⁠>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

If you enjoy guided prayer through Scripture or enjoy repetition, the Lectio Divina is the tool for you!

The Lectio Divina reminds us that Scripture is not just information but an invitation to encounter God as we interact repeatedly with a specific passage.

Our lives are full of to-do lists and endless busyness. But each section of the Lectio Divina encourages us to take a step back from our hectic days to reflect, respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and rest.

Resources:

Lectio 365

Lectio Divina Instructions

Season 11 of Conversational Counseling on “Sacred Access.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

⁠>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

We serve a God who wants to commune with us. He is not distant; He hears, He sees, and He acts on behalf of His people.

The Immanuel Journal helps us meditate on these truths and invite God into our experiences through speaking the words of God over our lives. When we engage with this journal, we’re not pretending to be God. Instead, we’re listening for how He might respond and drawing from Scripture, from His character, from His heart and from our honest experiences to remind our hearts that He is close to us, especially in our weakness.

Immanuel means “God with us,” and this journaled prayer reminds us that with Him, we are never alone.

Resources:

Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel by Dr. E James Wilder III, Anna Kang, John Loppnow, and Sungshim Loppnow

Immanuel Journal Handout

Season 11 of Conversational Counseling on “Sacred Access.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

⁠>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

Do you want to build a habit of prayer but don’t know where to start?

One of our favorite prayer tools is the Examen Prayer! This simple structure can help you establish a rhythm of prayer and help you daily refocus your attention on the Father.

This prayer has five steps: replay, rejoice, review, repent, and reboot. As you become familiar with the structure, you can mold this tool to fit your preferences and the flow of your day as you reflect on the day that has passed and the day ahead.

While you reflect on the joys, fears and sorrows of your daily life, this prayer encourages you to live in close communion with God in the real moments of your day.

Resources:

The Examen Prayer Instructions

Season 11 of Conversational Counseling on “Sacred Access.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne

⁠>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

This season, we’re diving into prayer and introducing simple tools to help all of us move into a deeper understanding of God’s presence!

If we’re being honest, prayer can be a place of a lot of guilt.

We struggle to find time to pray. Often our prayers feel like an overly-structured task to be checked off our to-do list instead of a relationship. Sometimes we even wonder if prayer is worth it because our situation is just growing worse.

But prayer is so much more than this. God created prayer because He wants to have a relationship with us. Through prayer, we all can find a sense of awe in the access Jesus has given us to the throne of God.

Wherever you are in your prayer life, we hope this season will expand your view of prayer and that the Holy Spirit will move in your life to increase your desire for prayer.

Season 11 of Conversational Counseling on “Sacred Access.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email!

What is your posture when you join someone on their journey to comfort and change?

If our first priority is to influence or teach, we risk pushing our framework of beliefs on others rather than prioritizing love.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul opens the chapter by reminding the church about the importance of sharing truth with love. As Christians and counselors, we should never compromise on the essentials of the gospel when we’re pursuing love. But at the same time, we must recognize that our framework about the nonessentials is colored by our own experiences, training and mentors.

Scholars and biblical leaders have studied the Bible for centuries and still disagree on many nonessentials. When we push our framework of these nonessentials on others, they can feel unheard and pressured to conform to a belief that isn’t foundational to their Christian walk.

As Paul exhorts in 1 Corinthians, we must emphasize love. Jesus, our better Counselor, welcomes people to Himself, not a certain denomination or school of thought. Just as He’s sanctified us, He can sanctify others and deepen their understanding of Him and His Word.

Resources:

Connect with other Christians and counselors: Gospel-Centered Biblical Counseling and Equipping Facebook Group with Bob Kellemen

Season 10 of Conversational Counseling on “Do as I Say Not as I Do.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

We live in a very disembodied culture.

Many biblical counselors have a tendency to underemphasize the body as they counsel, while medical professions can focus on the body and ignore the mind and the soul.

But the Bible has a lot to say about the body! In fact, the first thing God gave Adam to steward in the garden was his body.

As biblical counselors, we need to consider the body as we counsel. Physical ailments or factors do not excuse sin, but we often need to deal with physical issues first before moving on to mental and spiritual healing.

Jesus healed the body and forgave sins. He fed the 5,000, and He preached the way to salvation. By caring for the whole person, we can better walk alongside them towards comfort and change like our good and better Counselor did on earth.

Resources:

560 Biblical Passages on Embodied-Souls by Bob Kellemen

Season 10 of Conversational Counseling on “Do as I Say Not as I Do.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

In this episode, we’re diving into a hard — and very nuanced — topic. We encourage you to listen to the end and then share your thoughts, questions or concerns with your trusted community so we all can better understand a biblical view of caring and advocating for the oppressed in our church bodies.

We love the Church, we love when God calls godly leaders into positions of authority to shepherd the Church, and we strive for the spiritual unity of the body. But at the same time, we recognize that some Christians and churches choose their churches’ reputations at the cost of victims and of God’s character.

When faced with hard situations in our churches, how should we respond?

We recognize our churches are filled with finite leaders serving an infinite God and continually working to understand how to biblically address abuse and trauma in the body of Christ. As counselors, we can be an integral part of that process.

God has given so many of us the ability to perceive a wrong, and He equips us with the strength to address this injustice, advocate for the oppressed and abused, and bear one another’s burdens. In these difficult situations, the Holy Spirit helps us discern when to submit, to speak, and to step away.

When we speak up, we might make mistakes. Our reputation might crumble. But God calls us to live with integrity. As we prayerfully discern next steps when advocating for victims, He will remain faithful to guide and to comfort.

Resources:

“Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused” Training Curriculum

Counselors Specializing in Preventing and Confronting Abuse in the Church:

Diane Langberg

Chris Moles

Darby Strickland

Leslie Vernick

Season 10 of Conversational Counseling on “Do as I Say Not as I Do.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.

>> Click HERE to get free visuals, handouts and discussion questions for Conversational Counseling sent straight to your email! <<⁠

Sometimes we think we can clearly see the right choice another person needs to make. And maybe our instinct is right!

But it’s not our job to fix someone else’s problem or fix them.

We’re prone to impatience when another person struggles to grow and change at the rate we want. Too often we’re quick to give our opinion or solve one problem without realizing we’ve taken a person’s agency or ignored a root problem that’s actually causing the harmful behavior.

When we minister to others, our job is to encourage growth in biblical knowledge, self-awareness, and confidence so they can effectively navigate their own challenges through consulting with God, with others, and, when appropriate, with us.

Counseling isn’t about fixing people. It’s about encouraging people to grow in their relationship with Christ and to learn how to hear His voice.

Resources:

S9 Ep. 7 / Trauma: Helping Someone Tell Their Trauma Story

S7 Ep. 5 / You Have a Story

Season 10 of Conversational Counseling on “Do as I Say Not as I Do.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.