Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 1089. Scripture in counselling is where I keep returning whenever I sit with someone in pain, because the Bible speaks to the whole person, not only to their beliefs about God. I am not a trained clinical psychologist, and I refer people to good professional help when a situation calls for it. But as…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4154. The fear of the unforgivable sin is one of the heaviest burdens I am ever asked to help carry, and it tends to settle on the most sensitive souls rather than the careless ones. People come convinced they have ruined themselves forever, replaying some thought or word and bracing for a verdict of…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 11102 The relationship between secular counselling and Christian faith has been contested territory for decades. Some believers regard therapy as a purely secular enterprise that has no place in the life of someone who has the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Others have embraced therapeutic culture so uncritically that it has reshaped their understanding…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 11100 Mental illness is one of the areas where the church has often failed its own people. Whether through ignorance, fear, or a misguided belief that all psychological suffering is fundamentally spiritual in origin, many believers have been left without the help they need. A biblical view of mental illness must take seriously both…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 11103 Gender dysphoria is the clinical term for the persistent distress a person experiences when their internal sense of gender does not align with their biological sex. The condition is real. The suffering it causes can be intense and debilitating. The question for the church is not whether to take this suffering seriously, because…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 11101 This question generates more anxiety in Christian circles than it should. Some believers feel guilty for taking medication, as though reliance on a prescription is a failure of faith. Others have been told, sometimes by well-meaning pastors and sometimes by manipulative ones, that true Christians should trust God for healing and that taking…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09095 The question of how large or small a church should be generates strong opinions on every side. Megachurch advocates point to growth as evidence of God’s blessing. House-church advocates insist that anything beyond a living room has lost the New Testament pattern. Both claims deserve to be tested against what Scripture actually says,…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09103 Disagreements over women’s ministry roles are among the most emotionally charged and practically consequential disputes a local church can face. They touch on deeply held convictions about Scripture, gender, authority, and calling. They can divide friendships, fracture leaderships, and leave entire congregations wounded. How a church navigates this disagreement matters as much as…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60112 When someone we love suffers, the instinct to help is immediate and strong — but so is the sense of helplessness. What do you say to the person whose child has died, whose diagnosis is terminal, whose marriage has collapsed, whose life has been shattered by tragedy? The temptation is either to say…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 60061 This is a question that deserves to be answered with honesty rather than defensiveness. The record of institutional abuse within churches, from the Roman Catholic scandals involving thousands of clergy, to cases within Protestant denominations, independent churches, and parachurch organisations, is genuinely appalling. Victims have been betrayed by the very people who were…