Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives (Kelleman)

Everyone talks about the personal ministry of the Word, but how do we make one-another ministry truly biblical? Gospel-Centered Counseling equips readers to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. It does so by examining life’s seven ultimate questions and then guiding readers on a journey that explores the biblical, gospel-centered narrative of:

• The Word: “What is truth?” “Where can I find answers?”
• The Trinity: “Who is God?” “Can I know Him personally?”
• Creation: “Who am I?” “What makes people tick?”
• Fall: “What went wrong?” “Why do we do the things we do?”
• Redemption: “Can I change?” “How do people change?”
• Glorification: “Where am I headed?” “How does our future destiny impact our present reality?”
• Sanctification: “How can I help?” “How can I change lives?"

Bob Kellemen builds on the foundation of the written Word and provides a gospel-centered resource for understanding people, diagnosing problems, and prescribing biblically-based solutions.

Gospel-Centered Counseling is the first volume in The Equipping Christian Counselors Series, a comprehensive relational training curriculum for the local church that provides a model for equipping God’s people to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. This two-volume series weaves together comprehensive biblical insight with compassionate Christian engagement.

Table of Contents:

 Foreword by Deepak Reju

Introduction: Changing Lives with Christ's Changeless Gospel Truth

1. Mining the Richness of God's Word: God's Treasures of Wisdom
2. Discovering Wisdom for Life in a Broken World: Our Treasure Hunt for Wisdom
3. Knowing the Creator of the Soul: Our Great Soul Physician
4. Recognizing the Most Important Fact About Us: Our View of God
5. Engaging the Battle for Our Soul: Our Spiritual Battle in Spiritual Friendship
6. Examining the Spiritual Anatomy of the Soul: Our View of People
7. Journeying into the Heart: Our Role as Soul Physicians and Biblical Cardiologists
8. Exploring Serpentine Seduction to Sin: Our Spiritual Adultery
9. Diagnosing the Fallen Condition of the Soul: Our Fallen Heart
10. Applying the Gospel to Suffering: Our Gospel-Centered Self-Counsel
11. Prescribing God's Cure for the Soul: Part 1-Our New Nurture
12. Prescribing God's Cure for the Soul: Part 2-Our New Nature 
13. Finding a Place to Belong and Become: Our Growth in Grace Is a Community Journey
14. Remembering the Future: Our Eternal Perspective
15. Dispensing Grace: Our Gospel-Centered Growth in Grace
16. Putting Off and Putting On: God's Heart Change Model of Progressive Sanctification

Conclusion: Living Life Empowered by Christ's Changeless Gospel Truth 

Author

Bob Kellemen, ThM, PhD, is the executive director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition and the founder and CEO of RPM Ministries.  Bob has pastored for over a dozen years and now serves as chair of the MA in Christian Counseling and Discipleship department at Capital Seminary (Maryland).  He is the author of nine books, including Equipping Counselors for Your Church.

Endorsements

"Gospel-Centered Counseling is an immense help to both counselors and counselees. Bob frames every counseling issue within the drama of redemption and in the hope of the gospel. The result? A book that belongs on every pastor’s shelf! It is wise, filled with exegetical insights that flower into rich, everyday counsel. It is deep, addressing the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. It is broad, deftly moving from Scripture, into the soul, and back out into real life with wonderful clarity. It is compassionate. I felt loved and understood by Bob, the sign of a good counselor. Most of all, it is true, imparting the hope of Christ into the heart of people --- Behold, I am making all things new!” -- Jonathan K. Dodson, Lead Pastor City Life Church, Author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship

"As I read through Gospel-Centered Counseling, I kept finding myself responding to the words I was reading . . . and that response was vocal. I was amazed. Blessed. Enlightened. Encouraged. Reminded. Bob Kellemen understands grace and the gospel in ways that are profound, beautiful, and astonishing. I love this book and the gospel that is so beautifully portrayed here where the rubber meets the road, in our daily lives, in our struggle to believe and to live in the light of all he’s done. What a blessing!" -- Elyse Fitzpatrick, Author of Good News for Weary Women and Give Them Grace

"Gospel-Centered Counseling is more than a book on how to counsel others. It is a clear and compelling presentation of how the gospel changes everything. Bob has weaved the grand narrative of Scripture with practical application for everyday life. He has called us to be wise counselors who care about orthodoxy while bringing the Word to hurting people with love and care in such a way that grace is not compromised on the road to truth. I would recommend this book first for your personal edification and second as a guide to helping others grow and change." -- Garrett Higbee, Executive Director of Biblical Soul Care, Harvest Bible Chapel

"Insightful and practical, Dr. Kellemen’s Gospel-Centered Counseling provides a comprehensive guide for leading readers deep into the contours of genuine biblical soul care. His ability to effectively apply rich gospel-saturated theology to the here-and-now struggles of the human soul is impressive. This is an excellent read for anyone wanting to enhance their understanding of Scripture and how it applies to the complexities of the human estate." -- Jeremy Lelek, Ph.D., LPC-S, , President, Association of Biblical Counselors