Check it out here: BCC Blog

BCC Staff Note: We describe the BCC’s Grace & Truth blog as “Voices from the Biblical Counseling Community.” The modern biblical counseling movement spans a diverse spectrum of people and organizations committed to a view of people helping summarized by the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement. It is with this diversity in mind that we have run a series of posts addressing the important issue of biblical counseling and mental illness.

TGC’s blog features a community of voices who promote gospel-centered ministry for the next generation. We discuss the Bible, theology, church history, books, culture, and more, so join in the conversation as we seek to glorify God in what we do and say.

Sojourn Care in Community Training

At Sojourn, we seek to keep learning and growing in our ability to apply the gospel to the challenges that we all face in our homes, church and world. Our vision is to provide Care in Community Training to address the tough issues of life with a thoughtful and comprehensive gospel framework.

On Saturday, January 26, 2013, nearly 100 ministry leaders and servants gathered to learn how they can better care for those struggling with psychiatric disorders. They listened to and engaged with Dr. Brian Briscoe and Dr. Ben Mast, both members of Sojourn Community Church who have spend numerous hours over the past three years with Pastor Robert Cheong thinking through and discussing how the gospel deals with psychiatric and psychological issues.

The goal of this training was to help the church understand and envision how they can come alongside those suffering with bi-polar, schizophrenia and chronic depression. The resounding message offered to the church was that the people of God can and must step into the lives of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Everyone left encouraged as they realized that they can play a significant and necessary role in helping those with psychiatric disorders live life with Jesus.

Everyone who attended was asked to listen to selected audio recordings from the 2011 CCEF Conference on Psychiatric Disorders and read selected articles as pre-work.

Please download the PDF booklet before watching the video so you can more easily follow along and take notes.

Care in Community Training Video

Care In Community Training Handout

Care in Community Training Video Guide

Brief Bios:

Brian Briscoe, M.D. is a Board Certified Psychiatrist, a member at Sojourn East, and has attended Sojourn since 2006.  He serves as national Vice-President of the Psychiatry Section of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and on the local leadership Council for CMDA.  He has previously served on the full-time teaching faculty at the University of Louisville and continues to teach medical students and residents through a gratis faculty appointment.  During his own training, Dr. Briscoe was mentored by biblically-based pastors and Christian leaders in the medical field.  Dr. Briscoe is currently in private practice in Louisville, KY (www.louisvillepsychiatry.com).

Benjamin Mast, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville. He also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine and as Vice Chair of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville. Ben is an elder at the East Campus of Sojourn Community Church.

Robert K. Cheong is Pastor of Care at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY. He has a vision and passion for shepherding and equipping the church to care for one another wth the gospel in community. During his early years at Sojourn, he also served as a professor of Biblical Counseling at Boyce College in Louisville, KY. Prior to Sojourn he worked with couples and individuals at church-based counseling centers for several years while completing his Ph.D. in Pastoral Theology at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. Before being called to vocational ministry, he worked with Michelin Tire Corporation after completing his tour of duty in the United States Navy as a Nuclear Power officer. Robert enjoys life with his bride, Karen, and their adult children and grandchildren.

]]> http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2013/04/10/the-church-and-psychiatric-disorders/feed/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2013/02/20/redeem-marriage-everyday-marriage-mission/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2013/02/20/redeem-marriage-everyday-marriage-mission/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:23:38 +0000 admin http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/?p=1389 February 8, 2013 Redeem Marriage Event

Every husband has questions about spiritual leadership. Every wife has questions about marital submission. What does leadership and submission look like in everyday marriage? At this Redeem Marriage we learned how God has called husbands and wives to love, lead and submit so that marriages reflect the gospel and accomplish God’s mission, even when you fail to love one another.

On Friday night, over 100 couples gathered together at Sojourn J-town and enjoyed dessert, coffee and fellowship with their spouses and other couples! It was a great time to for couples to learn & grow together. The highlight for most couples was the “heart talk” time, when each couple had 30 minutes of intentional time to apply the gospel truths to their own marriages.

We invite you to listen and follow along with the teaching audio and PDF material found below.

“Everyday Marriage & Mission” audio

Everyday Marriage and Mission Booklet

The topic of this Redeem Marriage is “The Gospel in Everyday Marriage”. Each Redeem Marriage event is new and different, but always about the gospel applied to everyday marriage.
This Redeem Marriage event will focus on the struggles of every husband and wife–knowing how to lead, love & submit in everyday marriage. It will be a great time to learn & grow together and after the teaching time, you will be given intentional time for “heart talk” so that you can apply the gospel truths to your own marriage.

This event is $5 per couple, which will cover great dessert and coffee as well as the chance to win a dinner date gift card and free books!

Please register for this event at http://www.sojournchurch.com/redeemmarriage!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sojourn Pastor, Robert K. Cheong, joined up with other pastors from the Biblical Counseling Coalition to write the multi-part series Biblical Counseling in the Local Church. Check out the BCC Blog to read Pastor Robert’s account of why he made the switch from “counseling” to “care”.

Jesus is Better than Sex: Warfare and Redemption in the Marriage Bed

The marriage bed can be both heaven and hell on earth. Oftentimes, this area of intimacy ends up revealing the junk in our hearts. But such suffering and sin should compel us to seek Christ for refuge and relief. God designed the marriage bed to be a place where we can follow Christ, be redeemed by his love and enjoy him in deeper ways.

Over 120 Sojourn couples gathered on Friday, February 3rd as we addressed this important aspect of marriage straight on with the gospel. Couples were also given the opportunity to submit questions anonymously before the event for our Q&A sessions.

We invite you to listen and follow along with the teaching audio and PDF material found below.

“Jesus is Better Than Sex” -  Audio - PDF (Right click the link and select “Save link as” to save it to your computer)

Sojourn Pastor, Robert K. Cheong, joined up with four other pastors from the Biblical Counseling Coalition to write the multi-part series Equipped to Counsel. Check out the BCC Blog to read Pastor Robert’s account of how he equips Sojourners to love one another with Gospel Care.

Friday night was hopping at the Midtown campus with over 100 couples learning together and enjoying desserts in the art gallery and dancing in the Listening Room.

Pastor Robert and his bride Karen taught about our tendency as husbands and wives to look for perfection in our imperfect marriages. In most instances, it’s not our imperfect spouse who shatters our dreams but God.

Learn how you can take the everyday opportunities in your marriage to draw near to your perfect Redeemer AND your imperfect spouse so that you can both experience God’s love and participate in his redemptive mission. Listen and follow along with the teaching audio and PDF material found below.

“Perfect Dreams, Shattered Dreams” - Audio - PDF

Please share with us how the Redeem Marriage Event impacted your marriage. You can share your Stories of Change here

To view more pictures from this event click here. 

* * * * Join us for our next Redeem Marriage Event * * * *         Friday, February 3, 2012 - different topic, same gospel!

Click here to listen to the Redeem Marriage Event back in April 2011

]]> http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/10/20/redeem-marriage-event-friday-october-14-2011/feed/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/31/homosexuality-the-church/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/31/homosexuality-the-church/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:13:40 +0000 robertcheong http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/?p=1186

Homosexuality is a huge issue facing the church. What do we say or do? How can we help? Can the gospel bring redemption? There is an exciting conference coming to Louisville September 20-21 designed to answer these and so many more question that we all have.

“Homosexuality & the Church” is a free mini-conference sponsored by The Way Out, and is designed to equip both pastors and ministry leaders to better understand same-sex attraction so they can more effectively minister to individuals impacted by homosexuality.  This is a special opportunity for Sojourners to gain the tools they need for reaching out to those who struggle with same-sex attractions, and to their families and loved ones.

Register by Monday September 5 and you will get a free lunch on Wednesday. Invite friends to come to this much-needed time of equipping!

For more information and registration, check out their website: www.thewayoutlouisville.com

See you there!

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