The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors has chosen the 2023 biblical counseling book of the year. The winner was selected by a vote of our certified counselors.
Winner: The Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference, 2nd Edition by Dr. Charles Hodges Jr.
Biblical counselors and pastors often have questions when a counselee is struggling with a mixture of physical, emotional, and spiritual difficulties. The Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference 2nd Edition helps counselors understand how some medical conditions impact counseling needs. Inspired by Dr. Bob Smith’s first edition, this book will help to guide counselors in offering specific reminders of gospel truth to counselees as they journey the road ahead.
The first section offers guidance for the extra challenges inherent with certain medical diagnoses. The second section examines the challenges associated with a variety of physical and mental conditions such as autoimmune disorders, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, and more, helping counselors better understand the specific counseling needs that often accompany each condition.
Second Place: Remade: Embracing Your Complete Identity in Christ by Paul Tautges.
Do you know who you are? Often our self-perception, even as Christians, is fragmented or incomplete―we struggle to grasp the richly faceted identity we’ve been given in Christ. When our evaluation of ourselves, our sin, and our circumstances is misaligned with God’s view, we don’t live with the comfort and motivation Christ offers. In this Scripture-saturated devotional, pastor and biblical counselor Paul Tautges provides 90 meditations on your complete identity before God in Christ. You are a saint in good standing before God, yet you are simultaneously a sinner who must battle with your desires and a sufferer who undergoes hardship. Day by day, discover how grasping this threefold biblical reality centers your thoughts and affections on the Savior and prepares you to stay on God’s good path as you live in a broken world.
Third Place: Wayward Children: Finding Peace, Keeping Hope by Stuart Scott.
To parent a wayward or unbelieving child is one of the most difficult trials a Christian can face. Yet even if this is your experience, there is hope and comfort to be found in God’s Word and God’s character. This 31-day devotional provides daily readings to offer you encouragement, biblical direction, and practical action steps. You yourself are the perfect Father’s child—let this devotional draw you to him, his wisdom, and his guidance every day.
