It started as a mild musing. About 5 years ago. “Wouldn’t it be good if BCUK could produce a kind of a journal – or some papers that go a bit deeper than our blog posts?” We smiled at each other. It would indeed be good but it felt like a distant dream. At that time, there were few people in the UK who had been doing biblical counselling long enough to be able to write in any great depth – there was no capacity in the staff team to edit or design a publication of that sort. And there was great material coming from our brothers and sisters in the US. And so the idea got shelved, not forgotten but prayed about and then scurried away into the dusty “possibly maybe” section of our organisational goals.
Over the past 5 years, there have been some changes. The staff team has grown. The range of people serving as tutors has grown. The number of people who have completed the Certificate Programme, the Intern Scheme and gone on the serve in the new ways in the local church has increased significantly. The David Powlison Memorial Grants have fuelled further study. People serving in local churches have gained so much more experience. How the Lord has blessed us in unexpected ways. Time, then, to dust off the idea of some more in-depth articles.
A new journal
Here at BCUK, we are very much still a work in progress – we have much to learn – but it was a delight at our recent conference to be able to launch the Journal of Interpersonal Ministry. A collection of articles, by UK authors, to help fuel the thinking and practice of those involved in interpersonal ministry here in UK churches. A resource that helps us think more deeply, more critically, about the area of ministry for which we have such a passion.
The journal contains reflective articles on topics as diverse as A Biblical Counselling Approach to OCD; Spiritual Perspectives on the Experience of OCD; Fragmentation, Wholeness and Integrity in a Biblical Counselling Ministry; and Viewing the Menopause through a Biblical Lens, by staff team members Andrew Collins, Steve Midgley, Nicola Eggertsen and Helen Thorne-Allenson. Alongside there are shorter insights into legalism and eating disorders by Amanda Cook and Anastasia Kumar. And with book reviews by Kenny Larsen and Laura Perbet as part of the resource too, we hope that it makes for a rigorously biblical and insightful read.
An old aim
Much as we are excited by the articles written, there is no new agenda here. This journal is designed to be another resource to help equip the saints for works of service. To help us all speak wisely and well into the complexities of life. To that end, we hope and pray that it sits well alongside our blog posts (that give a taster of a topic), and our books and courses (that help people reflect in a little more depth) by providing an added rigour and nuance to the our writing.
We hope too that it will be something that fuels the hearts of our students and supporters – whether involved in conversational ministry or more formal counsel. Something that provides real help to church leaders. Something that might be fertile ground for discussion at the Regional Friends groups that meet around the country.
An added bonus
But it wasn’t just a journal we launched earlier in the month. Nicola Eggertsen’s article on Fragmentation, Wholeness and Integrity in a Biblical Counselling Ministry is more than a reflection, it is a timely reminder that we all need to be attentive to our hearts. If we are divided, we are at risk in ministry. We need to be people of integrity. To help us all pursue that well, there is an allied set of devotions that can be downloaded. Fragmented is a spiritual health check for anyone who seeks to speak words of gospel hope into the lives of others.
A free download
In the future, we hope to produce a journal on an annual basis. In time, this is likely to be a subscription-based resource. But, in 2025, as we launch our initial offering, we are gifting this to you. Whether you are a pastor or elder, a small group leader, a vocational counsellor, someone who loves to serve your church or someone who is just a bit curious about interpersonal ministry, we hope that it will provide you with readings which stretch your thinking and at the same time encourage your heart to sing praises to the Lord. So, why not download your copy today and send a link to a friend. And pray with us that the journal will bear much kingdom fruit. It is for God’s glory that we work.
