Showing titles in Counseling

A fresh approach to spiritual formation! In the past, church leaders have turned to small groups or other kinds of discipleship programs to encourage spiritual growth in their churches. Yet, despite good intentions, the deeper experiences of spiritual transformation they had hoped for remained elusive.

When Sarah Berger’s nineteen-year-old son went to heaven in an inexplicable single-car accident, Sarah found herself plunged into soul-searing grief—the kind that can ruin marriages and destroy faith. But that is not her story. With an unrelenting grip on the Lord’s hand, Sarah clung to the promise that God is close to the brokenhearted. Now, for the many others who grieve losing loved ones to accidents, illnesses, and even suicide, Sarah points them to the God of all comfort. This book opens listeners’ hearts and minds to embrace God’s promises in the midst of grief.

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.

Change your life for good - that's a big one! Do you feel as if you are stuck in a rut and not living your true purpose in life? Are you itchy to get unstuck but don't know how and where to start? Or are you just afraid that you will fail miserably and embarrass yourself in the process? Change is not always easy. Yet, with the right tools and support, taking a step to change your life for good is easier than you think.

Through the histories of seven people seen in the Bible such as Joseph, Naomi, and Peter, Jeremy Nobles - pastor of Creekwood Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas - explores healing from trauma from a Biblical perspective. Filled with scripture, stories, key concepts, thought-provoking questions, and practical steps to guide you on your own road to healing and wholeness, Triumphing Through Trauma shows listeners how Jesus can turn your anguish into his triumph.

We have all been wounded by others and experienced pain in our past. When left unhealed, those hurtful words and actions continue to affect us spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. We build walls of self-protection while our hearts and souls silently cry for help. We stay stuck in the past, unable to move forward into the person God designed us to be. Jesus and Me personally introduces us to the Source of Hope and Healing, the One who knows everything that has happened to us, and who can bring lasting healing to those painful places in our lives.

Mark Meynell articulates a heart pain that most of us simply couldn't express. He connects strongly and immediately with fellow cave-dwellers.

Grief can be so debilitating that it blinds you to God's presence. Many who grieve struggle to face the sudden loss, much less embrace it and rest in it. In this remarkably honest book, Sharon Betters tells us the story of her teenage son's sudden death in a car accident. Excerpts from Sharon's journal express her raw grief, anger, and hunger to understand how God can be good and loving and still take away her youngest child. Sharon Betters draws listeners to a passage from Isaiah that carries God's promise to provide treasures for his people in the very midst of darkness and trouble.

I am Rick Levesque. This is my first book; it is about faith, my recovery from my alcoholism and pornography, and my experiences with the church after the revelation of my affair. I am not alone in my struggle and hope this will reach just one man to help him get honest about his sin and encourage the church to be more open to sinners. In many ways, the church is broken; years of pleasantries and hollow worship, dependent on tradition while keeping appearances up, have almost proven to be ineffective for those who struggle with sin.

To be pastoral is to create a sacred space and time for the other person who needs support. The caregiver is fully present, listening critically and attentively to locate the "pastoral pillars" on the way for continued support. In order to provide effective pastoral care ministry and also be able to nail down and address the core issues bothering an individual, the caregiver should look beyond the ordinary and superficial, and companion into the deep ("the shadow") with the counselee, mentee, directee, client, patient, and the like.

With vulnerability, unbelievable personal stories, and transformational yet simple steps you can apply today, pastor Will Gutierrez shares his story and how he found freedom from depression, anxiety, and pain. In Freedom, pastor Will encourages us to embrace Jesus as your healer and deliverer. And shows you your true value, what it means to be a child of God, and that God is for you in the midst of your struggles.

Nous n’avons pas été créés pour surmonter seuls les épreuves de la vie. Dieu nous a donné son Esprit et nos frères et sœurs pour nous aider. Cependant, nous avons souvent peur de nous immiscer dans les problèmes des autres. Nous nous sentons incompétents et nous préférons laisser cela à des experts et des spécialistes. Toutefois, l’aide qui peut être apportée par les amis est précieuse et elle ne doit pas être négligée. Dieu se plaît à nous voir grandir et à nous transformer grâce à l’aide d’individus ordinaires qui ont été transformés par Christ.

Vivimos en tiempos que dejan el alma chamuscada. La avalancha 24-7 de la vida contemporánea, con su fuente interminable de tragedias globales y demandas exigentes de nuestra atención, por no hablar de las presiones ordinarias del trabajo, la familia, los amigos y la comunidad, nos han dejado desgarrados, agobiados y vacíos. Pero si ya no tenemos margen en nuestras vidas, ¿cómo encontramos espacio para cambiar las cosas? En su nuevo libro transformador, John Eldredge destila la sabiduría de toda una vida acerca de la sanidad en una serie de hábitos prácticos.

This substantive collection from noted scholar Serene Jones explores recent work in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one's capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus's death is remembered.

The battle to resist pornography is brutal. Its lure just seems too powerful. We've tried for years to be strong, run away from temptation, and manage our desires in better ways. No matter how hard we try, though, we just can't get free from pornography. Some of us have lost all hope. What if the battle you've been fighting isn't even the real battle? What if using pornography is just a symptom of something deeper going on inside of you? What if the things you are doing to protect yourself actually contribute to your obsession?

The Irrational Jesus addresses these issues and more. Integrating the insights of behavioral economists such as Dan Ariely, the gameful thinking of Jane McGonigal, and cutting-edge ideas from decision theory, Evers-Hood articulates a behavioral theology for fully human pastors of fully human congregations - a fresh perspective that will change how pastors and other church leaders see themselves, the institutions they serve, and the scriptural and theological tradition.

In the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus in the most unlikely ways - through independence, religion, and success. The enemy's goal for us is the same, convincing us to enjoy the gifts of this world while making the Giver optional in our quest for life. But by learning to live in the Spirit, lies are exposed, and moments of temptation are turned into powerful displays of conviction and character, bringing us closer to Jesus and who we are to become.

Does it matter if you are sorry for what you have done—or that you have not done? Does your being sorry—does your remorse—matter? If so, how? Who is helped or changed by it? Can spiritual leaders help people wrestle with some of the most challenging dilemmas of their lives? Episcopal priest and licensed therapist Stephen Crippen describes remorse as the crisis—both destructive and creative—that erupts within the human spirit at the point where sin and grace collide.

Vivimos una época en donde el contenido sexual explícito es fácil de conseguir de manera inmediata. Por eso, la lucha contra la pornografía es con frecuencia la más grande tentación del hombre cristiano hoy en día. Aunque los cristianos hemos sido transformados por la fe en Jesús, somos golpeados por nuestra cultura saturada de sexo. ¿Cómo los hombres cristianos podemos encontrar victoria sobre la pornografía? Este minilibro presenta la única solución real: el poder efectivo de Dios a través del evangelio en el contexto de una iglesia local.

In this book, recovering cynic Barnabas Piper helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun. He shows how having a clear view of the reality of the fall and the promise of redemption frees us to live a life that’s grounded, hopeful, and genuinely happy.