A few years ago, I wrote two blogs expressing concern that biblical counselors need to approach the very sensitive and important issue of abuse in a scripturally balanced way. You can find Part One here and Part Two here. I began the previous blogs with an acknowledgment that the church and biblical counselors have often […]
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Category: Counseling
You’re Invited! Transgenderism: The Reshaping of Reality in Our Culture
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak at Christ Covenant Church on the topic of transgenderism on January 29th, from 7 PM to 9 PM. I will be speaking alongside my colleague Dr. Kevin DeYoung and Laura Perry, who will share her personal testimony. As can be seen from the flyer below, I […]
Why Do Some Children Become Prodigals?
Parents of prodigals spend many agonizing hours asking themselves, “Why did my child rebel? Is it because I was a bad parent? Is it because my child got in with the wrong crowd?” Sometimes we may even ask God, “Why don’t you do something to bring my child back?” The problem of wayward children is […]
Lessons Learned from a Fallen Pastor
Introduction (by Jim Newheiser) Recently, the BCC presented a blog about “Helping Adult Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse,” authored by Caroline Newheiser along with an anonymous victim. A fallen pastor who read Caroline’s blog contacted me and wanted to tell his story as a warning to church leaders, so we have written this blog together. […]
Helping Adult Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse
Recent news reports have revealed the sad reality of several adult women who were victims of sexual misconduct by a man in spiritual leadership. The following article offers suggestions for the counselor who has the opportunity to counsel women in similar situations.1Though this article addresses female victims, men can also be victims of sexual abuse, […]
A Health Crisis, a Financial Crisis, and a Spiritual Crisis
For the past several months, the attention of the world has been focused upon the health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which tens of millions of people have been infected and hundreds of thousands have died. We pray that our political leaders will govern wisely and that doctors and scientists will be able to […]
A Phased Reopening of a Formerly Abusive Marriage
During the COVID crisis, restrictions have been put in place which have sometimes kept people apart for the purpose of safety. For counseling cases in which there has been marital abuse the victim often must be separated from the abuser for the sake of safety. During this time, we counsel the abuser separate from the […]
The Battleship of Abuse
Do you remember playing the game Battleship when you were a kid? You would try to discover where your opponent had stationed his ships on a grid representing the ocean so you could shoot and sink them. One shot, however, wouldn’t sink a battleship. Some ships could be sunk with as few as two hits […]
3 Lessons from David’s Fall and Forgiveness
As we face our sin, we have to navigate between two unbiblical ditches. One is despairing that our sin is beyond forgiveness. The other is carelessly thinking we can violate God’s commands without experiencing painful repercussions. The fall of David in 2 Samuel 11 is one of the saddest accounts in all of Scripture. Yet […]
“I Miss Your Touch” — One of the Negative Effects of COVID-19
Our culture is undergoing necessary restrictions because of the novel coronavirus. The consequences are creeping into our behavior, influencing habits, and affecting the joys of human interaction. These changes began slowly, as our culture sought to follow the rules of social distancing with the admirable goal of protecting others as well as ourselves from becoming […]