The History of Biblical Counseling

 Lambert, Heath. The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams

Those inside and outside of the biblical counseling movement recognize differences between the foundational work of Jay Adams and that of second generation thought leaders. Heath Lambert shows how refinements in framework, methodology, and engagement style changed the face of the biblical counseling movement. Find out how the biblical counseling movement developed and how the second generation of leadership differed from the leadership of the past.

Powlison, David. The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context

Beginning in the late 1960s, a biblical counseling movement sought to reclaim counseling for the church and provide a Christian alternative to mainstream psychiatry and psychotherapy. The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context is an informative and thought-provoking account of that movement. This historical account combines careful scholarship with a unique, eyewitness insight. This book is an invaluable resource for those who want to understand the biblical counseling movement.

The History of Pastoral Counseling

 Clebsch, William, and Charles Jaekle. Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective

This book introduces the reader to the historical matrix of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding. Clebsch and Jaekle write convincingly that any model of pastoral counseling worthy of the title must include these four elements (sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding). After several chapters that overview the nature of these four tasks, the authors then provide historical samples illustrating the four tasks in historical perspective.

Deckard, Mark. Helpful Truth in Past Places: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Counseling

Puritan writers-theologians were masters at understanding the nature of human beings and applying Scripture in practical ways to help people. Looking to Scripture as the final authority, the Puritans grounded their own counselling practices in a proper view of the sovereignty of God and the underlying heart issues of people. By understanding why people struggle and the provision God makes for our struggles, counsellors today will be better equipped to guide those they counsel toward God-appointed solutions.

Holifield, E. Brooks. A History of Pastoral Care in America: From Salvation to Self-Realization

Others such as Clebsch and Jaekle and McNeil have written broad histories of soul care, but none have tackled the challenge of a focused study of soul care in American religious history. E. Brooks Holifield has penned the comprehensive guide that traces the trajectory of American pastoral care. Holifield’s greatest gift in this book is his ability to synthesize large tracks of material. In particular, his subtitle communicates his understanding of the historical path taken by American pastors: “from salvation to self-realization.”

Kellemen, Bob. Counseling Under the Cross: How Martin Luther Applied the Gospel to Daily Life

Martin Luther not only reformed theology; his understanding of the gospel revolutionized soul care. In Counseling Under the Cross, biblical counselor Bob Kellemen mines Luther’s writings to help readers gain a new appreciation for how Luther richly, relevantly, robustly, and relationally applied the gospel to suffering, sin, sanctification, and our search for peace with God. Counseling Under the Cross guides pastors, counselors, lay leaders, and friends toward a rich understanding of the gospel that will directly impact their personal ministry to others. Through lively vignettes, real-life stories, and direct quotes from Luther, readers are equipped to apply the gospel to themselves and others so together they find their hope and help in Christ alone.

Keller, Tim. “Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling.” Journal of Pastoral Practice 9, no. 3 (1988): 11-44

What Deckard’s work, Helpful Truth in Past Places: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Counseling, does in book format, Keller provides in article style. Don’t let the fact that this is “just” an article fool you. Keller’s work is robust and provides an outstanding “apologetic” for biblical pastoral counseling—then and now. He outlines how the Puritan pastors were soul physicians with a keen insight into the human condition and a compassionate and comprehensive understanding of how to care for God’s sheep.

Kemp, Charles. Physicians of the Soul: A History of Pastoral Counseling

In Physicians of the Soul, Charles Kemp seeks to search out and describe the fact that the great preachers of church history were first of all great pastors—shepherds and counselors. Pastors of today would do well to follow their example and understand that they are called not only to the pulpit ministry of the Word, but also to the private, personal ministry of the Word.

Oden, Thomas. Classical Pastoral Care, Vol. 3: Pastoral Counsel

Classic Pastoral Care provides a topical arrangement of passages from classic Christian writings offering guidance on all major topics of pastoral theology. The four-volume set features writings from more than two hundred notable Christian authors—from Abelard and Ambrose to Isaac Watts and Zwingli—arranged in thirty topical sections. Volume three, Pastoral Counsel, deals directly with the nature of the counseling relationship, the metaphors of soul care (from medicine, guidance, and education), the elements of the counseling relationship, the timing of good counsel, pastoral discernment, language and silence in counsel, truth-telling and deception, admonition and discipline.

The History of Soul Care

Kellemen, Bob, and Karole Edwards. Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction

The African American church has always helped hurting people through the ministries of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding. This four-dimensional model is the traditional and widely recognized pattern for understanding one-another ministry, spiritual friendship, and pastoral care. Beyond the Suffering offers an in-depth exploration of this rich tradition showing Christians proven ways to help people find hope in the midst of their deep pain.

Kellemen, Bob, and Susan Ellis. Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith  

Sacred Friendships celebrates the incredible stories of over fifty amazing Christian women. It gives voice to the voiceless as it narrates how godly women for the past 2,000 years have provided sustaining and healing soul care along with reconciling and guiding spiritual direction. Sacred Friendships enlightens readers to the often neglected legacy of Christian women and then equips women and men to apply that legacy to their lives and ministries.

McNeil, John. A History of the Cure of Souls

McNeil provides readers with a magisterial mapping of the landscape of two millennium of soul care and spiritual direction. In a brief but pointed section on Old Testament and New Testament spiritual care, McNeil documents that God’s people have always been about the business of helping hurting and hardened people through shared conversations around the Word. He then transports readers through church history both chronologically and denominationally. For an introduction to the history of soul care, no one does it better.

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