Consider Your Counsel: Addressing Ten Mistakes in Our Biblical Counselling
ISBN: 9781645071457Biblical counseling is not an easy calling. How do you effectively communicate the gospel to hurting people? Theological training and learning from other counselors are both key to growing in the wisdom, love, and skill needed to apply Scripture to yourself and others. Preparation is key, but sometimes the most effective training comes after you've jumped into the ring-when a coach puts his arm around your shoulder and helps you take a look at what you've done well and where you can grow.
In Consider Your Counsel, Bob Kellemen comes alongside counselors and shares where he and others have missed the mark. Drawing on more than three decades of counseling supervision experience, he unpacks ten of the most common missteps that he has noticed in his own counseling, as well as those he has mentored.
From teaching before listening to targeting sin but not suffering, Kellemen helps counselors of all ages see where they may need to reassess their methods and continue to grow. Each chapter briefly discusses a typical counseling mistake, then delves into a discussion of alternative approaches and practical suggestions for maturing as biblical counselor.
This uniquely helpful book will help readers do an honest assessment of their counseling and encourage them to grow as counselors and friends.
Author:
Bob Kellemen, ThM, PhD, is Academic Dean, Dean of Students, and Professor of Biblical Counseling at Faith Bible Seminary in Lafayette, Indiana. Bob is also the Founder and CEO of RPM Ministries, through which he speaks, writes, and consults on biblical counseling and Christian living. Dr. Kellemen served as the founding Executive Director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition. Bob and his wife, Shirley, have been married for forty years and have two adult children and three granddaughters. He is the author of twenty books, including Gospel-Centered Counseling, Gospel Conversations, and Consider Your Counsel
Endorsements:
"Drawing upon years of experience in training and supervising biblical counselors, Bob Kellemen highlights the mistakes and imbalances he has observed in both young and seasoned counselors (including himself!) in order to provide a 'supervision in writing' for his readers. In so doing, he implicitly demonstrates the growth and development of the biblical counseling movement over time. Particularly helpful are his reflections on the relationship between the sufficiency of Scripture and the competency of the biblical counselor."
--Michael R. Emlet, Dean of Faculty and counselor, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF); author of Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners
"As counselors, it's our aim to help people in the process of change and growth. But what about us? Counselors must never lose sight of the fact that we, too, are in that same process. Consider Your Counsel sheds fresh light on the value and benefit of humble evaluation and continued sharpening. I highly commend Bob's book to the newest and most seasoned counselors alike and encourage you to join me in revisiting it often."
--Eliza Huie, Author of Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World
"Good counselors should know how to evaluate our counsel and learn from our mistakes. In his latest book, Bob Kellemen does exactly that. Pulling from a deep well of experience, he works through ten common mistakes biblical counselors can make. Through it all, Bob's heart for others shines through. Never the stern or austere judge, he serves as a loving and patient guide. This brief book should be required for all counselors, new and old alike."
--Jonathan D. Holmes, Executive Director, Fieldstone Counseling; Pastor of Counseling, Parkside Church
"When I read books on counseling, I measure them by the chapters that speak to my need to be a better counselor. Consider Your Counsel by Bob Kellemen helps me in all ten chapters. He calls me to listen more and reminds me that I need to see counselees first as sufferers. As a physician, I am grateful for the reminder that physical disorders impact our emotions, thinking, and behavior. There is so much good in this book for anyone who wants to be better at helping others!"
--Charles D. Hodges Jr, Practicing Family Physician in Indianapolis, Indiana; executive director, Vision of Hope, Lafayette, Indiana
"Bob Kellemen is one of the most encouraging people I know. Even when he is challenging his fellow biblical counselors regarding errors we sometimes make, he does so in a gentle and positive manner. He draws upon his decades of experience training counselors to succinctly identify ten ways in which we (and yes, that includes me) fall short of providing the loving biblical care we aspire to give. Bob supports his concerns with Scripture while also offering wisdom from historical examples of faithful soul care. This is a book I want to get into the hands of my students as they move from the theory to the practice of biblical counseling."
--Jim Newheiser, Director of the Christian Counseling Program, RTS Charlotte; executive director IBCC; author of Money, Debt, and Finances
"In Consider Your Counsel, Dr. Kellemen distills thirty-five years of experience in the classroom and church to highlight ten common mistakes we can make as pastors, counselors, and the body of Christ. But he doesn't merely point out our tendencies-he also offers a loving way forward. Consider Your Counsel is a gift to the church by casting a vision for compassionate, comprehensive, and communal care that reflects the God of all comfort and our Good Shepherd. This work will benefit every church leader and member as we seek to bear one another's burdens."
--Robert K. Cheong, Pastor of Care, Sojourn Church Midtown; executive director, Gospel Care Ministries
Additional Information:
| Cover: | Softcover |
| Number of Pages: | 103 |
| Publisher: | New Growth Press |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |