The newly formed Biblical Counseling Coalition (2011) organized around the goal of fostering collaborative relationships as well as providing relevant biblical resources that equip the body of Christ to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. As their confessional statement continues, it says that they pursue “this purpose by organizing our thinking around one central question: What does it mean to counsel in the grace and truth of Christ?” (429). Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling, edited by James MacDonald, Bob Kellemen, and Stephen Viars, is this goal and purpose expanded into one volume containing over forty authors. The shear amount of participation followed by coherence among these authors is amazing in itself. The collaborative nature among these biblical counselors who are comprised of men and women of various backgrounds, with different experiences, makes this volume a unique compendium of writing on one subject. For anyone looking for one book that summarizes and explains biblical counseling, this is definitely the book.
The first half is composed of the theology behind biblical counseling. John Piper’s chapter, “The Glory of God: The Goal of Biblical Counseling,” is placed first. Piper, in usual fashion, impacts readers from the beginning. He states that the goal in biblical counseling is “God-centered, Bible-saturated, emotionally-in-touch use of language to help people become God-besotted, Christ–exalting, joyfully self forgetting lovers of people” (24). From here, the rest of part 1 connects biblical counseling with the nature of Scripture, the Trinity, and redemption, and applying these truths through the gospel to the sinful human heart, leading to salvation and producing holiness, being held together by the hope of eternity. What is described is really nothing new; it is simply taking Scripture within its context and connecting it to the Bible’s grand narrative. In the midst of this big picture is the hope that comes through understanding the gospel. As Nicolas Ellen and Jeremy Lelek explain in their chapter, “the reason for this rests in the fact that our hearts are wired for worship, and our worship is directly tied to our sense of hope.” (218). This hope drives our pursuit of holiness as we fight the battles of sin and suffering, with the truths of Christ, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The second half of the book is composed of the practice behind biblical counseling. It is here that the theology of biblical counseling in the first half is fleshed out in the life of the church and in the ministry of the counselor. The view of the writers in this book is that “formal counseling is required when struggles of sin and suffering reach a point of crisis, but informal counseling occurs all the time.” (227). Therefore, focus is not only given to private ministry of the Word in the counseling room, but also the public ministry of the Word. These two aspects of counseling interweave together as they both serve similar functions in the believer’s spiritual formation. Both ministries encourage believers to “grow spiritually by abiding in Jesus” (290). In addition to displaying what biblical counseling looks like in the life of the church, attention is given to the process and procedure of change. The goal here is to “equip biblical counselors to minister God’s Word to hurting people with confidence, competence and compassion” (325). This includes explanations of data gathering, sorting out problems, counselor involvement, finding idols of the heart, seeing the power of confession, repentance and forgiveness, as well as understanding the complexities of the mind/soul relationship.
I recommend Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling for two reasons. First, this book is extremely practical. Providing a theology that undergirds counseling is necessary, but theology should always lead to practice. Case studies abound throughout this volume displaying truth applied to problems. In addition, many chapters come with bullet points, diagrams and grids to help further break down information.
Second, Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling offers a helpful balance between different strands of biblical counseling. This was clearly demonstrated by Laura Hendrickson in her chapter on “The Complex Mind/Body Connection.” Hendrickson wades through difficult waters when she addresses disagreements over medicine and counseling. She argues that when it comes to medicine and counseling, “neither extreme position is consistent with the full counsel of Scripture or with the findings of medical science” (415). This balance displayed throughout this book comes through having a variety of writers, which again adds to the value of this volume.
As Bob Kellemen and Steve Viars conclude, “Christ Centered Biblical Counseling will equip you to equip others also so that we bring Him glory through our individual and corporate growth in Christlikeness” (426). This conclusion shows through in the message of this book where the reader will see that, “understanding people, diagnosing the root sources of problems, and prescribing wise ‘treatment options’ requires robust, relational, comprehensive and compassionate care grounded in our shared redemptive relationship to Christ” (422).
Michael Nelson is Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Osceola, AR.
This book review is from the recent issue of Credo Magazine. Read others like it today!
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What’s the Big Idea Story?
Why Biblical Theology Should Matter to Every Bible-Believing Christian
When the sixteenth-century Reformation erupted, one of the alarming dangers that became blatantly obvious to reformers like Martin Luther was the pervasiveness of biblical illiteracy among the laity. It may be tempting to think that this problem has been solved almost five hundred years later. However, in our own day biblical illiteracy in the pew continues to present a challenge. Many Christians in our post-Christian context simply are not acquainted with the storyline of the Bible and God’s actions in redemptive history from Adam to the second Adam.
With this concern in mind, the current issue of Credo Magazine strives to take a step forward, in the right direction, by emphasizing the importance of “biblical theology.” Therefore, we have brought together some of the best and brightest minds to explain what biblical theology is, why it is so important, and how each and every Christian can become a biblical theologian. Our hope in doing so is that every Christian will return to the text of Scripture with an unquenchable appetite to not only read the Bible, but comprehend God’s unfolding plan of salvation.
Contributors include: Justin Taylor, Darian Lockett, Edwards Klink III, David Murray, Stephen Dempster, James Hamilton, T. Desmond Alexander, Stephen Wellum, Peter Gentry, G. K. Beale, Graham Cole, and many others.