LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Top Biblical Counseling Books of 2016
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
11/2022
Biblical Church Revitalization: Solutions for Dying and Divided Churches
by Brian Croft, Christian Focus
Biblical counseling is a discipleship ministry of the local church with a mission not simply to
be a church with biblical counseling, but a church of biblical counseling. The biblical counseling
vision is to saturate the entire congregation with confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture for
daily life and ministry. Brian Croft shares that mission and vision. His book, Biblical Church
Revitalization, is like engaging in a dozen biblical counseling sessions—for the whole
congregation. Pastor Croft walks readers through the process of biblical church health—church
progressive sanctification. Every church can benefit greatly from his wise biblical counsel for
congregational renewal.
The Biblical Counseling Guide for Women
by John Street and Janie Street, Harvest House
As the modern biblical counseling movement has matured, its resources have progressed
from foundational materials for general counseling issues to in-depth materials for specific
counseling needs. The husband and wife team of John and Janie Street model this development
in their book The Biblical Counseling Guide for Women. They use real-life vignettes, biblical
wisdom, and counseling principles to address 17 relevant issues that women commonly face.
The embedded discussion questions make this book valuable not only for individual use, but
also for small group interaction.
Counseling One Another: A Theology of Interpersonal Discipleship
by Paul Tautges, Shepherd Press
In Counseling One Another, Paul Tautges builds the theological underpinning for biblical
counseling in a way that is both comprehensive and compassionate. This book demonstrates a
staunch commitment to an expository, exegetical examination of counseling as presented in
God’s Word. Any pastor or lay person wanting a foundational starting point for understanding
Christ-centered, comprehensive, and compassionate biblical counseling in the local church
would be wise to read and apply Counseling One Another.
Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification
by Sinclair Ferguson, Banner of Truth
Glorifying God by becoming more like Christ is the heartbeat of biblical counseling. Sinclair
Ferguson shares that passion. In Devoted to God, he offers a lifetime of biblical study as he
exegetes 10 central biblical passages about progressive sanctification. His gospel-centered,
relevant, practical, in-depth approach makes this an instant classic on the topic of growth in
grace.
Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus
by Mark Dever, Crossway
Mark Dever’s latest book, Discipling, is part of the Nine Marks Ministries series “Building
Healthy Churches.” Like each book in the series, it is a succinct yet robust biblical exploration of
local church ministry. Just as biblical counseling seeks to equip the entire congregation for one-
another ministry, so Discipling aims to cultivate a discipleship mindset throughout the entire
body of Christ. As the subtitle suggests, this book provides the how-to of congregational
discipleship.
Do Ask, Do Tell, Let’s Talk: Why and How Christians Should Have Gay Friends
by Brad Hambrick, Cruciform Press
Brad Hambrick thinks deeply about complex life and ministry situations. That’s certainly the
case in Do Ask, Do Tell, Let’s Talk. He notes that most conversations about same-sex attraction
have become polemical and political rather than pastoral and personal. His desire in this book is
to be a resource God uses to grow His people into excellent ambassadors—friends to their
classmates, colleagues, and family members who experience same-sex attraction.
The Dynamic Heart in Daily Life: Connecting Christ to Human Experience
by Jeremy Pierre, New Growth
The stereotype of the biblical counseling movement states that biblical counselors focus
primarily on external behavior. Jeremy Pierre’s work, The Dynamic Heart in Daily Life, should
put that perception to rest. Dr. Pierre presents a compassionate, comprehensive biblical
understanding of people—image bearers who are spiritual, relational, social, rational, volitional,
motivational, emotional, and physical beings. He examines every aspect of the heart in light of
our coram Deo existence—we were designed as in-relationship-to-God beings. Pierre
demonstrates how a biblical psychology (understanding of the soul) is essential for biblical
counseling (bringing Christ’s redemptive hope to the whole person).
Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness
by David Powlison, New Growth
David Powlison is a brilliant thinker. He also happens to be an extremely compassionate
counselor. That combination is fully evidenced in Good and Angry. With winsome wisdom, Dr.
Powlison enlightens us to the God-intended purpose of righteous anger and to Christ-
redemptive hope for addressing unrighteous anger. This book is not just helpful for anger; it is a
model for how we can take every aspect of our emotionality to the cross.
Home: How Heaven and the New Earth Satisfy Our Deepest Longings
by Elyse Fitzpatrick, Bethany House
Home, by Elyse Fitzpatrick, is not a journey-to-heaven-and-back tell-all memoir. Thankfully.
Instead, it is a long-for-heaven-and-live-for-earth biblical narrative. We often hear, “that person
is so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” Home encourages us to be so heavenly
minded that we are of great earthly good. Even more than that, it invites us to sample a small
taste now of the eternal banquet of relational satisfaction we will experience when we are
forever home with our heavenly Father.
Marry Well, Marry Wisely: A Blueprint for Personal Preparation
by Ernie Baker, Shepherd Press
In Marry Well, Marry Wisely, Ernie Baker pens a pre-pre-martial manual. In doing so, he
doesn’t simply equip us to answer the question, “How do I choose the right spouse?” More
importantly, he prepares us to answer the heart question, “How do I become prepared to be
the right spouse?” This blueprint establishes the firm groundwork of a Christ-centered and
other-centered mindset that is essential for being a godly spouse.
Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family
by Paul Tripp, Crossway
Few things seem to drive us toward an external focus more than the challenges of
parenting. Everything inside and around us screams, “Fix it fast!” In, Parenting, Paul Tripp
directs us away from a “fix it” focus to a focus on love Him (God) and love your child (care for
your child’s heart). Tripp moves us away from a works-based, pharisaical mindset to a grace-
based, gospel attitude in our homes.
A Theology of Biblical Counseling: The Doctrinal Foundations of Counseling Ministry
by Heath Lambert, Zondervan
Of all 16 books on this list, A Theology of Biblical Counseling by Heath Lambert is the most
important book for those wanting to understand the doctrinal basis of biblical counseling.
Lambert, the Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC),
explains that “Counseling is a theological discipline” (p. 11). Lambert models that truth in each
chapter, as doctrine comes to life in real ministry to real people—dramatically demonstrating
how theology intersects with the lives of actual counselees.
Tying the Knot: A Premarital Guide to a Strong and Lasting Marriage
by Rob Green, New Growth Press
If Ernie Baker’s book (Marry Well, Marry Wisely) is a pre-pre-marital book, then Rob
Green’s Tying the Knot covers the classical pre-marital topics. However, it does not cover them
in the classical way—simply as relational skills to be mastered. Rather, this nine-session study
directs couples through issues such as conflict, expectations, communication, finances, and
intimacy—showing how couples can face each with Christ at the center of their marriage.
The Vine Project: Shaping Your Ministry Culture Around Disciple-Making
by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, Matthias Media
The Vine Project by co-authors Colin Marshall and Tony Payne is the sequel to The Trellis
and the Vine. In the prequel, Marshall and Payne cast the vision for an Ephesians 4:11-16 view
of pastors as equippers. In The Vine Project, they put feet to that vision by providing practical
insight into the local church disciple-making process.
Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God
by Tim Challies and Josh Byers, Zondervan
As a long-time follower of Tim Challies’ blog, I enjoyed the foundational material that
eventually developed into Visual Theology. In the able hands of Challies and Josh Byers, those
blog posts translate extremely well into book form. Visual Theology is powerful because it
aligns with how God communicates in His Word, how Christ taught people, and how God
designed our minds to think—visually, with imagination, in pictures and images. Biblical
counselors can learn much from this book about communicating truths not only in words, but
also in images and illustrations, especially to this visually-oriented generation.
What Grieving People Wish You Knew about What Really Helps (and What Really Hurts)
by Nancy Guthrie, Crossway
Nancy Guthrie is one of the foremost Christian writers on loss, grief, hope, and healing.
What Grieving People Wish You Knew is the fruit of a lifetime of sharing the comfort she has
received from Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Her narrative reads like a biblical counseling training
manual for gospel conversations for suffering. Pastors, counselors, and spiritual friends can all
learn much from her biblically compassionate writing.
