Ministry Counseling

Sexual abuse knows no religious or social boundaries. The Wounded Heart is an intensely personal and specific look at this form of abuse. Dr. Allender explores the secret lament of the soul damaged by sexual abuse and lays hold of the hope buried there by the one whose unstained image we all bear. Includes information about false memory issues.

Increasing numbers of people involved in personal transformation are experiencing spiritual emergencies - crises when the process of growth and change becomes chaotic and overwhelming. Unfortunately, much of modern psychiatry has failed to distinguish these episodes from mental illness. As a result, transformational crises are often suppressed by routine psychiatric care, medication, and even institutionalization. When understood and treated in a supportive manner, spiritual emergencies can become gateways to higher levels of functioning and new ways of being.

In Biblical Counseling and the Church, Bob Kellemen and Kevin Carson have assembled over twenty respected ministry leaders who examine the relationship between counseling and the church. This comprehensive resource, part of the Biblical Counseling Coalition series, helps leaders and counselors develop a vision that goes beyond being a church with a biblical counseling ministry to becoming a church of biblical counseling—a church culture that is saturated by "one-another" ministry.

This one-of-a-kind resource provides pastors, church leaders, and nonprofessional counselors with everything they need to establish a program for lay counseling. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated in light of fresh research and outlines a practical training resource that can be used to train and equip lay counselors. Filled with useful forms and questionnaires, it also provides a helpful and comprehensive survey of the programs and resources that are currently available.

You can't put it into words, but something is happening to you. Your stomach churns, your heart aches, and the tension in your marriage is making you feel weary and a little crazy. The constant criticism, disrespect, cruelty, deceit, and gross indifference are eroding your confidence and breaking your spirit. For any woman caught in an emotionally destructive marriage, Leslie Vernick offers a personalized path forward.

Coaching is a widely respected and highly effective way of helping people get unstuck. Companies, churches, families, and individuals are turning to coaches for help in navigating life's transitions, obstacles, relationships, and more. This second edition of Christian Coaching is a revised, expanded, and updated version with significant new material to reflect current trends and standards in the coaching field. Dr. Collins offers you biblical principles, how-tos, and tools to enhance your coaching skills.

A diagnosis of dementia in a loved one can be both frightening and frustrating. Only a biblical foundation fuels a Christian response that both honors the patient and glorifies God. Drawing on years of professional experience working with Alzheimer's patients, Dr. John Dunlop wants to transform the way we think about dementia.

Our world constantly tells us to "do what feels good", especially when it comes to issues related to sexuality. Sadly, this mind-set always leads to guilt, pain, and heartache. And yet, in the gospel, there is good news for the sexually broken. Pointing listeners to the grace of Jesus Christ, longtime counselor and teacher David Powlison offers hope for both the sexually immoral and the sexually victimized: all brokenness will one day be transformed.

Each day men and women diagnosed with mental disorders are told they need to pray more and turn from their sin. Mental illness is equated with demonic possession, weak faith, and generational sin. As both a church leader and a professor of psychology and behavioral sciences, Michael S. Stanford has seen far too many mentally ill brothers and sisters damaged by well-meaning believers who respond to them out of fear or misinformation rather than grace. Grace for the Afflicted educates Christians about mental illness from both biblical and scientific perspectives.

Getting to know that special someone naturally involves learning about family and friends, education and athletics, favorite pastimes, and your hopes and dreams. Ideally, you'll talk about life's best moments and worst, the brightest places in your background and the darkest. But what about God? What is his role in your relationship? What do each of you believe about him, and how do you understand his dream for marriage-for your marriage?

Wrong thinking produces wrong emotions, wrong reactions, wrong behavior - and unhappiness! Learning to deal with your thoughts is the first step on the road to healthy thinking. How to handle one's thoughts properly is what this book is all about! It explains the life-changing method the authors call misbelief therapy, and it can work for you.

Reclaim your joy and thrive through the storms of life when you find your strength in God. The human soul has a built-in yearning for joy and beauty and all good things. But that craving for life is so easily lost in the pace and demands of modern life. Join New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge as he gives you the tools you need to follow Jesus' path of supernatural resilience. Between false promises of ease and comfort on one side and the sheer busyness and stress of daily life on the other, people today are facing a shortage of peace, happiness, and strength.

His grandfather’s lynching in the deep South, the murders of his two older brothers, and his verbally harsh and absent father all worked together to form Jason Wilson’s childhood. But it was his decision to acknowledge his emotions and yield to God’s call on his life that made Wilson the man and leader he is today. As the founder of one of the country’s most esteemed youth organizations, Wilson explains the dangers men face in our culture’s definition of “masculinity” and gives listeners hope that healing is possible.

There are many blessings that come with age: retirement, grandchildren, travel, and life experience. Today's culture, however, marginalizes old age, often portraying it as burdensome and hopeless. Many older women can feel like an encumbrance rather than a blessing to their friends and family members. In response to these struggles, Sharon Betters and Susan Hunt encourage women to find hope through both real-life and biblical accounts of women who rediscovered gospel-rooted joy later in life.

Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing is a groundbreaking resource that explores the "why" behind self-destructive sexual choices. The audiobook is based on research from more than 3,800 men and women seeking freedom from unwanted sexual behavior, be that the use of pornography, an affair, or buying sex.

In The Peacemaker, Ken Sande presents a comprehensive and practical theology for conflict resolution designed to bring about not only a cease-fire, but also unity and harmony. Sande takes listeners beyond resolving conflicts to true, life-changing reconciliation with family members, coworkers, and fellow believers.

Do you feel ambushed by your obsessions? Addictions come in all forms: overindulging, overspending, overworking, and more. But no matter how they show up in your life, your addictions trap you and edge out the full freedom you can enjoy in Christ. Join Dr. Tony Evans on a 30-day journey filled with powerful biblical insights and practical tips for overcoming the behavior that controls you. You'll discover the tools and principles you need to embrace healing and find liberation.

We're all infected with a spiritual disease. Its name is shame. Whether we realize it or not, shame affects every aspect of our personal lives and vocational endeavors. It seeks to destroy our identity in Christ, replacing it with a damaged version of ourselves that results in unhealed pain and brokenness. But God is telling a different story for your life. Psychiatrist Curt Thompson unpacks the soul of shame, revealing its ubiquitous nature and neurobiological roots. He also provides the theological and practical tools necessary to dismantle shame.

Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God - but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust.

For anyone who has ever been betrayed; for anyone who has ever felt lost, abused, or abandoned; for anyone who has ever suffered a broken heart - there is healing! In this inspiring and life-changing book, Joan Hunter shares her challenging testimony of how she overcame rejection and the worst betrayal imaginable. No matter what your circumstances, God wants to minister to you through Joan’s insights and practical advice.