Ministry Counseling

Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story’s life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin’s short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer possible. And yet in struggling with God about how to live with broken dreams, Laura has found joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

Unmasking the Mask: The Spiritual Battle Behind Mental Illness brings together the secular and biblical perspective on mental illness. Paul talks about the spiritual struggle, which involves two kingdoms. You will find that Unmasking the Mask will expose the enemy behind mental illness. You will discover holistic ways that may reverse or help you manage mental health.

In this unique look at a one-year journey through counseling told from both sides of the couch, Sandi Brown―the founder of St. Louis’s largest Christian radio ministry, JOY FM―and her counselor, Dr. Michelle Caulk, walk through Sandi’s therapy journey, answering the question, “What do I do when I know God loves me, but I don’t like myself?” Healing Out Loud captures many of the insecurities the modern woman faces in her walk with Christ. Brown and Caulk’s combined voice creates an accessible path for listeners to face their vulnerabilities with biblical insight.

For anyone who has lost a career because of chronic pain.... For anyone who has ever felt devastated, confused, or less-than because your health prevents you from working a formal job.... For anyone who have ever said to God, "This doesn't make sense. Wouldn't I be more useful to you if I were healthy?" This book is for you.

In Do You Believe What God Says About You?, pastor and Christian counselor Stephen Viars encourages you to trade misgivings about your identity for the Bible's life-changing affirmations of who you were made to be.

Pastors and counselors regularly minister to people whose marriages or families are in crisis. Tempers run high and feelings are brought low when a marriage is hurting or a family is in disarray. Pastors and counselors need practical, biblical help in order to connect their theological training to the reality of modern messy relationships. These how-to training manuals provide relevant, user-friendly equipping for pastors, counselors, lay leaders, educators, and students, enabling them to competently and compassionately relate God's word to marriage and family life.

If you are living under what feels like a curse, or are unable to overcome problems that also plagued your parents, grandparents, or other ancestors, or if you seem to be experiencing more defeat than victory, and you desperately desire to reverse this trend in your life, the message in this book can help you! This book will help you discover the real truth of the source of the curses and strongholds that have been plaguing you, and how to defeat and eliminate them from your life once and for all!

Questioning our faith and spiritual beliefs, while leaving the familiarity of our religious homeland, can be excruciatingly painful. Loneliness, isolation, and fear of rejection - from God and others - can give rise to shame, guilt, anger, and sadness. In Religious Refugees, therapist and ordained pastor Mark Karris explores this disorienting faith shift through the lens of cutting-edge psychological research, theology, philosophy, and, most importantly, the real world experiences of those who are going through - and have gone through - this arduous and confusing journey.

Accessing mindfulness is a therapeutic touchstone for a range of emotional issues, from mild distress to the treatment of trauma, but the term mindfulness has often left Christians wary. Stripped of Christlike spirituality, it sounds self-focused at best, and at worst like a fusion with modern pop-religions of the day. But the quality of mindfulness - of being fully present, aware of ourselves and our situation so that we can better respond to the chaos around us - is a profoundly biblical concept. And it can be used effectively by Christian counselors and healing practitioners.

In this life-changing Bible study, John Eldredge distills a lifetime of wisdom into five practical and ready-to-implement practices for putting your life back together. These practices include: (1) the one-minute pause, (2) benevolent detachment, (3) practicing kindness, (4) getting outside, and (5) stepping back from technology. These practices, ready for the taking, will enable you to begin recovery, focus on what matters most, disengage from the tragedies of this broken world, and discover the restorative power of beauty.

Find the balance between tough love and tender love. In The Two Sides of Love, best-selling authors John Trent and Gary Smalley explain how to find a healthy balance between the protective, consistent, "hard side" of love and the tender, understanding, "soft side" of love. This is the groundbreaking book that introduced the four "animal" personality types and it will show you how to best demonstrate both sides of love in all your relationships-with your spouse, children, and friends. Included in this thoroughly updated edition is a free assessment of your core personality type.

Tired of being trapped in unhealthy and destructive behaviors? Feeling stuck in moving on and getting the most out of your life? You may not realize it, but you’re probably dealing with deep-rooted shame that negatively impacts your relationship with others and God. In many cases, it is shame that prevents us from moving away from emotionally troubling behaviors. In Removing Your Shame Label, you will discover how to remove the shame label from your life by overcoming harmful behaviors.

There’s an invisible prison that holds many in its grip, and Jesus is the way out. For the prisoners of both physical and invisible prisons, Behind the Wire is an invitation to discover the path to true freedom. It’s the story of Scott Highberger’s journey from the prison yard to the pulpit.

In Helping Teens with Stress, Anxiety, and Depression, Roy Petitfils gives parents, pastors, and youth leaders the knowledge, courage, and tools they need to step in, make a difference, and be the presence of Christ for teens in crisis. Roy Petitfils knows what it's like to be an addicted, depressed teenager, filled with self-loathing and desperate for help. He describes himself at high school graduation as by far the largest person in his hometown and yet feeling as though he were "stuck in Harry Potter's invisibility cloak".

The grieving process is part of being human, but far too often, Christian grievers are pushed out of grief and rushed into rejoicing that their loved one is in heaven. Alternately, Christians who allow themselves to grieve openly are shamed for doing so, often resulting in turning away from faith. It is time for a better way to acknowledge that you can struggle with grief and still love God. For grievers, helpers, and those wanting to better understand loss, let Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief help you embrace the fullness of grief and discover the first steps toward hope.

The damage you suffered may have been done in one terrible moment or over time. But the healing and the restoration will unfold at your pace, at a human pace. It unfolds as part of your story, and it unfolds over time. As a vulnerable child, instead of being protected, helped, and comforted, you were physically, emotionally, and or sexually abused. In CCEFs Recovering from Child Abuse: Healing and Hope for Victims by David Powlison, you'll learn how to express your experience to God by composing your own personal liturgy.

This is a unique book that contains daily devotionals and sample negative self-talk guides as well as positive self-talk examples. All scriptural based phrases will help you declare life instead of speaking negatively (death) over yourself and the ones you love. Learn what you should say when you talk to yourself as well as what to say about others. Speak powerful faith-filled words. Speak life!

In Gospel Conversations, part of the Equipping Biblical Counselors Series, Bob Kellemen explores the four compass-points that guide 22 essential biblical counseling skills, providing a comprehensive approach to caring like Christ. These four compass points combine to equip listeners to develop twenty-two ministry relational competencies—the “how to” of caring like Christ. This book serves as a practical training manual that can be used for lab and small group interaction.

A woman marries a man, not his ministry. But all too often her husband’s calling complicates their life together. What if ministry life isn’t what she bargained for? What happens when her children make mistakes? How does she deal with church gossip, or even slander? As a pastor’s wife of almost 50 years, Jani Ortlund addresses these questions, along with many others, as she offers encouragement and guidance to ministry wives. Jani reminds listeners that God works out his delightfully good purposes in and through their sacrifices.

Mission at Nuremberg is Tim Townsend's gripping story of the American Army chaplain sent to save the souls of the Nazis incarcerated at Nuremberg, a compelling and thought-provoking tale that raises questions of faith, guilt, morality, vengeance, forgiveness, salvation, and the essence of humanity.