For more than 40 years, CCEF’s Journal of Biblical Counseling has provided a forum for the development of clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling. We do this by publishing articles that faithfully bring the God of truth, mercy, and power to the issues that face pastoral ministries of counseling and discipleship.
Volume 34, No. 1
With this issue of the JBC, you'll notice a new look. Several of the design elements were used in past JBC designs. By including reminiscences from our past, we sought to represent how we strive for our content to be timeless in nature. Added, modern touches reflect our desire to be timely as we serve God's church in the 21st century. As always, CCEF seeks to provide the same biblical, thoughtful, and practical content that has been a hallmark of the JBC throughout the years. We hope you enjoy the refreshed look!
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JBC Vol. 34 · No. 1 Articles
The Field before Us
Our new executive director, Alasdair Groves, begins this issue by sharing his intentions for the future of CCEF and its Journal of Biblical Counseling (JBC). In broad strokes, he aims for CCEF to continue to break new ground in biblical counseling as well as to harvest fresh insights and helps from fields cultivated by previous […]
Fear Is Not Sin
Many Christians are confused about how to think about fear. Is it a sin to be afraid? Welch’s title reveals his answer. When God uses the words “Do not be afraid,” Welch argues that these are not words of rebuke, but words of comfort from our compassionate Father who draws near to us when we […]
Meditating for a Change: Embracing a Lost Art
Christians need help with an age-old problem: our repeated failure to live up to our own beliefs. We have a high calling in Christ—and we all fall short, repeatedly and constantly. How do we close the gap? Steve Midgley suggests we embrace the nearly forgotten practice of Christian meditation. He makes a biblical and practical […]
Social Anxiety: Learning from the One Who Despised the Shame
People who struggle with social anxiety feel inhibited, fearful, and physically tense in social and performance situations. Sironi describes three factors that drive this experience: the fear of shame, the desire to be affirmed, and feelings of inadequacy. He then unpacks how following the path of Jesus empowers those who struggle with social anxiety to […]
Six Fallacies to Avoid When Caring for People with Mental Disorders
Psychiatrist Chien-Shun Chen invites us to consider a question Christians often ask: Are mental disorders medical or spiritual? He addresses several common misunderstandings of psychiatric science, helping us avoid oversimplifications that prevent the church from knowing and caring for people wisely and well. He helps us see how Christian worldview commitments and considerations of human […]
A Man’s Identity
How should a man build his sense of self? This isn’t an existential matter; it’s a profoundly spiritual one. In this article, the late David Powlison explains how the question of identity can only be rightly answered as a man comes to first know who God is. It is in knowing God truly that a […]
The Next Generation of Biblical Counseling: A Tribute to the Legacy of David Powlison
This article is part of our series of essays written in honor of David Powlison. With admiration, Brad Hambrick describes how David’s passion for biblical counseling pushed him to repeatedly ask himself the question: Where does biblical counseling need to grow next? In that spirit, Hambrick follows David’s lead and offers one way our movement […]
Making Biblical Counseling Beautiful: The Life and Ministry of David Powlison
A second tribute comes from Heath Lambert. In this personal and touching piece, Heath describes how he met David and the ways their relationship and ministries intertwined over many years. He believes that David’s most significant contribution to biblical counseling can be summarized in one word: beauty. He says, “Jay Adams built the biblical counseling […]
About the JBC
For more than 40 years, CCEF’s Journal of Biblical Counseling has provided a forum for the development of clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling. We do this by publishing articles that faithfully bring the God of truth, mercy, and power to the issues that face pastoral ministries of counseling and discipleship.
Our late senior editor David Powlison wrote, “CCEF works and prays to restore Christ to counseling—and to restore counseling to the church. The Journal of Biblical Counseling serves this mission as a publishing ministry of CCEF. We believe that true, life-explaining insight into people necessarily involves thinking Christianly. Loving, lasting help necessarily involves practicing ‘counseling’ as one aspect of consciously Christian ministry. The deeper you gaze into what actually goes wrong with people—the weight of our sins and sorrows—the more clearly you see that Jesus Christ is essential to making it right.”
Journal articles cover a broad range of biblical counseling and methodology topics. Many are written by CCEF faculty including Ed Welch, David Powlison, Michael Emlet, Julie Lowe, Todd Stryd and others. We also welcome articles from other authors, pastors, and practitioners in the field.
David Powlison was the senior editor of the JBC from 1992 until his death in 2019.
Editorial Staff
Managing Editor: Kimberly Monroe
Assistant Editor: Lauren Whitman
Assistant Editor: Michael Gembola
Proofreader: Bruce E. Eaton