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. 2
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. 2 Articles
What Is God Doing?
A world-wide crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic causes people to question God. Why is this happening to us? What are you doing God? Welch notes that though Scripture does not give us specific answers to questions like these, God is not silent. He knows that what we need most in a crisis is not the […]
Helping Spouses Move Toward Each Other in Conflict
In this third and final installment of their article series on marital conflict, Sironi and Whitman invite us to see that God’s plan to unify all things under Christ has meaningful implications for everyday marital strife. Building on instructions in 1 Peter 3, they frame conflict as suffering and describe concrete ways couples can move […]
How Do You Know If Someone Is Ready to Change?
Just because people seek counseling, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are ready to embrace change. In fact, they may be quite ambivalent about it. For some people, this resistance reflects hardheartedness, but for many others the ambivalence is due to confusion, ignorance, or fear. Stryd’s article helps counselors cultivate discernment so they are able to […]
Rehabilitating Habituation
What role does habit formation play in Christian growth? Do we change from the outside-in (habit focus) or from the inside-out (heart focus)? In this article, Brian Mesimer revisits the debate on Jay Adams’s use of habit in counseling. Appealing to classical Christian conceptions of habit and virtue, Mesimer offers a constructive critique. He then […]
An Interview with the Founders of Two Church-Based Counseling Ministries
This interview introduces two churches and their care programs. Gembola speaks to Jonathan Holmes at Parkside Church in Solon, Ohio and Karen Shannon at Liquid Church in Somerville, New Jersey. Their conversation touches on how to start and maintain care ministries, including training, screening, and providing ongoing care and oversight for volunteers. Other topics include […]
JBC Volume 34:2 Digital Version
Purchase the digital edition of the Journal of Biblical Counseling volume 34:2. The mission of the Journal of Biblical Counseling (JBC) is to develop clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling. We seek to do this through publishing articles that faithfully bring the God of truth, mercy and power to the issues that face pastoral […]
JBC Volume 34:2 Print Version
Purchase the print edition of the Journal of Biblical Counseling volume 34:2. The mission of the Journal of Biblical Counseling (JBC) is to develop clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling. We seek to do this through publishing articles that faithfully bring the God of truth, mercy and power to the issues that face pastoral […]
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