Biblical Counseling and the Church

Book excerpt: As people face addictions, deal with loss and grief, and seek help in restoring broken relationships, where can they turn for counsel and assistance? The local church has been uniquely blessed with the gift of the gospel and is able to offer hope and counsel that no other institution on earth can. In Biblical Counseling and the Church, Bob Kellemen and Kevin Carson have assembled over twenty respected ministry leaders who examine the relationship between counseling and the church. This comprehensive resource, part of the Biblical Counseling Coalition series, helps leaders and counselors develop a vision that goes beyond being a church with a biblical counseling ministry to becoming a church of biblical counseling—a church culture that is saturated by “one-another” ministry. Divided into five parts, Biblical Counseling and the Church will help church leaders: Unite the pulpit ministry of preaching the Word with the personal ministry of the Word in counseling Offer practical and theological training to equip counselors Launch and lead a counseling ministry, regardless of the size of your church Bring together the relational focus of small group ministry with the ministry of care and counseling Better understand the relationship between biblical counseling, church discipline, and conflict resolution Learn how to use counseling in outreach through “missional” biblical counseling—moving biblical counseling beyond the doors of the church and into the world