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Michael interviews Brad Hambrick and Matias Casco discussing ABC initiatives to expand Spanish-language biblical counseling training. Casco, a Honduran living in the Dominican Republic and serving at Santiago Theological Seminary, explains that a 2022 church survey revealed most churches lacked counseling ministries, prompting a one-year, six-module program on key topics like family, marriage, addictions, suffering, and ethics, graduating about 250 students from multiple countries. The seminary is now partnering with ABC to translate Equip to Counsel and related resources into Spanish and provide certification, scholarships, and digital access worldwide, supported by a $100,000 fundraising goal. They announce an August 21–22 kickoff conference in Santo Domingo at Pastor Miguel Núñez’s church on “mental health/living with a renewed mind,” featuring Ed Welch, Hambrick, Beth Broome, and Núñez, available for virtual co-hosting. 00:00 Conference Wrap Up01:17 Meet Matias Casco02:00 Counseling Needs in DR03:38 How Brad Connected06:02 Designing Church Training08:52 Digital Access Expansion11:31 Funding the Vision13:49 August Conference Launch17:02 How to Register17:59 Final Thanks and Appeal Episode MentionsHelp us translate ETC into Spanish - Donate Oasis Conference Matais talked about - Register Seminario Teologico de Santiago - Seminary information

Michael interviews David and Krista Dunham about their book, Power with Purpose: God’s Design for Power Dynamics in a Marriage. They share their backgrounds in pastoral ministry, counseling, and ABC resource development, and explain they wrote the book as a constructive, “pre-abuse” resource after seeing power issues damage marriages and recognizing a lack of practical guidance. Walking through the book’s structure, they discuss understanding power as God-given and meant for good, developing a shared family vision, and how husbands and wives should use power biblically, including headship that empowers and a wife’s influence expressed through strengthening, sustaining, and sharpening, with submission defined as purposeful yielding of a wife’s power. They emphasize mutuality, collaboration, and one-another commands, and note the book includes reflection questions for ongoing application. 00:00 Conference Intro and Guests01:01 Meet Dave and Krista02:16 Why They Wrote It04:20 Book Roadmap Overview04:37 Understanding Power06:39 Power Purpose and Jesus08:17 Shared Family Vision12:59 Husbands Use of Power15:41 Wives Use of Power19:47 Mutuality and Collaboration24:29 Final Encouragement and Wrap Episode MentionsPower with Purpose Book

Michael interviews new exhibitor Dr. Jeffrey M. Kelly, a full-time biblical counselor and former church planter, and David Driskill, a veteran software developer and Care Assist Pro’s CTO, about their platform (careassist-pro.com). They explain that Care Assist Pro was built to address the shortage of soul care in local churches by reducing counseling roadblocks and increasing counselor confidence through secure, HIPAA-compliant tools such as note organization, encrypted communication, built-in video conferencing with transcripts, summaries, and AI-driven feedback on counseling skills over time. They emphasize AI is never the counselor but a tool with biblical guardrails, using a curated RAG knowledge base of about 800 documents (e.g., ACBC, CCF, ABC, Counseling Coalition) and features like notebooks, multilingual outputs, and training “personas” for seminary practicums and skill development. 00:00 Conference Introduction01:02 Meet the Guests01:16 Dr Kelly Background01:48 David Driskill Tech Story03:09 How Care Assist Began05:49 Redemptive Use of AI08:31 AI Training Practicum11:19 Notebooks Language Features15:30 Guardrails Not Replacement19:58 Counselor Growth Analytics23:57 Who Its For Pricing26:50 Final Encouragement Wrap Episode MentionsCheck out Care Assist Pro

Michael is joined with first-time guest Nathan “Jogging” Scroggins, who also highlights Soul Care Consulting International as an “operating system” for local-church discipleship along an intentional-to-intensive discipleship continuum. Nathan explains why Colossians is vital for resisting empty deceit and worldly philosophies and focuses on Colossians 3:15–4:6 about living a Christ-ruled life. Using a case study of Frank, a stressed 42-year-old project manager, husband, and father drifting into irritability and prayerlessness, they discuss counseling applications: letting Christ’s peace govern the heart, letting the Word of Christ dwell richly, cultivating thankfulness, restoring prayerful dependence, rebuilding Christlike relational patterns, and refining witness through speech. 00:00 Conference Welcome00:55 Soul Care Consulting03:22 Why Colossians Matters05:12 Reading The Passage07:31 Meet Frank Case Study09:07 Peace Rules The Heart20:01 Word Dwells Richly25:51 Thankfulness And Practice28:02 Counseling Frank Summary33:25 Final Thanks And Wrap Episode MentionsSoul Care Consulting

Michael interviews Bob from Biblicare about a church-focused counseling platform that supports the full counseling workflow from intake forms, scheduling, session notes, and homework to analysis, reporting, and ministry oversight. Bob shares his ministry and programming background, including work with a missions agency, and explains Biblicare’s origin after a seminary friend with a large church needed a system beyond spreadsheets to prevent counselees from slipping through the cracks. They discuss how Biblicare helps churches create structure, improve administration, and give pastors visibility into counseling activity, trends, and aggregate data for training and budgeting, while also providing ongoing onboarding, coaching, and proactive support as a family-run company. 00:00 Conference Intro00:43 Meet Bob01:51 Origin Story03:39 Church Need Emerges05:49 Family Built Company07:29 Kingdom Infrastructure Vision09:31 What Biblicare Does10:55 Onboarding and Process Design13:01 Oversight and Reporting17:23 Crisis Support and Coaching22:24 Cookie Factory Care25:45 Final Advice and Contact29:15 Wrap Up Episode MentionsBiblicare Software

Michael interviews biblical counselor Shannon McCoy, who shares her current counseling season in South Carolina and her new role hosting shepherdpresspodcast.com. They discuss her emotions-track session on recognizing bitterness, defined as settled resentment formed when pain is rehearsed and judgment is retained rather than entrusted to God, drawing from Hebrews 12:15, Deuteronomy 29:18, James 3:14–15, and Acts 8:23. McCoy outlines a progression from pain to interpretation, judgment, and resentment, noting bitterness is often camouflaged as irritability and can defile individuals and communities. They emphasize a missing step between bitterness and forgiveness: lament, which includes honest complaint to God, repentance, and surrendering justice to Him, leading to peace, joy, and fruit-of-the-Spirit living even amid unresolved conflict. 00:00 Conference Welcome00:58 Meet Shannon McCoy01:22 New Season in Ministry01:49 Podcast Hosting Adventures02:54 Emotions Track Highlights04:04 Why Bitterness Matters04:48 Defining Bitterness Biblically05:42 Calling Out Bitterness07:05 From Bitterness to Forgiveness08:10 Lament and Repentance11:16 Bitterness Toward God13:02 Surrendering Justice to God13:32 Joy Versus Bitterness14:29 Roots of Bitterness15:32 Pain to Resentment Cycle17:13 Family Estrangement Example18:50 Bitterness Defiles the Heart20:58 When Bitterness Turns Toxic24:39 Flesh Versus Spirit Choice26:34 Wrap Up and Next Steps Episode MentionsShepherd Press Podcast W/Shannon

Michael interviews Tim St. John about his “Freedom in Christ” session, “Building Churches that Honor and Protect,” concluding a hidden abuse track focused on identifying abuse in churches and then rebuilding healthy culture. Using a termite-damage metaphor, St. John explains that removing abuse isn’t enough; churches must reinstall “beams” like sound theology of suffering and identity in Christ to promote healing and exalt Christ. He defines church hurt as unrepentant sin normalized or protected by leadership and describes three waves of pain: the direct wound, failure to address it, and loss of community. Discussing his book After Church Hurt, he addresses both sheep hurt and shepherd hurt, urges looking to Christ as the Good Shepherd, and offers practical steps including diagnosing what happened, seeking legal counsel when crimes are involved, finding experienced counseling, easing back into church, planning conversations, and evaluating church accountability and culture. 00:00 Conference Intro 00:41 Meet Tim St John 01:24 Workshop Overview 03:11 Church Hurt Defined 06:11 Three Waves of Pain 08:16 After Church Hurt Book 08:34 Sheep and Shepherd Hurt 11:30 Hope in the Good Shepherd 14:53 Practical Steps Forward 18:11 Closing and Resources Episode ResourcesAfter Church Hurt - Tim St. John

Michael interviews Kevin Dau, pastor for discipleship and counseling at Hespeler Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario, and a practicum instructor for Heritage College and Seminary’s master’s level biblical counseling certificate. Dau contrasts professional counseling with pastoral counseling, where caring becomes more personal and multifaceted because counselees are also part of church life, increasing stress and highlighting human limits. Using Galatians 6:1–3, Exodus 18, and themes from Psalms, they discuss bearing one another’s burdens while watching for temptation, pride, and burnout, and the need for accountability, peer support, and sometimes personal counseling for counselors. They emphasize proactive self-care, ordinary means of grace, recognizing stress signals (affect and effectiveness), building a church culture of vulnerability, and regularly asking trusted observers what they see and acting on it. 00:00 Podcast intro and guest 00:59 Kevin ministry roles 02:10 Training counselors at Heritage 03:38 Pastoral burdens and stress 07:24 Needing care and counseling 12:00 Accountability for shepherds 18:12 Asking for help early 20:34 Stress and means of grace 24:55 Galatians warnings and humility 26:28 Practical steps and closing

Mike welcomes Jeemin Moon to discuss an eschatological perspective on mental health, trauma, and resurrection hope. Moon shares updates about directing the biblical care and counseling studies program at Heritage College and Seminary, implementing ABC Level One (Equip to Counsel) for fourth-year students, and completing PhD comprehensive exams at Southern Seminary while writing a dissertation on a biblical theology of shame and God’s covering. He explains why he taught on resurrection for a forthcoming book project, then reads Hebrews 2:5–18 and connects it to trauma, distinguishing traumatic events from being “traumatized,” and emphasizing Jesus’ resurrection ministry to sufferers. They encourage trauma sufferers to interpret painful narratives through Scripture’s meta-story, citing Isaiah 43 and Psalm 84 about God redeeming wilderness and valleys of tears into springs. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:22 Meet Jeemin Moon 01:26 PhD Work on Shame 03:01 Training Counselors at Heritage 05:07 Why Focus on Resurrection 06:06 Reading Hebrews Two 08:40 Trauma Defined Light and Darkness 11:40 Traumatic Events vs Traumatized 14:46 Resurrection Hope in the Valley 17:15 Redeeming the Past Story 19:56 Host Reflection and Encouragement 22:41 Final Thanks and Sendoff

Recording on the road at the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition in Oakville, Ontario, Michael interviews biblical counselor Alysia Whiteside of Deep Roots Biblical Counseling. Whiteside shares her conversion in 2018, her interrupted plans to pursue medicine amid severe ulcerative colitis, multiple surgeries, and a permanent ileostomy, and how God redirected her into biblical counseling training and certifications. Her breakout topic, “Held But Not Yet Healed: Christ in the Midst of Physical and Mental Suffering,” frames chronic illness as “embodied suffering” that integrates physical, mental, and spiritual burdens and raises the question of who God is when healing does not come. Using Psalm 13, she explains a lament framework—turn, complain, ask, trust—leading to praise, emphasizing the “already but not yet” tension of hope amid suffering and encouraging sufferers and caregivers to write their own laments to rehearse God’s character and respond faithfully. 00:00 Welcome and Road Update01:30 Meet Alysia Whiteside02:26 Her Health Journey and Calling04:30 Training and Narsegesis06:14 Held But Not Yet Healed06:34 Reading Psalm 1308:29 Embodied Suffering and Hope12:18 Lament Framework Explained14:57 Trust and Gods Hesed19:05 Counseling the Stuck20:57 Write Your Own Lament23:26 Singing Joy in Suffering26:12 Encouragement for Chronic Pain27:16 Final Thanks and Wrap Up Episode MentionsDeep Roots Biblical Counseling

On the Speak the Truth podcast recorded at the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition conference, Michael interviews Matt King about his ministry Broomtree and his conference session on mental health in the church. King explains Broomtree’s growth, including increasing requests for counseling, conferences, and free online resources on topics like anxiety, marriage, and thought life, with a podcast launching soon. They discuss why Christians should lead mental health conversations, noting an estimated $280 billion spent annually in the U.S., and ground the topic in Genesis: God’s good creation, the Imago Dei, and how the fall fractured relationships with God, self, others, and creation. They highlight God’s pursuit in Genesis 3, the covering of animal skins as foreshadowing Christ’s atoning blood, and encourage believers who feel inadequate to engage with hope through the Spirit and adoption as God’s children. 00:00 Welcome and Setup 01:29 Broomtree Update 02:41 Conference Banter 03:02 Why Mental Health Matters 04:01 Genesis and Goodness 07:16 The Fall and Fracture 11:34 Covering and Atonement 15:06 Church on the Front Lines 16:25 Hope for the Wounded 18:00 Chick-fil-A Stories 19:11 Final Thanks Episode MentionsBroom Tree EP. 173 Finding Light in the Darkness W/ Matt King

Michael welcomes CCEF faculty member and counselor Mike Emlet, who has served at CCEF since 2001 and previously trained and worked in family medicine before attending Westminster Seminary. Emlet and the Michael discuss how mental health concerns have grown in prominence in the church, influenced by factors like the pandemic and social media, and why a biblical approach must be holistic, recognizing humans as embodied souls affected by the fall in both body and heart. They warn against extremes of over-spiritualizing mental illness or reducing it to biology, and they challenge the church’s tendency to abdicate care to outside experts while affirming the need for professional help in severe cases. Emlet commends a hopeful yet humble posture, careful listening beyond diagnostic labels, and using the “saint, sufferer, sinner” framework to move toward and care for people. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 01:00 Meet Mike Emlet 02:55 Mental Health Landscape 05:46 Embodied Souls Balance 08:42 Church Role in Care 10:46 Hopeful Humble Posture 12:57 Saint Sufferer Sinner 14:34 Why He Wrote It 16:44 Meeting Suffering First 19:41 Listen and Move Toward 21:22 Closing Thanks Episode MentionsCCEF Saints, Sufferers, Sinners: Loving Others as God Loves Us

In this Speak the Truth podcast episode recorded at the 2026 Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition conference on mental health in the church, Michael interviews Kevin Carson, pastor of Sunrise Church (planted in 2002 in Ozark, Missouri) and newly appointed executive director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition (three months into the role). Carson shares his background teaching biblical counseling at Mission University and serving other seminaries, and describes cultivating a “church of biblical counseling” shaped by mutual care, sanctification, and one-another ministry, influenced by Steve Viars and guidance from David Powlison. Addressing how the church should respond to mental health, he emphasizes that labels change but people and God’s call do not, urging compassionate, patient, long-term discipleship rather than quick fixes, integrating care across preaching, life groups, and counseling. He invites listeners to learn about and support the BCC’s global resourcing and partnership program at biblicalcounselingcoalition.org. 00:00 Podcast Welcome00:19 Conference Road Trip00:56 Meet Kevin Carson01:49 Pastor and Church Planting02:31 Leading the BCC03:26 Teaching and Seminary Work04:17 Church Culture and Care06:57 Mental Health and One-Anothering08:19 Elder Team and Counseling Ministry09:49 How Churches Should Respond11:23 Slow Patient Discipleship15:55 Saint Sufferer Sinner Framework18:17 Practical Encouragement for Leaders20:24 Equipping the Church to Care21:35 Support the BCC Mission24:01 Final Thanks and Wrap Up Episode MentionsBiblical Counseling Coalition

Michael interviews Adam Westlake, a worship leader and biblical counselor, about using music and singing as a growth assignment in counseling. Westlake describes singing as “integrative work” that aligns what believers know and feel, citing Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5 on singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and discussing James’ connection between suffering, prayer, and cheerful singing. They argue singing is often under-practiced outside Sunday services yet can help sufferers express truth “slant,” foster solidarity, and provide “portable theology” the Spirit brings to mind. They address concerns about emotional manipulation, emphasizing tethering emotion to what is true about Jesus, and note the value of varied song forms. Westlake shares a daily text-based devotional, “Sing,” and the episode ends with him leading the doxology. 00:00 Podcast Welcome00:37 Meet Adam Westlake01:04 Why Singing Matters04:53 Singing in Suffering07:39 Worship Leading and Counseling09:56 Emotion and Worship13:26 Music as Homework17:22 Daily Sing Devotional19:41 Doxology and Farewell Episode MentionsRegister Now for the 2026 Called to Counsel Conference All My Questions - Bethany Bernard (Spotify) Sing - Daily Devotional with the Worship Initiative Adam Westlake Counseling

Michael previews a 2026 “Understanding Emotions” track with track leader Brad Hambrick, focused on anger, bitterness, and pride. Hambrick shares his roles as pastor of counseling at The Summit Church and assistant professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and introduces the track team: Jeremy Pierre, Shannon MCCoy, and Andrew Dealy. The track aims to provide deep, practical biblical theology, emphasize how sinful emotions distort good God-given purposes, and help counselors cultivate self-awareness in those who deny their struggles. Session topics include Pierre on flesh and spirit and how distortions occur; Dealy on counseling pride and developing humble confidence; Hambrick on recognizing sinful anger and pursuing “constructive displeasure of mercy”; MCCoy on identifying bitterness and moving toward healthy lament; and a concluding Pierre-led discussion with possible audience questions. 00:00 Podcast Welcome01:03 Meet Brad Hambrick02:49 Why This Emotions Track03:02 Anger Pride Bitterness Framework04:46 Session Lineup Overview07:01 Conference Details and Wrap Episode MentionsResister Now