Be The Fruit

Why should the local church counsel?

In the modern church, counseling is thought to be something left for “professionals” to handle.  After all, they have a license issued by the state that says they are qualified to counsel, right?
With this prevailing mindset you may ask, “Why should the local church counsel?Are not the licensed people the best and most qualified to [...]

David Powlison on Time Management

C. J. Mahaney has been doing a series of interviews on his blog and right now he is interviewing David Powlison.  Powlison is probably the leading mind in biblical counseling today.  Yesterday, Mahaney asked Powlison to give a piece of advice that has helped him to effectively use his time.  His response is very interesting [...]

Empathetic Disagreement

Jay Adams wrote a very helpful post titled “Nobody Understands” that can be read here.  The main point of the article is to show how we can be understanding of people’s problems, but still point out what they need to change.  Here is an excerpt:

The biblical counselor may experience much of the pain of his [...]

Your spouse is part of “all things.”

How is  your marriage going?  Is it easy? Is your relationship with your spouse working the way you want it, or are there a few things you want them to change to make the relationship better?
Anyone who has been married for any time will recognize that marriages are not easy.  Although the positives are great, [...]

Objections to Biblical Counseling

Jay Adams wrote a post on his blog about how to deal with the many objections to biblical counseling that exist.  Jay, of course, is quite used to dealing with these objections.  Adams is often thought of as not being open to discussing the nuances of biblical counseling with those who oppose it, but in [...]

Helping the Foolish Spender #3

This is the final post of this series.  You can read the other two posts here and here. 
Sight/Meditation
Once the counselee has an understanding of what the Scriptures teach about stewardship, the counselor should begin show how these truths impact the counselee’s life. The foolish spender who lacks discipline should meditate on the biblical truths contained [...]

Helping the Foolish Spender #2

This is a continuation of a series I began yesterday.  You can read the first post here.
Interpretation
Once the data is collected, the counselor must prayerfully discern the true nature of the counselee’s problem. With poor financial stewardship, there are two primary tracks that should be explored to determine the nature of the problem: lustful spending [...]

Helping the Foolish Spender #1

Below begins a brief series where I will share the case study I developed for helping a “foolish spender” repent of their carelessness with money.  I have broken down the case study into 10 elements that are typically present in any effective biblical counseling or discipleship process.  I will release segment two tomorrow and the final segment on Friday.  I hope it you find this helpful.   
Introduction
Financial stewardship is an area that many [...]

What do you feel like eating today?

Is that really the question we should be asking?
Think about it. What do you really feel like eating today? Maybe steak and lobster, prime rib, pasta, cheesecake, ice cream, or cookies are the things you feel like eating. Really, the question is, “What should we eat today?
You may want a steak from Prime Steakhouse wherever, [...]

God’s Design for Sexual Fulfillment: Summary

In this series, my intent was to move beyond a “Don’t do it” mentality and try to show the real life implications of keeping sex within the confines of marriage as God intended. I believe that far too many people see the Christian position as one that robs people of their fun. The reality is, [...]