Description:
In this groundbreaking work of first-order scholarship, Eric Johnson makes a vitally important contribution to the field of Christian counseling. He first presents a detailed overview and appreciative but critical evaluation of the reigning paradigms in the field of Christian counseling, particularly biblical counseling and integration. Building on their respective strengths, he seeks to move beyond the current impasse in the field and develop a more unified and robustly Christian understanding. Drawing upon the Bible and various Christian intellectual and soul care traditions, and through a Christian reinterpretation of relevant modern psychological theory and research, Johnson proceeds to offer a new framework for the care of souls that is comprehensive in scope, yet flows from a Christian understanding of human beings--what amounts to a distinctly Christian version of psychology. This book is a must-read for any serious Christian teacher, student, or practitioner in the fields ofpsychology or counseling.
Brief description:
Eric L. Johnson trained as an academic psychologist and is Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of Foundations for Soul Care and the director of the Society for Christian Psychology.
Review Quotes:
"Eric Johnson combines scriptural interpretation with astute observation to develop a deep, thoughtful, intellectual and complex (in the best senses of those words) approach to Christian psychology. Yet Johnson's work is eminently practical in itspurpose. He shows how insight into human nature leads to Christlikeness--maturity in reflecting the Creator of human nature. I highly recommend Foundations for Soul Care to biblical counselors as a core text that expands the conversation regarding what makes Christian counseling truly Christian. Readers won't agree with every point, but with eminent scholarship Johnson thoroughly addresses every point worth discussing."
--Robert W. Kellemen, chair of Christian Counseling and Discipleship, Capital Bible Seminary, director of the Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Network, and author of Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends and Beyond the Suffering