Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help for Churches and Counselors

by T. Dale Johnson Jr., Edward Wilde

Is the church vulnerable to the pressures of governmental regulations regarding moral issues in counseling? How should biblical counselors navigate their responsibilities before God  and  government requirements? And what exactly are those requirements? In  Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling , pastors and biblical counselors who are seeking to faithfully lead, mentor, and guide their flocks in a rapidly changing cultural landscape will find clear direction and guidance from a team of Christian lawyers.  Dale Johnson Jr. and Edward Wilde, along with a host ofexperienced lawyers and biblical counselors,set out to encourage the church to engage responsibly in the ministry of biblical counseling while seeking to comply with governmental regulations. They explain the importance of involving legal counsel in creating ministry documents, setting up liability insurance, and counseling those involved in the legal system. Learn how to communicate about your counseling ministry with clarity, protect yourself and your counselees from litigation, and what to do in the face of a potential lawsuit. You will also find encouragement to press on in ministry with full trust in the Lord, knowing that he will care for his church and that the gospel will continue to move forward.

Genres: Counselling, Leadership

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2022

Reviews

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because it accomplishes its goal and hopefully it leads to more books like this to continue to give more recognized legitimacy to the Biblical counseling movement.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors is a fantastic resource by T. Dale Johnson Jr. and Edward Wilde from New Growth Press. Johnson and Wilde with fellow lawyers and counseling experts write 12 chapters of what one needs to do to start a Counseling Ministry, whether or not to have it as part of your local church, and the legalities surrounding Biblical Counseling. Johnson and Wilde write Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors in an easy-to-understand manner and includes examples of different counseling scenarios as well as different forms and a dictionary in the back of the book to better assist the reader in the subject matter.

I tend to love learning about law and am prayerfully considering getting a Christian Counseling Degree, so when I found out about New Growth Press’ Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors it peaked my interest. For me, I loved Johnson and Wilde’s Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors. I loved that the author’s wrote the book in an understanding manner and that the writing did not make the reader feel the subject matter was over the reader’s head. I love how all the Contributor’s were real with the things readers would most likely face in the counseling realm. I love how everything in the book was back up with Scripture. I also love how the Contributor’s explained in layman terms how we need to keep good records of what we do and how to decide and how to write what rules and expectations we want as part of our Counseling Ministry. I love the resources that are mentioned and sprinkled throughout the book too. If you are considering a career in Biblical/Christian Counseling or starting a Christian Counseling Ministry, or making a Christian Counseling Ministry as part of your Church, then I highly recommend Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors by T. Dale Johnson Jr. and Edward Wilde.

I would like to thank New Growth Press for giving me a copy of Legal Issues in Biblical Counseling: Direction and Help For Churches and Counselors to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My review is also on my blog, Leslie’s Library Escape.

[Trey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book earned its reputation as one of the best Biblical Counseling books of 2022. This is an invaluable resource for any pastor or counselor seeking to honor God in their work while also protecting the ministry from unnecessary trouble. The authors are thorough in their legal explanations, and marry them well with the overall goal of providing solid biblical counseling. There are also resources throughout the book and in the appendix to help you acquire resources for you ministry such as sample background forms, intake forms, by-laws, etc. I will be recommending this book to anyone in the fields of counseling or pastoral ministry.

[Lisa Horne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Important Book for Pastors and Counselors

Wilde and Johnson offers a thorough look into the legal issues churches and religious ministries ace in America today. The variety of topics are covered thoroughly. They even offer the reader suggestions of other organizations that can be helpful to the ministry. This book is good to read presently and to have on hand for future reference.