About the Book
Become the person God created you to be. When we think of self-improvement, our minds often turn to dieting, exercise, or productivity hacks. But without understanding how the mind works, these improvements are unlikely to stick.
In The Brain Change Program, Dr. Alan Weissenbacher merges neuroscience with biblical wisdom and leads you through his six-step program to achieve lasting, meaningful change. He shares actionable, lifelong strategies and tools to help you
unlock the mysteries of your brain,
gain control over destructive thoughts and behaviors,
redesign your prayer life,
guide yourself into right thinking, and
cultivate Christlike character.
Set foot on a radical journey of self-discovery, where joy, fulfillment, and spiritual transformation await.
About the Author :
After receiving an education in biology and at seminary, Dr. Alan Weissenbacher worked for the Denver Rescue Mission as a chaplain to the homeless. He helped move homeless and addicted people out of an urban setting to a one-hundred-acre farm, giving them opportunities to help run the farm, care for animals, and receive therapy tailored to their individual needs: counseling, addiction therapy, job training, and more. Inspired by the struggles of his clients and filled with the desire to improve Christian rehabilitation, Alan resigned from his position at the Denver Rescue Mission and enrolled in a doctorate program. He studied neuroscience and spiritual formation at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley and engaged with the question of how to improve addiction recovery, church practices, and spiritual formation using the scientific knowledge of the brain.
Alan serves as the managing editor for the academic journal Theology and Science and has published works with Johns Hopkins University Press, Vernon Press, and ATF Press on the subjects of science, religion, and ethics. He authored the chapter on neuroscience and the human person in the second edition of the college textbook Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction in addition to articles in several journals, including Theology and Science, Dialog, Wesleyan Theological Journal, and Zygon.
Alan currently works as a stay-at-home dad to two young boys while he writes, guest lectures, consults, and bakes cool themed cakes for his kids (the fire-breathing dragon cake is their favorite to date).
Review :
Alan Weissenbacher is the rare combination of scientist, theologian, and field minister. He combines his grasp of the sciences, his profound respect for people with different perspectives, and his personal concern for others. While accessible to any reader, The Brain Change Program also commands the respect of the specialist. His book guides readers to a faith-based understanding of brain science, separating it from "pop psychology," and equips them with the ability to effect change in their lives.
Dr. Earl Creps, director of the Center for Leadership Studies at Northwest University
At a time when people's mental, emotional, and spiritual health has worn thin, Alan offers a realistic and hopeful means to finding wholeness. This practical guide is built on Alan's many years of experience working with deeply fractured people, and it is a confluence of carefully studied neuroscience, Christian theology, and spiritual formation. It is rare for an author to successfully bring together various expertise, which is why I have utilized Alan's help in teaching and training people in my own church.
Brent Cunningham, pastor of spiritual formation, Timberline Church, Colorado
Change does not just happen, and the science behind change can be difficult to explain. In The Brain Change Program, Dr. Alan Weissenbacher has merged neuroscience with steps for meaningful change into one accessible resource. Using scientific research, Dr. Weissenbacher honors the difficulties inherent to change and provides practical steps and tools that lead to true change. This valuable resource explains why common yet ineffective methods do not effect change but instead enforce resistance to change. The Brain Change Program grounded and enriched my use of imagination and prayer toward transformational change. This book is a gift to anyone in the business of helping people become their best selves. It changed me, and it will do the same for you and those you serve.
Ellen Martin, personal and professional coach, author of A Life Shared: Meaningful Conversations with Our Kids
Dr. Weissenbacher integrates discoveries in the field of neuroscience with the unchanging truth of Scripture to address the struggles of anyone seeking to make personal changes. By educating the reader as to why change is difficult, he helps to relieve the burdens of shame and failure that often occur. He includes an action plan that applies to any harmful, negative, or destructive behavior, including negative thinking, substance abuse, pornography addiction, disordered eating, overspending, media addiction, or any other behavior interfering with one's relationship with God and others.
Joyce Williams, MS, LPC, founder of Light of the Rockies Christian Counseling Center
In The Brain Change Program, Dr. Alan Weissenbacher writes from his professional experience with addiction recovery programs and offers new and better tools to find physical, psychological, and spiritual healing. In this gentle, empowering, compelling, and humorous yet poignant account, Weissenbacher brings together his doctoral research in spiritual healing and neuroscience with years of practical experience as a counselor. The result is authentic, realistic help to overcome destructive thoughts, be free from addiction, and improve your spiritual life.
Dr. Robert Russell, founding director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
Insightful and blessedly practical, this hope-filled book offers vital keys to the ultimate prize: changing ourselves with God's help.
Jeff Lucas, author, speaker, broadcaster
Transform to a hopeful, energized "normal" by hardwiring your brain to work positively for you, rather than against you. Weissenbacher's innovative steps--backed by neuroscience and real-life application--bypass emotional roadblocks, triggers for destructive thoughts and actions, and pave the path toward freedom, joy, and lasting change.
Dr. Kevin Leman, internationally known veteran psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty books, including The Birth Order Book, Have a New Kid by Friday, and Sheet Music
