About the Book
Jay E. Adams was a pioneer in the field of biblical counseling and the founder of nouthetic counseling--counseling guided by Scripture alone. In Ready to Restore, all of Adam's expertise is bundled into an accessible, introductory volume that will teach even the most inexperienced readers the fundamentals required to counsel peers in need. With simple, thorough instructions, Adams walks readers through the process of counseling another person--from gathering a his or her information to conducting a biblical analysis of his or her troubles. This comprehensive overview avoids technical language in favor of clear, explanatory writing. It is packed with practical tips and helpful examples and expounds on many common issues a new counselor may face, making it a useful resource for study groups, Bible colleges, church ministries, and individuals. This redesigned edition includes updated resources for the reader.
About the Author :
Jay E. Adams (1929-2020), a pioneer in biblical counseling, served as a pastor, church planter, denominational executive, seminary professor, author, and lecturer. He taught homiletics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and was the director of advanced studies at Westminster Seminary in California. He was the founder of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC), and the Institute for Nouthetic Studies (INS). Adams was the author of over one hundred books, including the best-selling Competent to Counsel, a book that launched the modern biblical counseling movement. He was a recipient of The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the State of South Carolina.
Review :
In Ready to Restore, perhaps one of his most useful books, Jay Adams unpacks many of the fundamental principles of historical biblical counseling with his typical precision and clarity. In this classic work, he both condenses and expands upon portions of what he had previously written and does so with simplicity and in less technical terms than in Competent to Counsel and The Big Umbrella. This is more of a layman's guide to biblical counseling and discipleship than it is a seminary textbook. If you would like a very readable small book that will help you, or someone you know, to cut your teeth on the basics of biblical counseling, this might be just the thing for you.--Lou Priolo, Pastor of Counseling, Christ Covenant, Atlanta
On rare occasions, our Lord has provided his church with unique men of valor and faith who have boldly stood against its secular drift. Men like Augustine, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and others were all used by God to call the church to return to a faith and a practice that were committed to biblical fidelity. Dr. Jay E. Adams was such a man for his generation! He was used by God to call the church back to the sufficiency of Scripture as it drifted away into the delusions of secular psychology and sociology. Dr. Adams was the undisputed "father of the modern biblical counseling movement." I counted him a personal friend because we shared the same perspective on how psychology had destroyed many lives and many churches. He loved the public preaching the Word of God (see his books on preaching), but he also saw that the church today lacked the private ministry of the Word of God in addressing the serious disturbances of the soul (see his numerous books on biblical counseling). Ready to Restore is one of those books that returns counseling to laymen and women who are well-schooled in biblical hermeneutics, theology, and discipleship and turns it away from the elitism of professional secular counseling. It has all the foundational ideas that make biblical counseling effective. If you want a basic understanding of what biblical counseling is and how it should be practiced, this book is a must-read.--John D. Street, Chair, Graduate Department of Biblical Counseling, The Master's University & Seminary; President, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors Board of Trustees
Theological foundations in counseling are critical because they direct the work of the counselor and shape the trajectory of ministry in the counseling room. Ready to Restore serves as a stabilizing anchor for biblical counselors against the constant bombardment of humanistic philosophies that seek to undermine the biblical aims of soul care. For the novice, this book provides a sturdy foundation upon which to build a solid framework for counseling ministry. Seasoned counselors will find that Dr. Adams's work grounds their scriptural methods and goals of counseling. You will be hard-pressed to find a better brief introduction to the biblical rationale and fundamental methodologies of biblical counseling.--T. Dale Johnson Jr., Executive Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling and Director of Counseling Programs, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Think of Ready to Restore as the CliffsNotes version of The Christian Counselor's Manual by Jay Adams. This small work has been the mainstay of many lay counseling training programs since it was first published in 1981. I read through it periodically myself to sharpen my own counseling skills and evaluate where I might be leaving behind important basics. I highly recommend this book for the new biblical counselor, the lay church leader, and the seasoned counselor.--Jim Berg, Professor of Biblical Counseling, Bob Jones University
This volume contains excellent information on some of the fundamentals of truly biblical counseling and will help Christians to become competent counselors.--Wayne Mack, Wayne Mack, Founder, Strengthening Ministries Training Institute; Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors--Africa
This volume presents the essence of the biblical counseling movement as well as the practice of the art by the Martin Luther of the twentieth century. Yes, Adams was a reformer, who, in this volume, puts "the cookies on the counter" for everyday Christians (whom he dubbed "pew dwellers"). He not only rightly argues that every Christian is expected to counsel but also equips every Christian with the basic tools to deliver the counsel. He builds on the foundation of Romans 15:14, which is dependent upon the indwelling Holy Spirit and the sufficient Word of God (2 Tim. 3:15-17). This book has been, and will continue to be, a primary primer for the encouragement and training of lay folks who do the work of this important ministry.--Howard Eyrich, Director of the Doctor of Ministry, Birmingham Theological Seminary; Fellow, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; Commissioned Addiction Counselor, The Addiction Connection
