Ministry Counseling

The wreckage of addiction lies scattered around too many people - from the one who is or was addicted to those in relationship with that person. Age-old culprits of drugs, alcohol, and gambling are joined by newer addictions, such as food, prescription medication, shopping, pornography, and technology. Left unaddressed, addiction devastates lives now and makes it difficult to see a positive way forward. For anyone struggling with an addiction, attempting to live in recovery, or seeking to understand the mind of an addict they love, Dr. Jantz's newest book is a lifeline.

The Christian counselor or pastor plays an important role in helping people process the trauma they’ve experienced. Too often, a client leaves the counselor’s office with feelings of guilt and shame. They feel the heavy burden of what they did wrong. But somehow, they’ve missed the grace of God that makes things right again.

Between alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, pornography, gambling, and eating disorders, fully 25 percent of the population of the United States is addicted to something. Those addictions are taking a massive physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. The problem can feel insurmountable. But there is a solution, at once ancient and supported by the latest in neuroscientific research.

What do you do when it feels like God isn’t there―when the state of the world, our own suffering, or the struggles of those we know suggest that God is absent? When you’ve experienced soul-crushing silence from heaven, despite your fervent supplications? Looking at Habakkuk, Job, David, and Jesus, as well as reflecting on his own experience of deep suffering, Adam Mabry examines the art of lament―how to cry out to God in desperation from a place of faith and hope. At the end, there are practical suggestions for what you can do to keep faith even in times of darkness and doubt.

For Christians, particularly those in vocational ministry, the stigma surrounding mental illness and mental health often creates an atmosphere of secrecy where the enemy's lies reign. Julie Busler understands the pain of mental illness and has learned that trials not only humanize us but increase our capacity to be used by God. In Joyful Sorrow, she invites us into her own journey where a mental breakdown took her from being a missionary to a suicidal patient. With vulnerability and grace, Julie demonstrates that even in the sorrow of mental illness, joy can coexist.

Everyone experiences emotions―some easy, some difficult. Dealing with them should be common sense, and yet it isn’t. Even though emotions are not uncommon to the human experience, we lack the language to fully understand and express them. This failure to understand can often lead to frustration and broken relationships. In The Path to Wholeness, Dr. Mark Mayfield teaches listeners how to slow down and explore the way our emotions develop.

It is said that the true test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. As many as one in four girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse during childhood, and it's estimated that as many as half of the incidents are never reported. This means that countless millions in our societies, both children and adults, carry this complex, often hidden pain. What does the path to healing look like for survivors? And how can ministry leaders, pastors, and counselors best help them as they walk this difficult road? Drawing on both his own experience and his wife's experience as survivors of childhood sexual abuse, minister and lecturer Tim Hein offers his expertise.

Everyone suffers disappointment, rejection, injustices, and losses, perhaps even traumatic ones. The spiritual pain born of such suffering can paralyze us, leaving us broken inside and barely getting by with the motions of life. Whether we remain stuck or move forward is determined in large part by our resilience.

Does the phrase church discipline sound like an oxymoron? The church’s message is about grace, we reason, while discipline feels like the opposite of grace. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples to practice church discipline because it’s one way congregations grow in holiness and imitate God’s own love. In this audiobook, Jonathan Leeman presents biblical answers to questions about the nature and application of church discipline, conveying that Scripture presents church discipline as both loving and necessary.

The powerful testimonies of 11 widows of the Bible are brought to narrative life in lyrical, visceral prose that brings listeners deep inside the women's grief, strength, and faith. Full of both haunting and hope, Not Alone connects Biblical widows' voices in a chorus of commiseration that reminds us what it means to love - and what it means to live with God.

The Mentoring Project’s flagship mentoring resource is its field guides. These long-form pieces provide practical guidance on various aspects of life as a Christian, like finances, purity, technology, work, and more. Written by pastors and other Christian leaders, these field guides provide a biblical framework for mentors and mentees to discuss these topics and grow together.

Americans spend $13 billion a year on pornography, the regular viewing of which is linked to higher acceptance of violence against women and adversarial sexual beliefs. Therapists and pastors are not always adequately equipped to address the unique demands of competent care for those struggling with sexually addictive behaviors. Reclaiming Sexual Wholeness, edited by Todd Bowman, presents cutting-edge research from a diverse group of experts in a single, comprehensive resource intended for therapists, clergy, and others in helping professions.

Based on his popular blog and Ancient Faith Radio podcast, Orthodixie, Father Joseph Huneycutt presents a humorous look at the pluses, minuses, joys, pitfalls, and struggles of perpetual conversion within an Orthodox Christian worldview. Within this audiobook, you'll find all those familiar characters you've encountered in exploring American Orthodoxy - but with a hilarious twist: the Orthodox Christian anarchist, the Orthodox white boy, and that incomparable superhero, Ortho-Man.

God delights in transforming lives. In Broken into Beautiful, singer and songwriter Gwen Smith's first book, she tells the real-life stories of women with shattered dreams, shameful secrets, and damaged souls and the God who makes them beautiful again. Each chapter features a compelling personal story coupled with relevant biblical teaching and application. Listeners will meet women wounded by infidelity, abortion, widowhood, abuse, and other tragic events, only to discover the joy of being restored by a loving heavenly Father.

Mrs. Hallelujah shares how the childhood trauma that kept her bound for years vanished at the sound of praise! Find out how it’s done in this dramatic rendition of Praise No Matter What Happens. Praise opens the door and allows God to fill the inner depths of the heart. Imagine what this one principle can do for your life, your health, and the people you come in contact with every day. May it motivate and affirm a way of thinking about God beyond the unfortunate events you face, for He is the answer to every problem no matter what happens.

Il n’y a peut-être pas de plus grande crainte dans le coeur d’un parent que celle de voir son enfant chéri et bien élevé se transformer en enfant prodigue. Dans ce livre, Jim Newheiser et Elyse Fitzpatrick se basent sur leurs années d’expérience personnelle en tant que parents et conseillers bibliques pour expliquer comment des parents blessés peuvent faire face au traumatisme émotionnel causé par la rébellion d’un enfant. Ils offrent des encouragements chaleureux et des solutions concrètes qui seront utiles aux parents.

Our bodies are designed to heal. But while our skinned knees easily heal, it can sometimes feel like our emotional and relational wounds are left gaping open, broken beyond repair. If our bodies instinctively know how to heal physical injuries, could they also help us understand how to restore painful emotional and relational ruptures? Physician Jennie McLaurin and scientist Cymbeline T. Culiat present Designed to Heal: a fascinating look at how the restorative processes of the body can model patterns we may adapt to heal the acute and chronic wounds of our social bodies.

Your cancer diagnosis comes as a surprise and not a pleasant surprise. It is a hard and threatening jolt. Perhaps you are still in shock. Still trying to wrap your mind around the new reality of your diagnosis and what it means for your present and future. Is it possible to walk by faith on this difficult journey? David Powlison, speaking both as a counselor and as someone who has been diagnosed with cancer four times, describes the uncertainty, the physical pain, and the emotional and spiritual struggles that come with a cancer diagnosis.

Many of us believe that in order to please God, we have to be perfect. It’s an easy lie to buy into. In a culture that emphasizes accomplishment and ever-higher goals, we feel driven to do more, achieve more, be more. And we get caught up in the unforgiving treadmill of self-imposed rules, believing that we should, we need to, we must. The result? Anger, frustration, and anxiety that keep us far away from the life of peace that Jesus promised.

En este recurso, Ben Bennett y el autor de best sellers Josh McDowell combinan la sabiduría ganada con esfuerzo y la pasión juvenil para presentar principios bíblicos, probados por el tiempo y respaldados por la investigación, para superar las heridas, las luchas y los obstáculos para vivir una vida plenaen todo su potencial, el tipo de vida para el que has nacido.