40 Author Bios for Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling
It was a rewarding process to serve as managing editor for Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God’s Changeless Truth. 
A Biblical Counseling Coalition Book, published by Harvest House, you can order a copy at my RPM Ministries Bookstore at 35% off by clicking here.
For a sample chapter, endorsements, quotes of note, an author interview, and more, visit my Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling page.
40 Authors
I’d like to introduce you to our forty authors plus David Powlison who graciously penned the Foreword.
Ernie Baker, D.Min., Ernie is thankful to be in his eighth year of teaching at The Master’s College after serving for twenty-five years as a pastor (mostly in Blacksburg, Virginia). He is married to Rose and the Lord has blessed them with six children, three daughters and son-in-laws, and one beautiful granddaughter. He is involved with The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors and Peacemaker Ministries.
Dwayne Bond, Ph.D. Candidate, Dwayne serves as the Lead Pastor/Founding Pastor of Wellspring Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dwayne graduated from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary with a M.A. in Religion and from Capital Bible Seminary with a M.A. in Christian Counseling & Discipleship. Currently he is completing his Ph.D. in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. He and his wife Leslie have two boys, Jarami and Kamin and one girl, Imani. Dwayne enjoys traveling, health, fitness, basketball, gardening and reading.
Brad Bigney, M.Div., Brad has been a pastor for twenty-five years, and serves as a conference speaker, NANC certified biblical counselor, and blissfully married husband to his dear wife, Vicki. They have five children. He’s a graduate of Columbia Biblical Seminary (M.Div.), and has been serving as the Senior Pastor of Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church in Florence, Kentucky since 1996.
Kevin Carson, M.Div., D.Min.: Kevin serves as pastor of Sonrise Baptist Church in Ozark, Missouri and also serves as professor and department chair of Biblical Counseling at Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri. Kevin earned his M.Div. from Baptist Bible Graduate School, Springfield, Missouri, and his D.Min. from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is NANC certified and travels with NANC as a teacher/trainer. Kevin also serves as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions. Kevin and his wife have four children.
Robert Cheong, M.Div., Ph.D., Robert is Pastor of Care and Counseling at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he gives a lot of thought and effort to building up the Body of Christ in love to train ministry leaders to help others to apply the Gospel to the struggles of everyday life. Robert has been married to Karen for twenty-five years. They have three children, Ashley, Ryan, and Whitney. Robert earned his M.Div. and Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Greg Cook, D.Min., Greg has been an associate pastor at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas since 1995 and the founder and director of Soul Care since 2004. He has D. Min. from Westminster Theological Seminary in Pastoral Counseling, Masters in Counseling (Amberton University), Master of Arts, Biblical Studies Dallas Theological Seminary. Greg and his wife, Nancy, have three girls: Ashley, Stephanie, and Anna.
Jack Delk, M.Div., Jack is Pastor for Covenant Member Care at Bethlehem Baptist Church. He graduated with his M.Div. from Bethel Seminary in 2002. Jack and his wife Mary have two grown sons, Josh and Jacob.
Mark Dever, Ph.D., Mark serves as the Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Pastor Dever also serves as the President for 9Marks Ministries. He currently serves as a trustee of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a member of the board of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Dr. Dever has authored several books including a historical study entitled Richard Sibbes and Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Dr. Dever received his Doctor of Philosophy in Ecclesiastical History from Cambridge University. He also holds a Master of Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University. He and his wife Connie live and minister on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. They have two adult children, Annie and Nathan.
Mark Dutton, D.Min., Mark served on the Faith Church staff for over twenty years as the Pastor of Discipleship & Extension Ministries, an Adult Bible Fellowship teacher, and an instructor for Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries. Mark and Laurie have three teenage children.
Nicolas Ellen, D.Min., Nicolas earned his BBA from the University of Houston, his MACD from Dallas Theological Seminary, his MABC from The Master’s College, and his D.Min. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (in Biblical Counseling). Dr. Ellen serves as Assistant Professor at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, Texas. He is also the Founder and Director of The Expository Counseling Center. Additionally, Pastor Ellen is the Sr. Pastor of Community of Faith Bible Church in Houston.
Howard Eyrich, D.Min., Howard serves as Pastor of Counseling Ministries at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also the Director of the D.Min. program in Biblical Counseling at Birmingham Theological Seminary. In forty-eight years of ministry, he has been privileged to teach at three seminaries and two colleges and he started a biblical counseling department in two of those schools. In addition, he has worked in four churches directing the counseling ministries. He has had the joy of seeing three booklets and five books published with one remaining in print for more than twenty-five years. Howard and Pamela Jayne have been married for almost fifty years and have two adult children. Howard’s hobbies are hunting, shooting, model railroading, and building projects.
Elyse Fitzpatrick, M.A., Elyse has been counseling women since 1989 and holds a M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary, certification from CCEF, and is a member of NANC. She is the author of fifteen books on counseling topics including Counsel from the Cross and is a frequent retreat and conference speaker. Along with her husband of nearly forty years, Phil, she lives in San Diego, attends Valley Center Community Church, and loves to play with her six grandchildren.
Jeff Forrey, Ph.D., Jeff is the Chair of the Department of Biblical Counseling at Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary in Newburg, Indiana, where he has been since 2003. Previously, he worked with Howard Eyrich at the Center for Biblical Counseling & Education, in St. Louis, MO. In 1995, he began as a counselor and teacher at the Biblical Counseling Center (with Ron Allchin and Craig Rowe) in suburban Chicago. Jeff is a graduate of Delaware Valley College (BA, biology), Westminster Theological Seminary (MAR, counseling/theology), the University of Alabama (MSPH, health behavior), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Ph.D., educational studies). He and his wife, Debbie, have two children.
Rob Green, Ph.D., Rob serves as the pastor of Counseling and Seminary Ministries at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana. He and his wife Stephanie have three children. Rob earned his M.Div. degree and his Ph.D. in New Testament from Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania after having completed a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics.
Brad Hambrick, Th.M., Brad is Pastor of Counseling at The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina. Brad also serves as a Council Board member with the Biblical Counseling Coalition and Chief Editor for The Journal of Counseling & Discipleship with the Association of Biblical Counselors. Brad has been married to his wife Sallie since 1999 and has two wonderful boys.
John Henderson, Ph.D., John is Pastor of Counseling Ministries at Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas. He also serves on the Board of the Association of Biblical Counselors and has written a three-volume biblical counseling curriculum for the ABC. His prayerful desire is to see the gospel of Jesus Christ redeem and transform the hearts and lives of people in real and practical ways. John and Ruth married in 2000 and have five children.
Laura Hendrickson, M.D., Laura trained as medical doctor and board-certified psychiatrist, and has ministered as a biblical counselor, author, speaker, and consultant through Gospel Balm Ministries. The mother of an adult son who has recovered from autism, Laura is the author of Finding Your Child’s Way on the Autism Spectrum: Discovering Unique Strengths, Mastering Behavior Challenges, and coauthor of Will Medicine Stop the Pain: Finding God’s Healing for Anxiety, Depression, and Other Challenging Emotions, with Elyse Fitzpatrick,and When Good Kids Make Bad Choices: Help and Hope for Hurting Parents, with Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jim Newheiser. A popular retreat and conference speaker, Laura loves sharing principles and encouragement from God’s Word.
Garrett Higbee, Psy.D., Garrett is the Executive Director of Harvest Bible Chapel’s Biblical Soul Care Ministry in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the founder and president of Twelve Stones Ministries located in Brown County, Indiana. Dr. Higbee was trained as a clinical psychologist with a specialty in family counseling. He has over twenty-five years of experience with couples, families, and youth both as a counselor and a trainer of those who lead and counsel others in Biblical Soul Care. Garrett is a frequent conference speaker around the country. He and his wife Tammy have three children and live near the Harvest Bible Chapel campus in Elgin, Illinois.
Justin Holcomb, Ph.D., Justin is a pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, where he serves as Executive Director of Leadership Development and Resurgence. He and his wife Lindsey are the authors of Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault. He is also the editor of Christian Theologies of Scripture: A Comparative Introduction. He holds two masters degrees from Reformed Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Emory University.
Jonathan Holmes, M.A., Jonathan serves as the Counseling Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio as well as the Campus Pastor at their Green Campus. Jonathan graduated from The Master’s College with degrees in Biblical Counseling and History, and his M.A. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Jennifer have three daughters, Ava, Riley, and Ruby. In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys traveling, reading and politics.
Bob Jones, D.Min., Bob is the Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Bob earned his B.A. from The King’s College, his M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and his D.Min. from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has served as a Pastor for a quarter-century, and he is a Certified Christian Conciliator with Peacemaker Ministries.
Bob Kellemen, Th.M., Ph.D., Bob is the Executive Director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, the Founder and CEO of RPM Ministries, and for the past 17 years has served as the Chairman of the MA in Christian Counseling and Discipleship department at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD. Bob has pastored three churches and equipped biblical counselors in each church. He is currently a teaching/leading elder at Cornerstone Community Church in Hobart, Indiana. Bob and his wife, Shirley (who is a kindergarten teacher), have been married for thirty-two years; they have two adult children, Josh and Marie, one daughter-in-law, Andi, and one granddaughter, Naomi. Dr. Kellemen is the author of nine books including Equipping Counselors for Your Church.
Heath Lambert, Ph.D., Heath serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC). He also serves as the Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and at their undergraduate institution, Boyce College. He has been teaching at Southern for the last five years. He also serves as the Pastor of Biblical Living at Crossing Church overseeing their counseling and marriage ministries. Before coming to Southern/Boyce, Heath was a pastor for six years. Heath is thrilled to be married to Lauren, and loves life with their three children Carson, Chloe, and Conner.
Jeremy Lelek, Ph.D., Jeremy is the President of both the Association of Biblical Counselors and Metroplex Counseling (a local center for biblical soul care in Dallas/Fort Worth). He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Texas having earned his Master’s Degree in Counseling and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. at Regent University. He is an adjunct professor at Redeemer Seminary, and lectures frequently in area churches training believers with ABC’s Equipped to Counsel curriculum. Jeremy is married to Lynne and they have four children. He and his wife are active members of Fort Worth Presbyterian Church (PCA).
Lee Lewis, M.A., Lee has been on staff at The Village Church since December of 2006. He started out as the Care Pastor and developed the Pastoral Care Department, including grief related ministries, pre-marital mentoring ministry, and lay biblical counseling training. Then he transitioned to Home Groups Ministry, where he served as an Associate Groups Pastor at the Flower Mound campus. Lee is now Campus Pastor at the Fort Worth campus. Lee is married to Andrea and they have three children; Luke, Abel, and Leah.
Ken Long, M.Div., Ken is the Executive Pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Florence, Kentucky, where he also oversees the counseling ministry. He is an ordained pastor with the Evangelical Free Church of America and received his formal training at Columbia Biblical Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree. Before joining Grace in 2006, he served with two churches in Kansas and Indiana. Ken is certified as a counselor through NANC. For recreation, he enjoys traveling with his family, walking, hiking and sailing. Ken is married to Beth and they have a son Ken Mark.
James MacDonald, D.Min., James is Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Illinois. His Bible-teaching broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word, reaches more than 3 million people weekly. James’ extensive ministry also includes a biblical counseling center, a training center for pastors, and a Christian school.
Rod S. Mays, D.Min., Rod is the national coordinator for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America. He serves as adjunct faculty at Reformed Theological Seminary where he teaches counseling and pastoral theology. Rod has thirty-eight years of pastoral and counseling experience and is the co-author of Things That Cannot Be Shaken, Crossway Books. He enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his wife, Debbe. They have been married 38 years and have a married daughter.
Jim Newheiser, D.Min., Jim is the Director of the Institute of Biblical Counseling and Discipleship, a NANC fellow, a pastor of Grace Bible Church in Escondido, CA, and a founding member and Executive Board member of the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals. He is an international retreat and conference speaker, author, and has been practicing biblical counseling since 1982. He and his wife have three sons. Jim earned his M.A. and D.Min. from Westminster Seminary, California.
Randy Patten, M.Div., Randy served as a Senior Pastor for 12 years, followed by 12 years as a pastor to pastors and consultant to churches. In 1997, he was named the first full-time Executive Director of NANC. In this capacity, he oversees NANC’s efforts to certify individual biblical counselors as well as biblical counseling training centers. He also served as a trainer and counselor at Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana for over 24 years. Randy and Cindy have been married for 41 years and have two adult married children and five grandchildren. They all live in the Indianapolis area and are members of College Park Church.
Jeremy Pierre, Ph.D., Jeremy is Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as Pastor of Member Care at Clifton Baptist Church, both in Louisville, Kentucky. These roles allow him to stay focused on the centrality of the gospel working out in church life as he equips leaders to care for people in light of God’s redemptive plan. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children, for whom they are exceedingly grateful.
John Piper, Ph.D., John served as Sr. Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church from 1980 to 2012. He currently focuses his ministry on the ministry he founded: Desiring God and as Chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
David Powlison, M.Div., Ph.D., David is a faculty member at CCEF and senior editor of The Journal of Biblical Counseling. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a M.Div. degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. David has been counseling for over thirty years. He has written numerous articles on biblical counseling and on the relationship between faith and psychology. His books include Speaking Truth in Love; Seeing with New Eyes; Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare; and The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context. David has taught across the United States and in Korea, India, Brazil, Europe, and Sri Lanka.
Deepak Reju, M.Div., Ph.D., Deepak serves as the Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Families at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Deepak does individual and couples counseling, leads groups, develops the vision for the counseling ministry, and supervises the counseling team. He did his theological training at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., PhD). Deepak and his wife, Sarah, have been married for ten years and have four children.
Stuart Scott, D.Min., Stuart has over thirty years of experience in counseling and pastoral ministry. He has served as Associate Pastor of Family Ministries and Counseling at Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles area with Pastor John MacArthur. He served on the faculty of The Master’s College and Seminary in the area of biblical counseling before joining the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary serving as Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling and the Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Counseling. Stuart is a Fellow and Member of the Board of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC). He is the author of several books including The Exemplary Husband, From Pride to Humility: A Biblical Perspective, and The Faithful Parent: A Biblical Guide to Raising a Family. Stuart has been married to Zondra for over thirty years and they have two grown children (Christa and Marc).
Mark E. Shaw, D.Min., Mark is the founder of Truth in Love Ministries, an ordained minister, and is certified with the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) (since 2002). His D.Min. in Biblical Counseling was obtained from Birmingham Theological Seminary where he currently serves as adjunct professor. Dr. Shaw has authored twelve publications including The Heart of Addiction, Strength in Numbers: The Team Approach to Biblical Counseling, and Addiction-Proof Parenting.
Michael Snetzer, M.A., Michael serves as Recovery Groups Pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. He received his Masters in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University. For two years he served as a counselor at the Center for Christian Counseling. He has served on the pastoral staff at The Village Church since 2007. He and his wife, Sonia, were married in 2007. They have two children, McKenna and Ava.
Steve Viars, D.Min., Steve has served as a pastor and biblical counselor for twenty-five years at Faith Church and Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana. He serves on several boards, including Vision of Hope, a faith-based residential treatment center for at-risk girls, the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, and the American Red Cross. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, colleges, and seminaries in the United States and abroad. Steve serves as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Biblical Counseling Coalition. He and his wife, Kris, have three children, Bethany, Karis, and Andrew.
Charles Ware, D.D., Charles is President of Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis, Indiana. He earned his B.R.E. from Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania), and his M.Div. from Capital Bible Seminary (Lanham, Maryland). Dr. Ware pastored for twenty years; is the Founder/Administrator of Bethel Bible Christian School; Co-founder, Voice of Biblical Reconciliation; Board Member of Association of Baptist for World Evangelism, 1991 and The Association for Biblical Higher Education (AHBE)-2003; Author: Prejudice and the People of God; Co-edited: Reuniting the Family Of God; Contributed: Just Don’t Marry One, Building Unity in the Church of a New Millennium, and Called to Lead: Wisdom for the Next Generation of African American Leaders.
Mike Wilkerson, B.A., Mike is Pastor of Biblical Living at Mars Hill Church, leading the counseling and Redemption Group ministries at the Ballard campus. He is the author of Redemption that serves as the content platform for these ministries across all Mars Hill Campuses, and is a co-architect of Mars Hill’s discipleship strategy, which aligns community Groups, Redemption Groups, and Biblical Counseling together under the leadership of Mars Hill’s preaching ministry. Before joining Mars Hill’s staff as a pastor, Mike worked as a software engineer in Seattle’s tech industry. Mike and his wife Trisha have four children.
Sam Williams, Ph.D., Sam went to school at the University of Arizona, and then to San Diego for graduate school in clinical psychology. He went into private practice for ten years as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Sam has now taught for over a dozen years at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and in Brazil (as coordinator of SEBTS’ Global Theological Initiative). He and his wife, Mindy, and their children attend North Wake Church.
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