The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Counseling is now available ($10 for a year’s electronic subscription of three issues), this one containing the following pieces:
Editorial
David Powlison
Giving Reasoned Answers to Reasonable Questions
In a 2011 interview with Psychology Today, David Powlison was asked a series of questions about biblical counseling. This issue’s editorial centers around that interview. First, Powlison articulates a conscious strategy for redemptive engagement that shaped how he approached the opportunity. A reprint of the original interview follows. Powlison then reflects back on his answers, drawing out the particular biblical truths that came into play in the effort to present biblical counseling to this secular audience.
Featured Articles
Mike Emlet
Five Ministry Priorities for Those Struggling with Same-Sex Attraction
Is same-sex attraction a taboo subject in your church? If it is, you are probably failing to connect to people in your congregation who are struggling silently and need fellowship and support. In this article, Mike Emlet speaks to this pastoral need. He offers practical ways that ministry leaders and wise lay persons can positively impact the church culture in order to offer help to those who struggle with same-sex attraction.
Brad Hambrick
Making Peace with Romans 8:28
A snippet of Romans 8:28 – “All things work together for good” – is often blithely quoted to sufferers as if it is a panacea. But when offered this way, it rarely provides comfort. This is unfortunate because the eighth chapter of Romans is intended to connect to hurting and struggling people. Brad Hambrick reestablishes that connection by first uncovering some false beliefs about suffering and then placing Romans 8:28 in its proper context, enabling us to appreciate its stunning truth.
Steve Midgley
Something Worth Meeting For – A Biblical Vision for Small Groups
Nearly every church has small groups of some sort, and nearly every church struggles with the question of: why are we meeting? Steve Midgley, a pastor in England, experienced this in his church. Using principles of personal sanctification intrinsic to biblical counseling, he refocused the groups to “learn to be like Jesus.” Read how he implemented this vision in his church.
Counselor’s Toolbox
Alasdair Groves
How to Set Up Church-Based Accountability Groups
This article also addresses small group ministry. It dovetails with Midgley’s larger vision by focusing on one, problem-specific application: accountability groups. Groves offers practical instruction on how to start and sustain this type of ministry in your church. He sets this within the biblical call for brothers and sisters to hold one another accountable, confess significant sin patterns, and support one another in the battle against sin.
David Powlison
What Is Your Calling?
This toolbox article helps people identify a personal calling. Powlison asks a series of initial questions to help readers to discern a vocation within the kingdom. A second set of questions helps readers to recognize opportunities to use their vocation, specifically related to counseling ministry. Relatively few people identify themselves as “counselors,” but all of us counsel no matter what our vocation. Work through the article—and its two worksheets—for yourself or with a counselee.
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