Your Request for an Update 

Many of you have asked me if there has been any progress toward a face-to-face meeting of biblical counseling leaders in order to address current divisions in the biblical counseling family.

Here’s my update…

December 1, 2024: Background 

On December 1, 2024, after privately reaching out to many biblical counseling leaders, I published a public plea, which I called:

A Proposal: A Biblical Counseling Conciliation Summit.

In my public proposal/plea, I outlined the current “family divisions” within the modern biblical counseling movement, starting more recently with Heath Lambert’s series of posts on “zombie-infected, neo-integrationist, false-priest, so-called biblical counselors.”

Given the divisions in the biblical counseling family, here was my recommendation:

I suggest a gathering of biblical counseling leaders for a moderated face-to-face meeting to discuss current  concerns and conflicts in the biblical counseling movement.

January 21, 2025: An Update 

If you review my post, A Proposal: A Biblical Counseling Conciliation Summit, you’ll see that I outlined three groups.

• Group A: Consisting of biblical counselors who are accusing other biblical counselors of being zombie-infected.

• Group B: Biblical counselors who have been accused of being zombie-infected.

• Group C: A group of biblical counseling leaders and evangelical Christian leaders who could serve as moderators.

I received responses from members of Group B, saying they would be open to meeting.

I received responses from members of Group C, saying they would be open to meeting.

I received zero positive responses from members of Group A. Either there was silence. Or, from several members of Group A, the response was:

“Other biblical counselors have publicly promoted heretical, integrationist, non-biblical views. There is no reason to meet in person. We are publicly responding to their public views.”

Since Then 

Since late November 2024, several additional “salvos” in the biblical counseling wars have been launched. 

1. The ACBC, via their Journal of Biblical Soul Care, published a 35-page, all negative article by Francine Tan, in which she called out what she perceived as error after error in Ed Welch’s views on common grace and biblical counseling.

2. The ACBC, via their Journal of Biblical Soul Care, published a 24-page article by Samuel Stephens, in which he called out multiple perceived errors in Sam Williams’s (and others) missional approach to biblical counseling.

3. Sean Perron publicly challenged biblical counselor, Jason Kovacs’s use of the word “client.” Sean posted an extended Twitter/X critique in which he inveighed that “counselee” was the legitimate word that biblical counselors should use, and that “client” was an illegitimate word. I (reluctantly) spoke into this issue here: Applying the Sufficiency of Scripture to Counselees.

4. Sean Perron, in two articles published by The Center for Baptist Leadership, called out biblical counselor Nate Brooks for what Perron perceived as theological and biblical counseling errors.

5. Sean Perron, in another article published by The Center for Baptist Leadership, called out biblical counselor Brad Hambrick for what Perron perceived as theological and biblical counseling errors.

6. The ACBC named as the book of the year, a booklet which was a compilation of the zombie-infected posts published by First Baptist Church Jacksonville.

So, clearly, the public charges, salvos, and accusations of integration and heresy have not ceased, or even lessened, and, if anything, have increased.

What’s Next?

One biblical counselor in my Facebook Group, Gospel-Centered Biblical Counseling and Equipping, described all of this as:

“…feeling like a divorce where the children must choose between the parents…”

If that’s the case, then in my mind, given the lack of responsiveness and openness to a reconciliation summit, and given the ongoing, continuing public attacks against fellow biblical counselors, it appears to me that the parents have separated, and that one parent has already signed the divorce papers.

We can always continue to pray for reconciliation.

Yet, sometimes, as with Paul and Barnabas, ministry leaders go in separate directions (Acts 15:36-41).

What’s Next for Me?

For my part, I plan to continue to do what I’ve done for the past four years: examine Scripture, research church history, and make available free resources on current issues of concern in our biblical counseling family:

1. Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls: 100 Free Resources for Counseling the Whole Person: Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls.

2. Traumatic-Suffering and Embodied-Souls. The Gospels, Traumatic Suffering, and the Embodied-Soul: 50-Page Free PDF Resource.

3. Common Grace: Free Resource: Common Grace and Biblical Counseling.

What I may stop doing is speaking specifically about the various conflicts. Since the zombie posts in May 2024, I’ve sought privately and publicly to address these issues relationally and biblically.

Many, many people have thanked me for what I’ve written. In that sense, I see “fruit” from my labors.

However, I have not perceived fruit in terms of the warring (“divorcing”) parties reconciling.

So, I’m likely to keep my focus on my reading/research in the Bible and church history. I’m praying about perhaps turning my recent scriptural studies and church history research into some booklets/books on: 1.) Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls, 2.) Traumatic-Suffering and Embodied Souls, 3.) Common Grace and Biblical Counseling.

Addendum 

I have enjoyed helpful interactions on this post with many people already. Some leaders in Group A, and those who follow Group A leaders, have asked if I align with Group B, and if I have challenged Group B leaders.

First, I indicated to these Group A leaders that I myself am not a member of Group B. I do not describe my biblical counseling as “clinically-informed” or as “trauma-informed.” Instead, I describe my biblical counseling as:

• Gospel-Centered/Christ-Centered, Theologically-Saturated, Relationship-Focused, Church History-Informed, Research-Aware Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls.

Second, I shared that I have publicly challenged Group B leaders/members several times, including:

• Clinically-Informed Biblical Counseling: 3 Reflections and 2 Recommendations.

• Ponderings About Being a “____-Informed Biblical Counselor.”

In these posts, I provided some summary questions we could all be asking ourselves. They serve as a helpful self-evaluation for each of us as biblical counselors.

• How do we assure that our biblical counseling is being transformed by the Word of God rather than being conformed to the ways of the world?

• Are we theologically-saturated informed biblical counselors? Or, are we theologically-shallow conformed biblical counselors?

• Does our theologically-saturated biblical counseling transform whatever information we might glean from extra-biblical sources?

• Does the world’s information transform and perhaps even deform our biblical counseling so that our biblical counseling becomes conformed to the world?

• Are we reforming and transforming the world’s ideas through the lens of Scripture? Or, are the world’s ideas (subtly or blatantly) conforming or deforming our interpretation and application of Scriptures?

• Are we evaluating the world’s information through the lens of Scripture? Or, are we (subtly or blatantly, consciously or subconsciously) evaluating the wisdom of the Word through the lens of the world’s information?

• Are we humbly receptive to the feedback of others—including biblical counselors outside our in group—for helping us to discern how biblical our biblical counseling truly is?

I hope these additional reflections are helpful as we each prayerfully consider our role in these important biblical counseling discussions.