Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics, Part 1

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Welcome to Part 1 of a three-part blog mini-series on Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics.

If you would like this three-part mini-series all in one free PDF download, go here: Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics (coming soon).

For blog post, Part One, go here: Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics, Part 1.

For blog post, Part Two, go here: Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics, Part 2 (coming soon).

For blog post, Part Three, go here: Discussing and Applying Jeremy Lelek’s Biblical Counseling Basics, Part 3 (coming soon).

My History with Biblical Counseling Basics

Jeremy Lelek, the author of Biblical Counseling Basics: Roots, Beliefs, and Future, notes that the book was, in part, drawn from his Ph.D. dissertation at Regent University. I, along with others (Don Arms, Howard Eyrich, Stephen Greggo, Eric Johnson, Ian Jones, Phil Monroe, David Powlison, Eric Scalise, Timothy Sizemore, Winston Smith, Joshua Straub, Paul Tripp, Steve Viars, and Ed Welch) had the privilege of being participants-respondents in Dr. Lelek’s 2012 dissertation: A Study of the Constructs and a Proposed Definition of Biblical Counseling.

So, in 2018, when New Growth Press released Biblical Counseling Basics, I was excited to read it. Now, six years later, I decided to reread Jeremy’s work, this time in even more detail—taking notes, highlighting sentences, jotting down thoughts and questions…

Discussing and Applying the Book: PDQs

I ended up with so many representative quotes, that I decided to discuss and apply the book publicly. “Discussing and applying” is different from “reviewing.” If you’d like to read a couple a reviews, check out:

A Review of Biblical Counseling Basics reviewed by Dave Dunham.
Book Review of Biblical Counseling Basics reviewed by Nate Brooks at the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

Here’s how I’ll discuss and apply Biblical Counseling Basics.

I’ll briefly introduce you to the author (Dr. Jeremy Lelek) and to the book (Biblical Counseling Basics).
To provide the context for discussing the book, I’ll provide representative quotes that seek to capture the essence of various topics covered in the book.
I’ll seek to apply the book by asking questions for us to ponder. As a professor, I called these “PDQs”: Prompting Discussion Questions. Sometimes those PDQs will be directed to all of us. Sometimes I’ll specifically ask Dr. Lelek a PDQ.

Who Is Jeremy Lelek?

The following material comes from bios on several sites.

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 PhD in Counseling Education and Supervision at Regent University. Jeremy has been counseling for a quarter-century—since 1999. He is an adjunct professor at Redeemer Seminary and lectures frequently in area churches training believers with ABC’s Equipped to Counsel curriculum.

**What Is Biblical Counseling Basics About?**

Here are two videos by Dr. Lelek that introduce the book.

The following is the book description from the publisher, New Growth Press.

Drawing from a wide range of resources and experts in Christian soul care, Biblical Counseling Basics is a well-researched, easy-to-read, and practical guide for students and counselors both inside and outside of biblical counseling to better understand its aspects, methods, and goals. Biblical Counseling Basics equips readers with practical skills for one-another ministry and engages them with their divine call to counsel.

In this resource, Dr. Jeremy Lelek offers a comprehensive approach to biblical counseling, beginning by retracing the movement’s history, then exploring its basic tenets, and finally providing helpful insight for the future of biblical counseling.

Helping to connect the dots between soul care and theology, and including real-life case studies, readers are encouraged to apply theology to current issues and the here-and-now needs of others.

Also offering a way forward, this guide encourages counselors that the use of the Bible is central to their practices and development. Offering the Bible as the preeminent resource to address even the most complex mental and emotional struggles, Biblical Counseling Basics exposes readers to the finished work of Christ as the greatest hope for all believers.

What Others Have Said About Biblical Counseling Basics

I never read a book without first reading endorsements. Biblical Counseling Basics was endorsed by a wide-range of leaders. Among them:

“Here is a clarion call to grasping the rich history of biblical counseling with its solid commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture; healthy interaction with secular thought, using the Scripture as the measure of all knowledge; advocacy of surgical accuracy in the use of Scripture and acute avoidance of proof texting; the centrality of theology proper as the context for counseling; and thoughtful challenge regarding law and ethics.”—Howard A. Eyrich

“This is more than biblical counseling basics. It is a wise telling of the history of biblical counseling, a useable systematic theology for counselors, and a thoughtful welcome to those who don’t quite know what to make of it all. Thank you, Jeremy, for moving us ahead.”—Ed Welch

“Lelek’s book does what no other biblical counseling book does. It gives you a helpful history, it defines what it really means to counsel biblically, and it offers guidance for the future of soul care. If you have been called to care for people, this book should be in your library.”—Paul David Tripp

“When an accident left me a quadriplegic, I collapsed emotionally. I vaguely knew that the Bible probably contained answers, but I had no idea where to look. Thankfully, I was introduced to a biblical counselor who made all the difference. He wasn’t a trained professional; he simply loved Jesus and wanted to make him a reality in my life. Friend, you have the same counseling potential. It’s why I love Biblical Counseling Basics. Want to help wounded people find life-giving hope? This book is for you!” —Joni Eareckson Tada

Don’t Forget the Subtitle

If you want to know what a book is about, then read the subtitle: Roots, Beliefs, and Future. Lelek divides Biblical Counseling Basics into three parts:

Part One: Roots—The History of the Modern Biblical Counseling Movement.
Part Two: Beliefs—The Beliefs, Theology, Teachings, and Practices of the Modern Biblical Counseling Movement.
Part Three: Future—Recommendations for Further Growth and Development of the Modern Biblical Counseling Movement (The Progressive Sanctification of the Biblical Counseling Movement).

Dr. Lelek informs his readers that, “The book you are reading attempts to unpack the single question, What is biblical counseling?” (1). Lelek unpacks that question historically, biblically, and theologically.

My Initial Impression: Scripture-Saturated, Theologically-Rich

As I began rereading Biblical Counseling Basics, I was struck by how Scripture-saturated it is.

Those who know me, won’t be surprised that I started counting every time Dr. Lelek engages with Scripture, quotes Scripture, discusses Scripture, develops biblical passages, and applies the Bible to biblical counseling. In a 250-page book, I would have expected perhaps 100 biblical passages. Instead, I counted 542 biblical passages!

That’s not all. In addition to exegeting and applying specific biblical passages, throughout the book, Dr. Lelek explores and develops a biblical theology/systematic theology of biblical counseling. Additionally, throughout Biblical Counseling Basics, Lelek quotes scores (I didn’t count them all this time) of conservative, evangelical, Reformed commentaries, theologians, pastors, and biblical counselors.

As Ed Welch said (see above), this is more than biblical counseling basics. This is biblically-saturated, theologically-grounded biblical counseling.

PDQs About the Roots of Biblical Counseling Basics (BCB)

I thought it was significant and telling that even in the historical section of BCB, Lelek emphasizes theology. He asks the question, When did counseling begin? Lelek answers that question by asserting that counseling began with the Bible. He traces counseling from Genesis 1-3 with God counseling Adam and Eve, through the Old Testament, to the ministry of Jesus, and to the Apostles throughout the New Testament (5-9). Then he states:

“Since the Bible reveals that counseling finds its birthplace in the person and activity of God, it is not a recent, secular novelty. Rather, rightly understood, counseling is an eternal gift graciously transferred to humanity in order that humanity might gain knowledge of the supreme fullness of life, namely, God” (5).

I found it historically important that Lelek did not begin his historical survey with the 1960s and the modern biblical counseling movement. Instead, he accurately traces Christian soul care from the Church Fathers, to the middle ages, to the Reformers, and to the Puritans (9-15). He then traces “biblical psychology” that predates secular psychology, listing ten sample biblical psychology texts dating from 1538 through 1874 (15).

Prompting Discussion Questions (PDQs) for All of Us: How might it strengthen the modern biblical counseling movement if we availed ourselves of the teachings of historic Christian soul care that predated the rise of our modern movement?

PDQs About the Modern Nouthetic Biblical Counseling Movement

Lelek, in alignment with Jay Adams, then traces the decline of biblical soul care, dating it to the rise of secular psychology, to the silence of conservative evangelicals, and to the ascension of liberal Christian thinkers (16-17).

“With such a stigma attached to scriptural teaching in the realm of counseling, from the 1920s to the 1970s, the discipline of pastoral counseling was almost exclusively shaped by secular thought influenced by the likes of Freud’s dynamic needs theory and the client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers” (19).

Speaking positively of Adams, Lelek notes,

“Adams dedicated his work to formulating a comprehensive model of counseling that was built upon a very specific presupposition: the Bible is sufficient to make a believer competent in the work of counseling” (28).

“Nouthetic counseling formulated a comprehensive system, defining truth about people, their problems in living, and the processes of change” (28).

PDQs for All of Us: Whether or not you agree 100% with the modern nouthetic counseling model, would there be a “modern biblical counseling movement” today without Jay Adams? What aspects of Adams’s modern nouthetic counseling model most resonate with you? What aspects of Jay Adams’s modern nouthetic counseling model less resonate with you?

The Rest of the Story

For blog post, Part 1, go here.

For blog post, Part 2, go here (coming soon).

For blog post, Part 3, go here (coming soon).