Counseling Is Hard—the Logos 9 Counseling Guide Can Help

When it comes to ministry tools, nothing can rival the Word of God. After all, God tells us his Word can pierce “to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:13). Picture a scalpel—in God’s hands, it cuts to the depths of who we are and what we do.

As pastors and ministry leaders, we wield the scalpel of Scripture every day with those under our care. People trust us with some of the deepest pain and struggles in their lives, and they look to us for guidance and comfort from God and his Word. Knowing the Bible well—and knowing how to apply it to everyday life—is essential for the life-saving surgery of ministry.

In my own ministry experience, I’ve met with people who struggled with doubt, addictions, calling to ministry, grief, and infertility, among many others. And for each person, I’ve sought to open the Bible to show people how God sees them and what he says about the things they’re facing.

But sometimes I’ve felt underprepared—like there’s buried treasure in Scripture that I just can’t get to. “It’s on the tip of my brain,” I’ve said, more times than I can count. Maybe you’ve felt that way, too.

Here at Logos, we know you share our commitment to the Bible, and that’s why we built the Counseling Guide, new in Logos 9.

What’s the Logos 9 Counseling Guide?

The Counseling Guide lets you search hundreds of topics ranging from anxiety to anger to addiction (they aren’t all As—I promise!), and each search pulls up a wealth of information from the Bible and your library.

For example, when I search “grief,” the Counseling Guide pulls up:

• A brief definition of grief
• Related counseling topics like bitterness and hope
• Bible passages to comfort the grieving
• More detailed articles and monographs I might find helpful

From there, I can dig into some of those related topics based on what I’m hearing from the person I’m meeting with.

I can even turn those Bible passages into a Passage List, where I can add more verses to the list or print it out as is to share with someone who’s hurting (or someone who’s ministering to a hurting person).

Nothing can replace knowing and meditating on Scripture for yourself. But we’re human, and much as we’d like to be walking indices of everything the Bible ever said, most of us will never reach that level of Bible knowledge.

That’s why tools like the Counseling Guide are helpful. Because when you’re in the thick of pastoral care and counseling—or when you’re struggling yourself—you need places to turn to find biblical wisdom that speaks to your situation.

Say no more—show me where to get the Counseling Guide!

(As a side note, the Counseling Guide works best on the desktop app, but you can access the content using the counseling dataset on the mobile app using the Factbook, as long as you’re connected to the internet.)

What the Counseling Guide can’t do

Now, the new Counseling Guide in Logos 9 is a helpful tool, but it’s just that—a tool. You cannot use it to “fix” anyone’s problems any more than you can repair a broken heart with a hammer.

That’s why it’s important to know how to speak “a word in season” (Prov 15:23)—give encouragement when it’s needed, exhortation when necessary, and referral to trained Christian counselors, therapists, physicians, or psychiatrists when the situation calls for it.

What people are saying about the Counseling Guide

We’ve heard lots of stories of people using the Counseling Guide in their ministry. Here are some quotes from Logos users putting it to good use:

“The Counseling Guide was an eye-opener. . . . I was recently contacted by someone who . . . shared several struggles he had. I was able to pull up each of them quickly to gain some focus and provide him Scripture-based encouragement. He was grateful. I’m thankful for this resource. My conversation was more focused on God’s Word and my mind was focused on some underlying issues. Thank you. I am looking forward to using it in other situations.” —Bura R.

“Thank y’all so much for this Counseling Guide. It will be immensely helpful for preaching.” —Mason M.

“This added feature is super helpful when you need to give godly advice to someone (or yourself!). . . . Plus, if you are a counselor or pastor who does counseling, Logos includes counseling assessments for each topic. This list of questions will help you assess where the person is and draw out background information from them to assist you to know how to best help them. This is really good stuff!” —Arabah J.

“In my opinion, one of the best new tools is the Counseling Guide. This is a new tool that helps you counsel people on specific topics. It includes tools to guide you through the counseling process. . . . It doesn’t take the place of counseling education and skills, but it does help guide you through the counseling process and get prepared before a counseling session. The advice is solid and does a great job of keeping you on track. The advice is biblically-based, as all wise counsel should be. I can also see this being useful for sermon prep, teaching classes, small group studies, etc.” —biblebuyingguide.com

Which counseling heroes do you want to learn from?

The Counseling Guide is available in Logos 9 Silver and above. You can also get it in the Logos 9 Silver Feature Set, but I recommend getting the entire package. That’s because the books that come in Logos 9 Silver supercharge the Counseling Guide with resources from trusted counselors.

If you want Tim Clinton’s Quick-Reference Guides

You’ll want to look at Logos 9 Silver, which includes guides to

• Addictions and recovery counseling
• Biblical counseling
• Counseling on money, finances & relationships
• Counseling teens
• Counseling women
• Marriage & family counseling
• Sexuality & relationship counseling

(These guides are also in Baptist Silver, Lutheran Silver, and Methodist and Wesleyan Silver.)

Get the Counseling Guide in Logos 9 Silver.

If you want June Hunt’s Hope for the Heart Counseling Library

Start with Logos 9 Gold, which includes all 102 biblical counseling keys. You’ll find topics like

• Atheism & agnosticism
• Chronic illness
• Conflict & resolution
• Depression
• Evil & suffering
• Infertility
• Temptation

Get the Counseling Guide in Logos 9 Gold.

If you want resources from Jay Adams

Look at Logos 9 Reformed Gold, which includes these Adams works:

• The Practical Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling
• Christian Living in the World
• Life under the Son: Counsel from the Book of Ecclesiastes

An extra bonus inside Reformed Gold: the 13-volume Crucial Questions Series by R. C. Sproul. Mercifully short and incredibly practical, this series offers biblical answers to common questions about life and faith.

Check out Logos 9 Reformed Gold.

(You can also find some Jay Adams works in Anglican Gold, which adds pastoral care helps by Thomas Oden.)

Pro tip: If you want, say, June Hunt’s biblical counseling keys and Jay Adams’ helps, use Logos’ Dynamic Pricing to your benefit! Instead of buying them book by book, buy one Gold package (say, Standard Gold) for June Hunt’s books, then a package from another tradition (like Reformed Gold) without paying twice for any books or features you already own in Logos. It gives you the ministry resources you need without breaking the bank.

How to get the Counseling Guide on a budget

Because we want you to have the ministry resources you need, we’ve got lots of ways to make Logos 9 and the built-in Counseling Guide fit your budget.

1. Save 15% during the launch period

This one’s a no-brainer—the 15% off discount doesn’t last forever, so catch it before the savings end.

2. Take a look at our payment plans

Did you know you can set up a payment plan when you make a purchase over $100 on Logos? It’s interest-free and only adds a $5.99 monthly administrative fee.

3. Subscribe to Faithlife Connect

This is a great option if you want the Counseling Guide but don’t want to add a lot of new books—or if you already have some of the books mentioned above. For as little as $14.99 a month, you get full access to the Counseling Guide—plus all the other new features in Logos 9.

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When you’re ready to get the Counseling Guide in Logos 9, hop over here to pick your package and let us know in the comments how it’s going!

Got more questions about how to get Logos 9? Take a look at this page, or call our team at 866-327-1607.