A Must-Have Book If You Talk With People About Problems

It took me awhile to overcome an antipathy to counseling. I envisioned it as a full-time profession which would compete with pastoral ministry. I also thought of it as Christianized secular psychology. And, honestly, I wanted to think all problems would be resolved by preaching, thus eliminating face-to-face guidance. Once I analyzed Jesus' ministry and understood that making disciples was a lifestyle of counsel, I was able to adjust my thinking to the biblical model for both preaching and shepherding.

To help along the way was the annual Biblical Counseling Seminar at Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN. There I learned more adequately to interface biblical theology with biblical ministry. This program gives tools for listening, guiding and coaching others (and oneself) through the process of growth in Christlikeness in the arena of real life struggles. It does so with a humble yet driven spirit and offers the resources of many men and women successfully involved in various counseling formats in local churches. While it focuses on person-to-person interaction, the training enhances the pulpit ministry by forwarding the biblical role of expository preaching in its confrontational and coming-alongside roles.

The reason I say all of this is to recommend for your consideration John MacArthur’s anthology on Counseling:How to Counsel Biblically. Part of the “John MacArthur Pastor’s Library” series published by a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, this book is excellent for those who cannot attend a training seminar such as the one in Lafayette. On the other hand it is a magnificent review resource for any who have been to such a seminar. Contributors such as David Powlison, Robert Smith and the late William Goode are or have been heavily involved in the Lafayette ministry.

A significant contributor, Dr. Wayne A. Mack, has an impressive resume in both pastoral and counseling categories, having studied under Dr. Jay Adams at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also was responsible for developing and supervising the Master of Arts in BiblicalCounseling department of The Masters College in Santa Clarita, CA.

The authors take sharp aim against the quasi-Christian formats of secular psychology wearing a mask of biblical vocabulary; but their effort is more constructive than polemic. They help the reader see what biblical counseling can look like in the home, in the church and on the tennis court. (Well, maybe not the tennis court.) It is an important read for any serious disciple of Jesus Christ.