Journal of Biblical Counseling

In this guest editorial, Ed Welch shares personal reflections on David Powlison, longtime senior editor of the JBC who died in 2019. Drawing on four decades of friendship, Welch traces the threads that shaped Powlison’s life and work: his conversion, his daily devotional habits, his view of the JBC as his “canvas,” and his deep contentment in Christ despite a lifelong experience of physical weakness. It’s a warm, personal portrait of the man behind the development of the journal, offered by someone who knew him well.

Though Philippians never mentions marriage directly, Aaron Sironi finds a fresh relationship paradigm for couples in the epistle’s call to stand firm and live “in a manner worthy of the gospel.” He applies this framework to the unity spouses need amid differences and difficulties. Practical and refreshing, this article invites couples to bring a familiar text into unexpected territory.

Mothers leaving abusive marriages often suffer a second, quieter wound: estrangement from their adult children who either resent them or side with their father. Darby Strickland frames this experience through the biblical lens of exile. She draws on God’s instructions to the Jewish exiles in Jeremiah 29 to guide these mothers toward spiritual growth. Instead of trying to change their children’s minds, this article offers a path forward rooted in faithfulness amid hardship.

Ministry can quietly breed discontentment—unmet ambitions, comparisons, a desire for a name rather than faithful service. Gunner Gundersen turns to Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16 as an unexpected mirror for the pastor’s heart, tracing how dissatisfaction with one’s calling can curdle into bitterness and self-promotion. The article calls ministry leaders to notice and repent of discontent and to recognize that what they’ve been given in Christ is no small thing.

In this short but pointed essay, Ed Welch examines a pattern most people recognize but rarely name: the habitual, often unconscious instinct to deflect blame and accuse others when things go wrong. Concise and direct, the piece speaks to a tendency common to everyone, counselors and counselees alike.

In the final installment of this column, Michael Gembola reviews several recent books on counseling and pastoral care. They cover timely, thought-provoking topics—from a theology of danger and security to marriage and ministry, church hurt, and group counseling. Gembola concludes with reflections on the “Book Notes” project and how it has grown and challenged him.

Purchase the print or digital edition of the Journal of Biblical Counseling 40:2.