First, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to
Bob Kellemen and his publisher for sending me a copy of "Counseling Under the Cross" to
review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate
the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me.
“Counseling Under the Cross” by Bob Kellemen is a fascinating
read that chronicles the path of Martin Luther from desperate seeker to
reformer to minister. Luther
passionately sought to fill his own God-shaped hole with spiritual things. Recognizing the absence of what God intended
to be relationship with his people, Luther thought becoming a monk would
satisfy his soul. Eventually, he
recognized, while reading the book of Romans, what was missing: the personal
relationship with God that does not come through ritualistic practice or
misappropriated sacrifice.
Once Martin Luther came to this realization, his newfound
relationship with Christ shaped his beliefs, filled him with the fire necessary
to protest what the church had become and gave him the wisdom to help others
find their way to their own relationship with the Savior.
This book is a must-read for anyone in ministry. Personally, as a Sunday school teacher, I
deal with people who seek counseling often.
This book pointed me back to the Source of all our needs and gave me
confidence to sit with people over Scripture a bit longer before I point them
to our Pastor. I have also come to
recognize the quieter cries for help from the person sitting next to me in
choir and the one whose face looks a bit downcast when we have our greeting
time in Sunday services.“Counseling Under the Cross” will not turn you into a counselor, but it will help you give better counsel to spiritually wounded people.
It is very fitting to read such a book right now since we are celebrating the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther's posting of the 95 theses on the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517.
Here's a link to my earlier post describing this amazing book:
https://word-up-studies.blogspot.com/2017/09/counseling-under-cross-by-bob-kellemen.html
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