Biblical Counseling
Biblical Strategies for Dealing with Anger
Biblical definition of anger. Anger is a God-given emotion of displeasure. It is seen in Scripture as being something felt and expressed by both God and man (ex. God: Ps. 7:11; 78:49; Jesus: Mark 3:5). Anger can be righteous or unrighteous. Even if our anger is righteous, anger is not something we strive to possess or keep in our lives....
Forty-Eight Things you Can Do to Relieve Anxiety
Dealing with anxiety can be an up-and-down journey. The hills and valleys come when you least except them. We would love to just take the short cut to avoid them, or the straight path that will cut right through them, but it is not always that easy. Believe me, I know. Anxiety is a frequent feeling that I have dealt...
6 Essential Strategies For Building Rapport with Clients in Counseling
When a person sits down with you and asks you to give them wisdom on something they are facing in their life, it can be nerve-racking. What do I say? Will they like me and trust me? Can we build rapport fast so I can speak the truth in love? These and the questions will plague the mind of a...
7 Items for a Pastoral Care Team Meeting Agenda
Every week I sit with our Care and Counseling Team to review the current people we are caring for. This is not always a short meeting. On any given week we may have as many as 60 active cases to review. A "case" is someone that we we are currently engaging in biblical counseling or are caring for in...
I Want to Punch God.
Life is not fair. God is always fair. Shelly (name changed) is a woman who has had a very hard life. The things she has told me in our counseling sessions are enough to make me depressed. I’ve told her time and again, “I wish there was a ‘reset’ button I could push for you. Life has been so hard...
The Search for a Biblical View of Counseling (A Helpful Article Review)
Dr. David E. Carlson wrote an intriguing article in the mid 70’s that was delivered at the Research in Mental Health and Religions Behavior Conference in 1976. It was title, "Jesus’ Style of Relating: The Search for a Biblical View of Counseling”. His goal for this article was to “Bridge the gap between carrying helping professions and dedicated to communicating...
10 Resources for Counseling Marriage Conflict
Prepare and Enrich Prepare and Enrich is a tool that was designed by Dr. David Olsen to help evaluate the health of a couple’s relationship. This tool can be used for premarital and marriage relationships. It is something that a counselor would administer and facilitate for the couple, allowing them to see what is happening behind the scenes in their...
3 Keys to Helping Someone Through Loss
This may sound a bit off, but consider this a pastoral confession: I enjoy being involved with people at their greatest point of loss. There is nothing more tragic than the loss of someone you love. Death is hard, no matter when it comes. As a pastor, I am often involved in helping people through the loss of their loved one,...
Bible Verses for the Depressed
Though it is not something I am proud of, I have to admit that the last few days have been some of the hardest days I’ve had in a long time. The number of sermons yet to be prepared and preached were overwhelming to me. I was burdened by the responsibilities of the church. The shambles my personal life...
Understanding Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of Scripture
What is the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture and how do they work together to help us? As the ultimate standard for life and living, there will never be any facts or findings that can contradict it. Because of the inerrancy of Scripture, we can hold it as the total truth and standard for all ethical, social, spiritual, and life science issues.
Is Virtual Biblical Counseling Effective?
The app is open. I am logged in. Now I wait. I bounce my leg under my desk and tap my pen impatiently. You would think this was my first time talking to a someone through Zoom, let alone a counseling client. Lights. Camera. Action. The counselee signs on, I add him to the room, and boom, we’re “live.” What could...
Summary of the Seven Keys to “Strategic Pastoral Counseling” by David Benner
Counseling within the church context is full of challenges. Knowing what to offer it to your congregation and the boundaries that should exist within your counseling ministry are not intuitive. I have learned this the hard way, over the last nine years, as I have established two different biblical counseling ministry from the ground up. We have made our...