Sean Perron’s Evangelical Counseling Crisis

On November 30, 2025, at 4:41 PM, Sean Perron posted on Twitter/X about “a therapeutic crisis in evangelicalism.” His post includes a brief written introduction, and also a six-minute video.

Here’s a link to Sean’s post with his video:

https://x.com/seanperron/status/1995246824701960531

Here’s Sean’s tweet introducing his video:

“A follow up regarding the therapeutic crisis in evangelicalism. What can you do? 1) Reject secular therapy. 2) Read the Bible more. 3) Believe you can become competent to counsel. 4) Get trustworthy training. 5) Start making disciples through a local church.”

Written Transcript 

You can listen to Sean’s video at the link above. Or, if you prefer a written manuscript, then keep scrolling down to find an unofficial written transcript which I created as I listened to Sean’s six-minute video presentation. I interact with that transcript throughout the rest of today’s post. 

Why Respond Publicly?: Reflections on Sean’s Twitter X Post and on Sean’s Video 

Some may wonder why I would choose to respond publicly. Here are several reasons:

1. Sean’s post is public, and thus by its public nature it invites public interaction.

2. Sean’s post addresses the Evangelical counseling world—which I’ve been involved in for half-a-century.

3. Sean’s post publicly calls out, confronts, and severely criticizes/accuses several biblical counseling groups and individuals, such as the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) Biblical Counseling Department, Ed Welch, CCEF, Clinically-Informed Biblical Counselors (CIBC), etc. These are all organizations and individuals I respect. Since Sean makes significant public accusations against fellow biblical counselors, a public conversation is warranted.

4. Sean’s post is, literally, a monologue. He’s speaking into a camera. There is no interaction. Sean is just one voice in the much larger modern biblical counseling community. “Social media,” by definition, ought to be social—interactive. Sean’s post should begin a conversation, not end a conversation. My post is an invitation to that public conversation—to a dialogue. I’ll engage with Sean’s thinking, presenting areas where I agree, as well as areas where I see matters differently than Sean. I’ll also include numerous questions that I would want to discuss with Sean if we were sitting across from each other. I hope Sean will respond to the detailed questions about his broad accusations and characterizations. I pray that we could have a mutually respectful Proverbs 27:17 iron-sharpen-iron conversation.

5. We should not assume an attitude that communicates, “Because Sean spoke it; it’s true.” Instead, we should maintain a biblical wisdom mindset that says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). We should maintain a 1 Thessalonians 5:21 discernment mindset that says, “But test everything.” Unless I missed it in the transcript I created, Sean does not quote a single Scripture verse. He does not exegete a single biblical passage. Sean is sharing his opinion on social media. I am publicly responding to Sean’s public sharing.

Interaction #1: I Agree with All 5 of Sean’s Twitter/X Suggestions 

As you read above, Sean suggests that we: 1) reject secular therapy, 2) read the Bible more, 3) believe you can become competent to counsel, 4) get trustworthy training, and 5) start making disciples through your church.

I agree.

In fact, every biblical counselor I know agrees with these five premises.

The faculty of SEBTS agrees with these five suggestions, as does the faculty/staff of CCEF, as do all clinically-informed biblical counselors.

First, let’s take the 2^nd-through-5^th suggestions and ask ourselves, “What biblical counselor or biblical counseling organization doesn’t want us to read our Bibles more, become competent to counsel, get counseling training, and make disciples? 

Second, let’s consider Sean’s first suggestion: reject secular therapy. As you’ll see below, Sean defines secular therapy as thinking “from the god of this age,” and as the “secular philosophy/worldview,” and a perspective that has “given way to the gods of this age.” Sean is not simply talking about being open to research. Sean is rejecting building a counseling model on a godless secular worldview.

SEBTS rejects building their counseling model on a godless secular worldview. They state that plainly here: What Is Redemptive Counseling / Clinically Informed Biblical Counseling? 

CCEF rejects building a counseling model on a godless secular worldview. They have stated that plainly and consistently hundreds of times for half-a-century, including in their foundational document: Restoring Christ to Counseling & Counseling to the Church.

The Biblical Counseling Coalition rejects building a counseling model on a godless secular worldview. You can read about that rejection in the BCC Confessional Statement here.

I reject building a counseling model on a godless secular worldview. In all of my books, especially in Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives, I seek to establish a theological foundation for biblical counseling built solely on Christ’s gospel of grace. In chapters 1-2, I exegete Colossians 1, 2, 3, and 4, to develop the groundwork for a thoroughly biblical approach to biblical counseling.

In summary, I, and all biblical counselors, affirm Sean’s five suggestions.

Interaction #2: Engaging with Sean’s Description of the Crisis 

Here’s how Sean describes the current crisis—with my thoughts and questions interspersed: 

Sean’s Video Transcript at the :01 Time-Stamp: I posted earlier about the crisis I believe is happening in the Evangelical counseling world. I thought a follow-up would be helpful. What I’m specifically referencing is in the Christian world in America the church at large has bought into the lie that the people who can really deal with the most difficult problems and patterns of behavior are only those people who are trained by secular professionals. This has effectively stolen what should be the ministry of the local church and it has moved caring for the broken and the hurting into the realm of the world and the god of this age. And it is overdue time for us to reclaim the territory.

My First Thought—Which Evangelical Pastors/Churches Are Saying This?: When Sean says, “the church at large,” is he thinking of all churches, or specifically of Evangelical churches in America? The Evangelical churches I’m familiar with do not teach that only those trained by secular professionals can deal with the most difficult problems. I would be interested to hear what churches Sean has in mind. If I were talking directly with Sean, I’d want to ask,

Question #1: Sean, could you document where the average Evangelical American pastor/church has capitulated to the worldview that only godless people can help God’s people?

My Second Thought—No Biblical Counselor Is Saying This: Let’s assume Sean is correct, and some Evangelical churches have capitulated. I know of no biblical counselor and no biblical counseling organization who think that only those trained by secular professionals can deal with the most difficult problems. All of us as biblical counselors can agree with Sean that it would be wrong to throw up our hands and refer all counseling issues only to those people who are trained by secular professionals. Many of us as biblical counselors have spent our whole lives, not only counseling these hard cases, but also equipping people in the church to be competent counselors. For example, see my book, Equipping Biblical Counselors.

Interaction #3: Who Helps the Hurting? 

Now Sean gets more specific about the nature of the crisis as he sees it.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 1:20 Time-Stamp: So the crisis is that the church has bought into the secular philosophy/worldview that the secular world pushes on us that if you have ADHD…bipolar… if you have trauma…then the people who can help you are not Christians…certainly not pastors, and certainly not biblical counselors…but rather the people who are trained by the secular gods of this age. And we need to reject that thinking. Biblical counseling has rejected this thinking historically.

My First Thought—Please Provide Documentation: If Evangelical churches capitulate to the secular philosophy/worldview that Christians, pastors, and biblical counselors cannot help people, then I agree with Sean—this is a crisis. If Evangelical churches capitulate to the secular philosophy/worldview that only those trained by the secular gods of this age can help hurting people, then I agree with Sean—this is a crisis. Again, I’d like to hear where Sean documents Evangelical pastors saying, “lets send our hurting people only to people who are trained by the secular gods of this age.” I can imagine some readers saying, “Come on, Bob! It’s everywhere in the Evangelical church!” If it’s everywhere, then you should be able to provide copious documented statements. Otherwise, it’s just fearmongering and crisis-creating.

My Second Thought—Let’s Enter the Real World with Specifics: Let’s reflect on some of Sean’s specific examples.

1. ADHD: Can churches and biblical counselors provide help for people with ADHD? Yes. Is Sean saying that someone with symptoms of ADHD should never see a secular medical doctor—trained in a secular worldview? Is he saying they should never see a secular educator with training in how to help someone with ADHD? If so, this is contrary to the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement (which Sean’s pastor, Heath Lambert helped to develop). It says: “We encourage people to seek appropriate practical aid when their problems have a component that involves education, work life, finances, legal matters, criminality (either as a victim or a perpetrator), and other social matters.” If I were talking with Sean, I’d asked, 

Question #2: Sean, with an issue like ADHD, are you saying people should never consult with secularly-trained educators and never become informed by secular ADHD research? Where do you draw the line on who provides helpful interventions for embodied-souls?

2. Bipolar Disorder: Can churches and biblical counselors provide help for people suffering with bipolar disorder? Yes. Is Sean saying that someone with symptoms of bipolar disorder should never see a secular medical doctor? Is he saying they should never see a secular psychiatrist? Is he saying they should never see a Christian psychiatrist who was trained in a secular worldview? If so, this is contrary to the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement which states, “We affirm that numerous sources (such as scientific research, organized observations about human behavior, those we counsel, reflection on our own life experience, literature, film, and history) can con­tribute to our knowledge of people, and many sources can contribute some relief for the troubles of life.” To see how biblical counseling leaders like David Powlison, Mike Emlet, Martha Peace, and Daniel Dionne have addressed the issue of psychiatric referral, see: Should Biblical Counselors Ever Refer a Counselee to a Psychiatrist? If I were talking with Sean, I would want to ask,

Question #3: Sean, do you value secular research into possible causes and treatment of bipolar disorder? Do you value secular research into psychotropic medications for bipolar disorder? Or, do you see bipolar disorder as 100% only a spiritual/soul issue? 

3. Trauma: Can churches and biblical counselors provide help for people experiencing trauma? Yes. Absolutely. I also believe there is a biblical role for biblical counselors being research-aware, and using God’s Word to assess the potential helpfulness of any research. See, 6 Biblical Counseling Convictions. I would want to ask Sean,

Question #4: Sean, are you saying that there is zero value in a biblical counselor ever being research-aware about trauma, about trauma’s effects on the body, about any possible physiological interventions that might accompany a robust, wholistic, comprehensive embodied-soul approach to the trauma sufferer?

Maybe Sean is rejecting any value in any of that? I am not sure. I am sure that historically, biblical counseling leaders like David Powlison have not rejected being aware and informed. See: David Powlison on Common Grace, Biblical Counseling, and Secular Psychology. And see: Powlison on Biblical Counseling and Secular Psychotherapy: Informed Biblical Counseling.

My Third Thought—Addressing Extremes: I see extremes in what Sean says from 1:20-1:57. The world’s extreme (as Sean sees it) is, Only we godless people can help God’s people. (I’ve interacted with many non-Christians who recognize the role that churches, Christians, and Christian soul care can play in a person’s life…) I then see Sean, perhaps subtly, creating his own extreme, one that seems to hint at something like this, Only God’s people can help hurting people. If you have ADHD, take it to the church—not to a secular educator who has studied ADHD. Perhaps this is not Sean’s belief. If Sean were sitting across from me, I’d want to ask,

Question #5: Sean, could you address whether you see any role for a secular educator helping someone with ADHD symptoms? 

Question #6: Sean, am I misperceiving you when it appears that you are saying there is zero role for any non-Christian research regarding ADHD, bi-polar, trauma, and a host of other complex issues in life?

My Fourth Thought—The Role of Common Grace: In the modern biblical counseling world, some counselors seek to minimize the historic biblical doctrine of common grace—limiting it in unbiblical ways. If I were sitting with Sean, I’d want to ask him to engage with the Reformed doctrine of common grace where Reformed theologians have repeatedly noted that we do not pit God’s sovereign common grace against God’s sovereign saving grace. Instead, God’s saving grace equips God’s redeemed people to use God’s Word to assess and evaluate any potential usefulness of God’s common grace—including in the “soft sciences” of psychology. For documentation, see: Common Grace and Biblical Counseling: Wisdom from Reformed Theologians, a 114-page, 44,500-word free PDF document that collates the Reformed theology of common grace. I’d want to ask Sean,

Question #7: Sean, based on the biblical and Reformed doctrine of God’s sovereign common grace, do you see any common grace value in any research into ADHD, into bi-polar, into schizophrenia, etc.—evaluated and assessed under the authority of God’s Word? 

My Fifth Thought—Counselor Competency and Scriptural Sufficiency: In my book, Consider Your Counsel: Addressing Ten Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling, I address the biblical truth that while Scripture is sufficient, that does not mean that every biblical counselor is competent to address every issue—especially not unilaterally/individually. For example, I’ve been counseling for fifty years, and I would never suggest that I could address ADHD by myself without engaging the expertise of those who have studied the embodied issues relative to ADHD, or schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. It would be arrogant of me, or any other biblical counselor, to claim to be competent to address every issue without ever referring to other experts in the field, and without becoming as informed as possible about the issue I am being asked to counsel. Therefore, I would like to ask Sean,

Question #8: Sean, do the sufficient Scriptures automatically make every biblical counselor totally competent to address every embodied-soul issue? Do you think biblical humility requires that biblical counselors know their limits—based on their training, experience, knowledge, and competency? In biblical humility, might there be a place for engaging the expertise of those who have studied embodied-soul issues like ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, trauma, and a host of other complex issues in life?

Interaction #4: Sean Takes Direct Aim at CCEF and Other Leading Biblical Counseling Organizations and Institutions

Sean now shifts gears from his opinions about the larger American Evangelical church to his opinions about the more specific issue of biblical counseling organizations.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 1:58 Time-Stamp: But there’s a local crisis taking place among institutions that have historically been trustworthy. That they have capitulated. They have given sway, given way to the gods of this age, whether it is a fear of man, or an actual shift in their thinking.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 2:22 Time-Stamp: But there are more and more institutions that are becoming unreliable. I have referenced CCEF, and now the change of Ed Welch on his view on homosexuality. There are trauma-informed counseling that has arisen at Southern Baptist institutions, such as SEBTS, that mixes secular methodology with biblical truth. And there are coalitions which have also failed and platformed many of these people who claim to be committed to the sufficiency of God’s Word, but fall short, and don’t practice it in the counseling room. And this ought not be. 

My First Thought—Audacious Accusations: Sean labels the current issue “a local crisis” existing within the biblical counselor world. Who does Sean implicate in this local crisis within the modern biblical counseling movement? Sean specifically implicates CCEF, Ed Welch, Southern Baptist institutions, SEBTS, trauma-informed biblical counselors, and coalitions that have platformed these leaders. (When Sean speaks of “coalitions,” is he speaking about the Biblical Counseling Coalition? That’s the only American biblical counseling organization that goes by the name “Coalition”). What is Sean accusing CCEF, Ed Welch, trauma-informed biblical counselors, Southern Baptist institutions, and SEBTS of? He’s accusing them of: 1) Having capitulated. 2) Having given away to the gods of this age. 3) Having given in to the fear of man. 4) Being unreliable. 5) Mixing secular methodology with biblical truth. 6) Falling short of being committed to the sufficiency of God’s Word—not practicing sufficiency in the counseling room. These are audacious accusations.

My Second Thought—What Is the Biblical Basis?: If I were speaking with Sean, I would want to ask him about the specific scriptural basis for his accusations against fellow biblical counselors.

Question #9: Sean, on what biblical basis do you support your accusation that CCEF has capitulated to the gods of this age? 

Question #10: Sean, specifically and biblically, where has CCEF fallen short of being committed to the sufficiency of Scripture? 

Question #11: Sean, specifically where has the biblical counseling faculty of SEBTS capitulated to the gods of this age? 

We can debate clinically-informed biblical counseling. I’ve publicly described why I do not self-identify as CIBC. See, Why I Don’t Call Myself a “Clinically-Informed Biblical Counselor” (CIBC). But the CIBC leaders at SEBTS are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are fellow biblical counselors. They are committed the sufficiency of Scripture. They have not capitulated to the gods of this age. I would want to ask Sean,

Question #12: Sean, can you walk us through the SEBTS foundational document, What Is Redemptive Counseling / Clinically Informed Biblical Counseling?, and demonstrate biblically your accusations against them?

My Third Thought—An Interesting Shift: Sean makes an interesting transition at the 1:58 mark. Sean’s Crisis #1 from :01-1:57: Evangelicals capitulate to the secularists who are saying that hurting people can only be helped by those trained by the secular gods of this age. Sean’s Crisis #2 from 1:58-3:04: Leading biblical counseling organizations have capitulated to the gods of this age. Sean collapses together these two issues as if they are identical. If Sean were sitting across from me, I would ask him,

Question #13 Sean, are you implying that leading biblical counseling organizations are now saying that hurting people can only be helped by those trained by the secular gods of this age? 

Question #14: Sean, would you not see a difference between someone saying, “I’m committed to Scripture and I see a secondary role for secular research assessed under the lens of God’s authoritative word,” and someone saying, “People can only be helped by those trained by the secular gods of this age”?

My Fourth Thought—Have You Talked Directly with Those You Are Accusing?: I’d also interact with Sean about whether he has privately talked with those he is publicly accusing. I’d ask,

Question #15: Sean, you’ve had much to say about SEBTS over the past two years. I’ve asked you previously if you have spoken with them directly. Is my understanding correct that you have not spoken directly with them about the concerns you have?

Question #16: Sean, historically, CCEF has been “the gold standard” of in-depth biblical theology for biblical counseling. You’re now saying they have capitulated to the gods of this world. You know these CCEF leaders personally—you’ve sat face-to-face with them for three days in Biblical Counseling Coalition meetings. Before producing this video, did you consider interacting with the CCEF leadership team about your specific concerns? Have you interacted with them face-to-face about your accusation that they have capitulated to the gods of this world? Will you please consider discussing your concerns directly with the CCEF leadership team?

Interaction #5: Sean’s Clarion Call—Come to ACBC! 

Sean spends the bulk of his video calling people to trust in ACBC. 

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 3:05 Time-Stamp: And, so, what I would like to do is to issue a call to you to redouble your commitment to God’s Word as the source of light, the source of life, the source of hope that we have for all the problems in living that we face, that are spiritual problems. And that maybe you have never considered your role in the counseling movement. And I would say that counseling really is only intensive discipleship, and so it really is discipleship and God’s Word is about sanctification issues and the issues of worry, and fear, and anxiety, and anger, are really in God’s world and are addressed in God’s book, the Bible.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 4:00 Time-Stamp: And so, I want to encourage you strongly, if you have never considered being certified by ACBC, you should. There has never been a better time. You should consider how you can play a part in helping people be free from addiction, helping people in marriage, helping people be free from the burden of anxiety. And all of that is possible not because we are good people, but because we have a great God who makes us competent to counsel through his powerful Word which is sharper than any two-edged sword. The church did not need secular psychology. We survived 2000 years quite well and flourished without Freud or any of his followers. We don’t need any “trained therapists” [quotation marks noted in video via Sean’s fingers] to help people to be free from their sins and to endure suffering rightly, to love God fully with all their heart, soul, mind, and spirit, and strength.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 5:00 Time-Stamp: And, so, I would say that if you are a busy church member, you are not too busy to grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and to grow in your knowledge of practical theology. And, so, a few ways that you can do that: 1. If you’ve never read the book, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, by Heath Lambert you should buy that and read it. 2. If you don’t listen to the ACBC-produced podcast Truth and Love, then you should. 3. And, then, if you want to consider getting certified, First Baptist Church is a certified training center. And we are so committed to this that we are releasing videos, the entire Fundamentals training course for free. You can watch those videos and we would love to see you grow in your understanding of God’s sufficient Word to address the problems that we all face.

Sean’s Video Transcript at the 6:15 Time-Stamp: So, take up, read, and press in. Now is a great time to pursue the glory of God by helping people to grow in the sufficient Word. 

My First Thought—Is ACBC the Only Faithful Biblical Counseling Organization?: After listening to Sean promote ACBC, I would want to ask Sean,

Question #17: Sean, do you now believe that ACBC and ACBC-adjacent counselors and organizations are the only faithful biblical counselors on the planet? Is that now your argument, your contention?

My Second Thought—What Boundary Lines Are You Insisting Upon?: If I were sitting across from Sean, I’d seek to understand the boundary lines he is drawing.

Question #18: Sean, do you now think that no Christian should ever go to a CCEF-trained counselor? Do you now think that no Christian should ever go to an ABC (Association of Biblical Counselors) counselor? Do you now think that no Christian should ever go to an SEBTS-trained counselor? Do you now think that no Christian should ever go to anyone who describes themselves as a clinically-informed or trauma-informed biblical counselor?

Interaction #6: Final Thoughts 

Perhaps I could word this, “Final Thoughts and Feelings.” As I read and re-read Sean’s post, I feel sad.

Sean’s post brings me back to 2009. I’m sitting in a room with David Powlison, Randy Patten, and half-a-dozen other biblical counseling leaders, and a leading Evangelical pastor says to us,

Why can’t you all just get along? Why do I have to choose between NANC, and CCEF, and ABC? 

Fifteen years ago, in 2010, that question and the subsequent conversation led to the launch of the Biblical Counseling Coalition. Powlison, Patten, myself, and several other biblical counseling leaders launched the Biblical Counseling Coalition so that we could talk to each other. In the 1990s and early 2000s, biblical counselors were talking about each other behind people’s backs. We wanted to create a forum, a coalition, where we could talk to each other—where we could sit face to face and respectfully talk with, listen to, and learn from one another.

I’m sad now in 2025, because the tensions today in the biblical counseling world are even worse than they were in 2009. Many of the accusations and characterizations that Sean makes in his video are much more damning than anything said in the early 2000s… And these current accusations are occurring without face-to-face conversations.

Sean has thrown down the gauntlet. If CCEF is no longer a trustworthy biblical counseling organization, then are we now to believe that ACBC and ACBC-adjacent organizations are the lone faithful biblical counselors? Are we to believe that God has not reserved his seven thousand (or seventy-thousand, or seven-hundred-thousand, or seven million) who have not bowed their knees to the gods of this world (1 Kings 19:18)?

I wonder if Sean speaks for Dale Johnson, the Executive Director of ACBC…?

I wonder what Kevin Carson, the incoming Executive Director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, and an ACBC fellow, thinks about Sean placing CCEF outside the bounds of faithful biblical counseling…?

I wonder what happens next…?

Here’s what I wish would happen next—a respectful, mutual dialogue. I’ve asked a number of specific questions to Sean about his video. I’d appreciate hearing Sean respond specifically to those questions. Let’s start a mutual dialogue.

In fact, here’s a genuine offer:

Sean, if you want to, you can respond in writing to my 18 questions (or at least to several of them)—engaging fairly with my concerns. I will post your responses on my blog. In addition to responding to my questions, if you want to ask me questions, I’ll engage publicly on my blog with your questions.

I hope that happens. But whatever happens next…I trust God. I trust God’s affectionate sovereignty.

“For I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side!’ But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’” (Psalm 31:13-14).

Addendum: Added 12/10/25 

A week and a day later, Sean has not responded to my interactive questions. He did, instead, ask me a question about Ed Welch’s new chapter on same-sex-attraction in the updated edition of Blame It On the Brain? Sean published a review of that chapter and he asked if I would respond to his review. I responded to Sean with the following reflections:

Sean,

Let’s follow-up on your concerns about Dr. Welch’s updated chapter…

Imagine a Christian world where we are not saying, “I am of Paul; I am of Cephas; I am of ACBC; I am of CCEF.” But instead, we are saying, “We are all of Christ; we all are humbly seeking to follow Christ.”

Imagine a Christian world where we eschew “Gotch’a!” moments where we take every opportunity we can to expose someone else as all wrong and declare ourselves as all right. Instead, if we perceive that a fellow brother or sister we’ve respected for decades is possibly tracking in the wrong direct, we seek to humbly interact with them.

Imagine a Christian world where we refuse to weaponize perceived error by implicating entire organizations as unbiblical on the basis of one chapter in one book written by one employee.

Imagine a Christian world where we refuse to seek opportunities to exalt our organization and demean other organizations.

Imagine a Christian world where you might have a concern about something Dr. Ed Welch wrote, and you responded something like this…

Dr. Welch, You’ve been a “mentor-from-a-distance” to me for years. Your writings have been required reading for me in numerous biblical counseling classes. I’ve sat under your excellent teaching at several conferences. We’ve sat together for several days in face-to-face gatherings such as the Biblical Counseling Coalition leadership summit. Thank you for your ministry to me and to countless others.

That said, Dr. Welch, your latest writing—your update to Blame It on the Brain?—has raised some concerns for me. Since your book is in the public domain, I do not believe that I am required to write you before I write a review. However, because you have been a mentor to me, because you are someone I know personally, I do want to interact personally before I write something publicly.

I want to follow the biblical commands about younger Christians respecting older, more mature Christians, such as: 1 Peter 5:5: “You who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” I want to approach my concerns about your writings with humility and submission. I want to obey the intent of a passage like Leviticus 19:32: “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.” I want to obey 1 Timothy 5:1: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father.”

It is in this biblical spirit of humility that I reach out to you privately. I’ve attached a first draft of my review of your new book, specifically focused on your chapter on same-sex-attraction. If you choose to read my draft, you’ll see that I have some concerns about the direction your writings have moved since your first draft in the 90s. Here are some questions that I would ask you to consider, Dr. Welch.

• • As you read my review, am I understanding you correctly, in context? Or, are there places I may be misunderstanding you. Am I characterizing your writings correctly? Or, are there places where I am mischaracterizing you? Are there places in my first draft where you think I need to make changes/edits before I send in my final draft of my review?
  • It seems pretty clear, at least to me, that you have made some significant changes in your views from your 1990s edition to your recent updated edition. Do you think 1990s Ed Welch was wrong and 2025 Ed Welch is correct? What accounts for your changed thinking on these issues? What biblical passages and theological concepts led to your changed presentation of your views?
  • Having read the first draft of my upcoming review, would you be willing to respond to my specific areas of concern? Would you be willing to biblically/theologically address why you believe your views in your updated book are correct, and why my concerns are, perhaps, misguided?
  • Are there any places in my review where you believe I am missing the mark biblically and theologically? I am open to learning from you now, as I have learned from you over the past twenty years.
  • After reading my review, do you think there may be areas where you could have communicated better? Are there sections where, if given the chance, you might rewrite your rewrite (update your updated edition)?
  • After reading my review, do you think there are any areas where you were wrong—unbiblical?
  • Are there widely-accepted Evangelical documents on human sexuality that you align with? If so, which of those, along with Scripture, guided your thinking as you wrote this updated chapter? Would you be willing to share links to such documents, so that when you and I interact, and when I write the updated draft of my review, we are speaking the same language?
  • I’ve contacted the organization which is publishing my review. They are open to publishing your response to my review. Would you be open to writing a response to my review?
  • Some might assume that because you work for CCEF, that whatever you write represents the views of CCEF. Did your colleagues at CCEF read this chapter before it was published? Did they agree with your views? Since this chapter was published, have your CCEF colleagues expressed any concerns, or given any feedback about your wording? Have they recommended you consider rewording what you have written? Have they recommended that you respond to concerns about what you have written?

Thank you, Dr. Welch, for your lifelong faithful ministry as a biblical counselor, biblical counseling educator, and biblical counseling leader. I look forward to hearing your response, and to learning from you.

 [End of Proposed Contact with Dr. Welch]

I wonder, Sean, what life would be like in that imagined world where we interacted with one another in those humble, iron-sharpening-iron ways…