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Want to have coffee with Ed Welch?

May 18, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

We are looking for individuals interested in bringing a group to the CCEF National Conference! If you organize a group and register before the June 25th deadline, then you will receive SPECIAL BONUSES! Bronze Level: Bring a group of 10 and the group organizer gets: ● free admission to the Conference ● a free copy of the CCEF publication, Counsel the Word

Christ Interrupts Shame

May 16, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

This is the first of a series of blogs from Ed Welch about shame. The occasion is the publication of Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection (New Growth Press). ***

Let's Talk about Money

May 10, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

“Men will talk about their struggle with pornography, but don’t ask about their money.” A veteran of many men’s groups made that observation, and it made sense. As a counselor, I talk about sex with people, but I cannot remember the last time I talked about money.

Black-or-White Thinkers and Their Opposites

May 01, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” This is a quote by H. L. Mencken. A black-or-white thinker would reject it. A see-different-perspectives, could-be-this-could-be-that thinker (this contrasting group doesn’t a particular name[1]) would appreciate it, but might add, “and sometimes a complex problem can also have an answer that is clear, simple and right.”

Does Love Really Believe All Things?

April 26, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

This is a tough one: the teaching that love “believes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7, ESV). What does it mean exactly? Are we always to believe what others say to us? Should parents believe their child in spite of all the evidence that he is lying? No, that can’t be it. We are also called to be “wise as serpents” (Matt. 10:16) and “test everything” (1 Thes. 5:21). So, what are we to do with this verse? Love Believes God

What's Your Favorite Name for God?

April 18, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

Who is the Lord? Our answer to this question shapes everything we say in counseling. He is the Judge, Scorned One, Law-Giver, Law-Keeper, King, Servant, Holy One, Lamb, Lion, Alpha and Omega, One–who-Hears, along with scores of other revealed names and character qualities. Your Favorite Name will Impact Your Counseling Emphasize any of these and watch how your tone and language change. When you are meditating on God-as-Judge you will sound different from when your tone is controlled by The-One-Who-Washes-Feet.

Emotions R’ Us: How Changes in Emotions Impact Families

April 10, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

No matter how cerebral and egg-headed humans can be, no matter how interested in concepts and theories, no matter how seemingly robotic—at root, emotions are us. Think of any friend. Who are they? How would you recognize them even if they were physically disguised? “Tell me about yourself?” “Well, I’m thirty-something. I work for a small business.” “Any hobbies?” “Yes, chess.” “Tell me about chess.”

Can We Be Positive about Psychiatric Medications?

April 04, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

He is forty-two-years-old and his physician suggested that Ritilan or one of its relatives might be helpful. So he tried it, and it was helpful. “There hasn’t been anything magical about it, but I noticed a difference almost right away. My brain just felt clearer and more orderly. My wife has noticed the difference too.” My first response was simple. “That’s great.” My second response was, “please, tell me more.” He is a biblically thoughtful and insightful man, and I was eager to learn from him.

Has there ever been a more important topic than guilt and shame?

April 02, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

Sometimes our conference considers a topic that is critical but that you might not necessarily find in your own life. Our “Psychiatric Disorders” conference spoke to that kind of topic. This year we are back to a topic that is common to every person in every culture. Guilt and shame can be found everywhere—absolutely everywhere.

Why Do We Seem Negative about Psychiatric Medications?

March 27, 2012 - Ed Welch - Blog Post

We have always talked about psychiatric medications in terms of wisdom: sometimes it is wise to use them, sometimes it is not. But if you follow CCEF citations of secular research, we typically identify literature that shows the limitations of medication and so, over time, we seem negative.