Jim’s Posts
Parenting in an LGBTQ Culture
For many Christian parents, their worst nightmare is that their child (or grandchild) will come out as homosexual or transgender. Phillip, a fourteen-year-old boy, told his parents that he believes that he is a girl in a boy’s body. Amy, a thirty-one-year-old pastor’s daughter, announced to her family that she is transitioning to become a man and that if they want a relationship with...
Read More
Balancing the Billy Graham Rule
It is well known that from the earliest days of their ministry together, Billy Graham and his team made a rule not to be alone with a woman to whom they were not married—for example, in a car or in a restaurant. This rule was both to maintain their purity and their reputation. Just as in our day, they were aware of many Christian...
Read More
New Book: The Abuse Pendulum
In the early days of my biblical counseling experience (nearly 40 years ago) concern for protecting marriage sometimes kept us from doing enough to protect spouses (usually women) who were being oppressed. I firmly believe that abuse remains a significant problem, even among professing Christians, and that churches and counselors need to prioritize safety of victims of abuse. I also am concerned that in...
Read More
Who Is Competent to Counsel?
We Are All Called to Be Counselors Jay Adams launched the modern biblical counseling movement by quoting Romans 15:14, which states, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” He reminds us that this was written not only to the leaders in the Roman church, but to...
Read More
Hebrews 11 and Cancel Culture
We all have become familiar with cancel culture in the media, entertainment, and academia. People who take unpopular positions are banished from social media and school campuses. Speakers who are deemed to be on the wrong side are shouted down. Heroes from the past are not spared as their statues are torn down and their names removed from buildings named in their honor because...
Read More
The Abuse Pendulum, Part 4: Can Sexual Consent take Place when there is a Power Differential? (Revised)
Introduction – Shameful abuses of power1 There have been many highly publicized cases of powerful people (usually men) who have pressured subordinates into inappropriate sexual relationships. The heinousness of those who used their position of trust and power to gratify their own lusts has rightly been exposed and deplored. The Lord’s sheep must be protected from such wolves who have permanently disqualified themselves from...
Read More
Balanced Preaching: A Four-Legged Stool as a Model
I am pleased to share my latest journal article, published in the Southeastern Seminary's journal, the Southeastern Theological Review. Abstract: While consecutive expository preaching has become the norm in many conservative churches, different preachers have different emphases. Some focus upon detailed expositions of the text so that their sermons sound like running commentaries. Other preachers emphasize certain favorite theologicalthemes. Some rush straight into application,...
Read More
Interacting on Social Media with Those with Whom We Differ
Many are troubled by the destructive ways people interact on social media. And the issue isn’t merely non-Christians fighting with each other over politics. Many professing Christians have contributed to this sad situation. While most of us admit that there is a significant problem with the discourse on social media, few of us think of ourselves as being a major part of the problem....
Read More
Podcast: Truth In Love: The Abuse Pendulum, Part 2
In this podcast, Dale Johnson interviews me about spousal abuse. For the blogs under discussion, see my Abuse Counseling page. https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/podcast-episodes/the-abuse-pendulum-part-2-2/
Read More
Podcast: Truth In Love: The Abuse Pendulum, Part 1
In this podcast, Dale Johnson interviews me about spousal abuse. For the blogs under discussion, see my Abuse Counseling page. https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/podcast-episodes/the-abuse-pendulum-part-1-2/
Read More