While cleaning up our shed recently I stumbled on an old box full of sermon tapes. Do you remember those? It’s amazing how they are now practically antiques! As I looked through the box I found so many messages that God used in a powerful way in my life - A.W. Tozer on ‘Abraham,’ Lloyd-Jones on Romans 8, Piper’s “Doing Missions When Dying is Gain,” and many others. It brought back memories of the very first sermon tape I remember listening too when I was 17-18 years old. I listened to it on my Sony Walkman while repainting the bottom of a pool at the local hotel in town. It was by John MacArthur called “The Forgotten Side of God” on Isaiah 6. I remembered how God used that sermon to stir in me a hunger for God’s word and to give me a vision of His holiness that still haunts me today. 

There are many other messages that I can think back on that have had a profound impact on my life. I’m thankful that God still speaks today through His Word by His Spirit through ordinary, finite men. It leads me even now to look forward to the messages He will use to continue to change my life in the days and years ahead. 

What messages can you remember that God used to change your life? 

Here are a few that I mentioned and others that come to mind. I’m sure I’m missing some:

The Forgotten Side of God - John MacArthur

The Cost of Discipleship - John MacArthur

Christ Our Life - Tim Keller

Praying Our Tears - Tim Keller

God’s Enjoyment of God - John Piper (+ rest of conference)

Doing Missions When Dying is Gain - John Piper

The Spirit Helps Us in Our Weakness - John Piper

The Spirit of Adoption - Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Abraham: Only God Matters - A.W. Tozer

The Pastors Calling, Privilege, and Burden - Sinclair Ferguson (3 messages)

Adoption and the Multi-Ethnic Family of God - Carl Robbins

Putting this list together in many ways is more for me to reflect but hopefully it can be an encouragement to others. Looking back I read some books that had a deep impact on my life but I also regret that I didn’t read more fiction and poetry like I had hoped. I broke my favorite books up by category below. If I could go back and only read two books I would have to say that would be You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith and Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne.

Books that helped me grow in my love of the church

You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith - The issue of desire, habit, and worship is central to our daily discipleship and Smith does a provocative job reintroducing the role these play and the gift of liturgy to the church. Over the last few years I have benefited greatly from Smith’s books and they have shaped not only the way I worship but the way I counsel and live my life. His chapters on eduction and home life are not to be missed.

Him We Proclaim by Dennis Johnson & Preaching Whole Bible as Christian Scripture by Graeme Goldsworthy - I read these two books looking for application to discipleship and counseling and they both left me with a greater appreciation for the Word of God and the gift of preaching. Both books I will revisit in the years to come.

A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship by Michael Horton - I reread this book this year for the third time. I love this book for how Horton paints a picture of the beauty and gift of liturgy in the church and each time I read it I am almost converted to be Presbyterian or Anglican. The next may do it. That said, even as a Baptist this book has much to offer that I am still mining after all these years.

Books that stretched my mind

Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne - A great overview of the doctrine of union with Christ and it’s practical implications. This doctrine has had the most profound impact on my life the last few years. It is sadly not talked about or preached about enough. Thankfully there are more books coming out on the topic - two others I read this year that I recommend are David Hickman’s Closer than Close and Donald Fairnborn’s Life in the Trinity.

Earthen Vessels by Matthew Anderson - I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time and figured this was a good year to do it since I’ve begun going to the gym after 20 years! I also see a lot of people in the church struggling with body issues. A big part of this comes from our misunderstanding of what it means to be embodied beings. This is an intellectually challenging book but one that I would recommend him to anyone up for the task since it is a topic that needs our attention in the church.

Good News for Anxious Christians by Philip Cary - When my friend Dan Cruver recommends a book I put it on the top of my list. This book is worth the price just for the chapter on the gospel in the modern church. Cary challenged me to revisit many things (i.e. How God speaks, guides) and overall he challenges a lot of subtle tease and nuances of the leaf common in the church today that lady a lot of anxiety upon people. I found myself very encouraged and freed in the gospel through this book. 

Introducing Covenant Theology by Michael Horton - A good friend of mine preached a sermon on the covenant of works that was a catalyst to me revisiting this doctrine. Though I still have a lot of questions, I found it incredibly clarifying for me and it impacted the way I counseled others. This year my hope is to work through The Economy of the Covenants by with Witsius.

Books that helped me know myself better

To Be Told by Dan Allender - My wife and I worked through this book and it is one I would recommend everyone go through at some point. The way we understand our story and God’s story shapes the way we live and face our sin & suffering past and present. My wife is leading a group of women through it as well.

Self to Lose - Self to Find: A Biblical Approach to the 9 Enneagram Types by Marilyn Vancil - I’ve been using the enneagram in counseling for the past year and a half on and off. It has personally been one of the most helpful catalysts for self-counseling I have found. My friend Chuck DeGroat recommended this book to me and it is encouraging to see growing interest in this tool with a bunch of new books and articles being written. 

The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self Discovery by David Benner - This book is a short, simple and powerful encouragement to have a healthy self-understanding and intimacy with Christ. He also introduces the enneagram in a very simple way. I read this in one sitting and have recommended it to others since it is so accessible. 

Books that helped me grow as a pastor

The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson - Of all the books I read this year I felt the most resonance with this one in so many places. Part of that is Peterson’s writing style but a lot of it is how he hits on so many issues that are at the heart of pastoral ministry. This is one I will reread over the years. I also read The Jesus Way and Run with Horses. Both excellent. These messages from the 2012 West Coast Presbyterian Pastors Conf from Eugene were gold. And this video is a great reflection on his life. 

Designed to Lead by Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck - My friend and lead pastor Kevin Peck’s book along with Eric Geiger is a very simple, Christ-centered, principled and practical book on biblical leadership. So much of this book I have had the benefit of gleaning from Kevin in person. It is a gift to have this in writing and I have already gone back to it a few times as I rewrite some of our counseling center/ministry strategic plan. 

The Relational Soul: Moving from False Self to Deep Connection by James Cofield & Richard Plass - This book provides a great vision for the importance of relationship and how to move towards wholeness with God and others. I highly recommend this book for every pastor! 

Books that moved my heart for Christ

The Love of Christ by Richard Sibbes - I was introduced to Sibbes in seminary through his book “The Bruised Reed” and have been reading him ever since. He has a unique tenderness to his sermons and writing that is rare. This book is his sermons on the Song of Solomon which he interpreted as a picture of Christ’s relationship with His bride, the church. I have personally been blessed reading this book through this lens and commend it highly. 

Soul Recreation: The Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Puritanism by Tom Schwanda - I have been deeply blessed over the years by the writings of those known as contemplatives or mystics and often feel as though I belong among their tribe. Yet I also feel my home is with the Puritans and Reformed. This book was such a gift bringing these two worlds together. 

Two books that served as devotionals for me and moved me deeply were: 

A Season for the Spirit by Martin Smith & Every Season Prayers: Gospel-Centered Prayers for the Whole of Life by Scotty Smith

Books that helped me become a better counselor

Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice by Kent Dunnington - This book not only helped me understand addiction but also introduced me to Aquinas again and the role of habit, desire, infused grace, friendship, and the gospel. It made me think hard about our own Recovery ministry and the role of the church in helping the addicted. 

Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS by Jay Early - Dr. Chuck DeGroat introduced me to IFS a couple of years ago and this past year found time to really dive into it. I have found it incredibly helpful in working through the divided heart and the old man and new man. 

Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung - I am a couple of chapters into this book and I wonder why we don’t talk more about vices and virtues in the church today. I think we have much to recover from Aquinas and others. 

Next Year

• Continue reading through Eugene Peterson’s works. I think I am ½ way there. 
  
• Read more short stories, fiction, and poetry. Conversations with my friends Jake Riddle and Ben Riggs and this message by Andrew Peterson have inspired me. 
  
• Read more on the Covenant of works, Union with Christ, Habits, virtue, vice, Old man vs new man, Impassibility of God/Emotion, Preaching Counseling

A friend of mine has two deaf sons and recently when I saw them at a church gathering and talked with them my friend had to interpret both for them and me. One one hand you could say he was simply relaying words between his sons and me. But on another hand he was truly doing the work of interpretation.

We are always interpreting life and seeking to make sense of it. Whether we like this or it drives us mad, there is no way to turn this off - it is part of the human function. 

Graeme Goldsworthy relates this to the challenge of the preacher before a congregation: 

The preacher is an interpreter of Scripture, as is every Christian who reads the Bible and seeks to make sense of its application to our daily lives. There are some basic principles that stem from the nature of the Bible that we need to be clear about. We also recognize that our assessment of the nature of the Bible involves certain basic assumptions or presuppositions that should be owned. It is vital for us to remember that our reference point is Jesus of Nazareth as he is testified to by Holy Scripture. The apostolic testimony to him shapes our approach to the Bible as a whole. This testimony necessitates the self-conscious formation of a biblical-theological approach to the unity and diversity of the Bible (from ‘Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture). 

In a sense Goldsworthy is saying that we are all interpreters and therefore every one of us should be biblical theologians.

The way we interpret the Scripture is all about how we understand God, His story, and where we fit into it. Many people interpret the scriptures as a tool to help them when they are struggling; and in their best moments they try to fit God’s story into their story. This is backwards of course but a result of interpretation. For those whose interpretation of the scripture concludes that the Scriptures are indeed God’s revelation to man it changes everything. The goal is not to fit God into our life when it is convenient and helpful but to realize that our lives are written into God’s story by the Author Himself. 

One lens has Christ and God’s Word as the interpretive grid that helps us make sense of all things. The other lens is a lens of our own invention. 

Preachers and counselors must lead the way by being biblical in their interpretive approach but every Christian is called to the same. The implications for our lives are massive. 

The Application to Counseling

The challenge of the counselor is not entirely different from that of the preacher. Yet his task is possibly more challenging in that what he is involved in is more of a dialogue than a monologue filled with specifics. He not only needs to interpret the Word of God but the story of his counselee and the wider culture. This counselee is a specific person who sits across from the counselor with their own interpretative grid. 

The way we interpret God’s Word shapes the way we listen to one another, the way we speak to one another and the way we preach and counsel one another , therefore, it is helpful to ask both the counselor and counselee:

1. What is your view of the Scripture? 
2. What is your interpretation of it? 
3. Are you willing to allow the Scripture to determine your interpretation of God, your life, and this world? 
   

I am going to attempt to put some thoughts on paper (or screen) as I work through Graeme Goldsworthy’s book “Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture.” This book was first recommended by John Piper many years ago as he told a small group of us interns about how helpful and convicting it was for him in his preaching. He admitted to us that he felt comfortable preaching through the New Testament but had struggled with preaching the Old Testament. Goldsworthy helped him and encouraged him to change his ways. I made it a practice to read anything that Piper recommended.

Since then, I have had other friends remark how helpful this book has been in their own preaching and pastoral ministry. It came up again recently when I asked a pastor friend what resources he has found helpful in understanding and communicating the law and gospel clearly.

So what does a preaching book have to do with counseling?

I have a few thoughts on that but I am hoping to learn the answer to that question myself as I work through this book. What I can say is that I have a feeling that there is a lot we can learn. In many ways our tasks as counselors and preachers are very different but very similar.

I’ll share a few ways I see a connection.

I believe that preaching is one of the primary means of grace in the life of the church. There are different views on this and just today Ed Welch posted an article on the relationship between preaching and counseling. He says they are an equal and complementary means of grace. I am more comfortable seeing preaching as primary and counseling as supplementary. In fact, I see 3 ministry’s of the Word of God -

1. Public - Preaching & Sacrament
   
2. Personal - Community & Counseling
   
3. Private - Family & Personal worship
   

How these three relate is a topic for another post but non are optional, all three are essential means of grace in the life of the believer. 

In light of this, I define counseling as a supplementary ministry of God’s Word that happens in the context of personal relationship that may or may not be formal (community groups, friends, counseling, discipleship, etc). Another way to say it is counseling is an extension of the public ministry of God’s word in preaching. As the preacher seeks to apply the word of God to the general congregation through preaching (a monologue) the counselor seeks to apply the word of God to the individual personally through counseling (more of a dialogue). 

Here is where I believe there is a connection between counseling and preaching. Both have a common aim and agenda - to apply the Word of Christ to the people of God and this world. The context and mode of delivery and application may be different but both are seeking to interpret the word of God for the people of God and encourage people respond to God and others in light of the person and work of Christ.

How we interpret and understand the biblical story greatly impacts the way we see God, the world, others and how we speak and minister to them in the name of Jesus. This is the great challenge and joy of the preacher and biblical counselor and this where I trust we can learn a lot from Goldsworthy in his book. 

Here are a few of my favorite books from this past year.

1.  The Confessions of St. Augustine.    I have a list of classic books that I have yet to read and this was at the top of the list. The entire book is Augustine telling his life story in the form of a prayer to God. If more of us did this we have a lot less need for counseling. It is an incredible example of self-awareness, memory, reflection, testimony and grace.
2. Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Tell it Slant, & Eat this Book by Eugene Peterson.    Eugene Peterson pastored my soul this year through these books. They stirred my imagination, opened my eyes to more of God’s glory and beauty, made me hunger to pray more and feast on God’s word.
1. Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology - this is Eugene Peterson’s first book in his 5 part series capturing his vision for spiritual theology. While it was slow to get started I soon found myself engrossed in it and captured by the vision he puts forward.
2. Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers - this book had a profound impact on how I view discipleship and counseling and the role of storytelling in it. Why don’t we tell more stories like Jesus did?
3. Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading - one of the best books I’ve read on reading the Bible with head, heart, and hands. A great introduction and explanation of Lectio Divina.
3. Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self by Chuck DeGroat.    I went on a sabbatical this summer and Chuck was gracious to send me a preview of his new book coming out for me to read. This book is great encouragement to the weary and busy-hearted (which is probably most of us). Chuck brings together reformed theology, contemplative practice, and his wisdom and expertise as a licensed counselor.
4. The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson.    Of all the books I read this book made me think more deeply about my own life than any other. Curt Thompson is a psychiatrist who brings together his expertise in interpersonal neurobiology, relationships, and the gospel. A much needed integration. This may be the most important book on shame written to date. 
5. The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need by Deepak Reju and Jeremy Pierre.    This is a book I’ve been waiting for someone to write for a long time. If a pastor is lucky they had one or two counseling classes in seminary, if any, yet it feels like 80% of what they do in their job involves directly or indirectly counseling people. Deepak and Jeremy provide an excellent resource every pastor should add to their required reading list.
6. The Crucifixion of Ministry: Surrendering Our Ambitions to the Service of Christ by Andrew Purves (also Reconstructing Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition).    This is another group of three books that has a huge impact on me this year. My friend Dan Cruver recommended the Crucifizxion of Ministry to me years ago and I finally got around to it. Purves lays out a vision for pastoral ministry that in union with Christ is not what we do but what Christ does and we participate in. This is a paradigm shift that has made a huge difference in my soul and ministry. There is so much freedom and joy in knowing that we join God in what He is doing and in His very relationship as Trinity.
7. Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace by James B Torrance.    Like Purves, James Torrance looks at everything through the lens of our union with Christ and His vicarious humanity. He says, “Worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.” This has changed the way I worship more than any other book I’ve read. I’m still processing it months later.
8. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union with Christby Walter Marshall.    I try to read a couple books each year on sanctification. I read somewhere that John Murray had said this was “the most important book on sanctification ever written.” So, I quickly ordered it and don’t regret it! Marshall looks at the issue of holiness through our union with Christ which is has been immensely helpful for me.
9. Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel during Alzheimer’s Disease by Dr. Benjamin T. Mast.    Millions of people struggle with alzheimer’s today. Dr Ben Mast does a masterful job helping the reader understand the disease while exploring how to approach it through the lens of the gospel. His chapters on memory, identity, and the gospel are beautiful. Whether you currently know someone who has alzheimer’s or not this is a must read.
10. Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation by Martin Laird.    This book challenged me deeply in thinking about my union with Christ and the role of silence and contemplation in the Christian life. While it raised a lot of questions, it also stirred me to pray, rest, and worship more than any other book this year and has renewed in me a desire to be more faithful in the spiritual disciplines of silence, solitude and contemplative prayer.
11. Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ by J. Todd Billings.    The issue of lament is one that I have found personally and as a pastor/counselor to be one of the most neglected and yet most important aspects of our worship. This is a powerful book as Todd shares his perspective on lament from very personal experience as well as a gifted theologian.
12. The Reckless Love of God: Experiencing the Personal, Passionate Heart of the Gospel by Alex Early. Believing that I am truly, totally loved by God is one of my greatest struggles. This book reminded me of fresh that it really is true and God’s love is better than I can imagine.