The Christian Counselor’s Manual: The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling by Jay E. Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the best book I know of on the specifics of an official counseling ministry. It goes a long way in showing the value of official counseling ministry (as opposed to the unofficial capacity of counseling that all believers are called to). The book is loaded with good exegesis and practical applications for counseling – an invaluable resource. I don’t agree with everything, which is to be expected in a 463 page book that addresses dozens of the most controversial and difficult issues we deal with (I disagreed the most with the chapter on anger), however I still highly recommend this book. It is useful not only for counseling, but for simply learning principles of living the Christian life. Few books will teach you more about how to live as a Christian than this volume.