conference in greater Chicago! It’s been a rough year for many churches in Chicago this year. Scandals involving abuse of power, financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and cover-ups have all hit the news. Sadly, many are beginning to wonder if all churches are like this. “We have much work to do.” As a … Read More
Counseling the Wife of a Passive Husband (part 2)
Christian wives with passive husbands are hurting and need counsel in order to choose thoughts, words, and actions that are honoring to Christ. In part one, we looked at two counseling sketches and defined passivity in a husband. Today, we’ll consider how a counselor might best counsel the wife of a passive husband, including the outworking of anger, self-pity, fear, and loneliness as well … Read More
Counseling the Wife of a Passive Husband (part 1)
Married to a passive husband? We’ve all heard of the “perfect” husband. He’s attentive and understanding, a lover of the home. And you’ve also read sick stories of wife beaters and serial adulterers. Disgusting! But what if your guy falls has simply “checked out”? Life with him isn’t horrible but it’s lonely. What’s a wife to do? Let’s first see if … Read More
When Counseling the Sexually Violated
Counseling a sexually violated woman is heart-breaking and hopeful, for her and for the counselor. This article by Lucy Ann Moll, D.Min., a BCC counselor who counsels worldwide by Skype/FaceTime/Zoom, appeared first on her website. Sexually violated women are real people with real and tragic stories. But there is hope. Perhaps you’re counseling a sexually violated woman now. Or maybe … Read More
The Bible Addresses Contemporary Issues
I had the privilege of speaking to several churches lately on the topic of suicide prevention and biblical counseling. As a counseling center, we are committed to bringing God’s word into the darkest corners so that the light of Christ shines brightly. In recent months, we have featured articles on PTSD, OCD, Abuse, and Suicide in our resource center. We … Read More
