Your Biblical Counsellor^©

News from YBC

Views from YBC

Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition 2026 Conference in Oakville, Ontario

March 20-21, 2026. It is great news that the 2026 Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition (CBCC) conference registrations are now open. The event, as in past years, will take place at Hope Bible Church in Oakville, Ontario. This is a great gathering of Biblical counsellors from across Canada. Click on the image below to go to their registration page.

The 2026 Winter 'REFRESH' Biblical Counselling mini-Conference in Elora, Ontario

January 17, 2026. Coming up next month! If you are interested in meeting and learning from Biblical counsellors in the South-West Ontario region or wanting to hone your BC skills, there is a 1/2 day gathering and workshops in Elora, just north of Waterloo. Here is the advertisement. Please contact Brittany Greydanus directly. The event is on January 17th from 10am to 2pm at the Elora Canadian Reformed Church in Elora.

The 2025 Summer 'REFRESH' Biblical Counselling mini-Conference in Elora, Ontario

July 2025. Coming up next month! If you are interested in meeting and learning from Biblical counsellors in the South-West Ontario region or wanting to hone your BC skills, there is a 1/2 day gathering and workshops in Elora, just north of Waterloo. Here is the advertisement. Please contact Brittany Greydanus directly. The event is on August 16th at Grand River Community Church in Elora.

Updated "Your Biblical Counselor" Website

April 2025. I am celebrating nearly a year of being online with my "yourbiblicalcounselor.ca" website, I have updated my website with a brand new front page and have added more news and views, more external links to other counsellors and counselling organizations and even a Testimonials page.

I have found that a web presence is an essential way of informing peers and counselees of what is happening at Your Biblical Counselor here in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Part of my online presence includes a Facebook Page, an "X" page, a LinkedIn page, a Blog and an Instagram account. You can find links to all these on my website page footers.

Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition 2025 Conference in Oakville, Ontario

March 2025. The 2025 Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition (CBCC) conference lived up to all expectations. Hundreds of Biblical counsellors and many Biblical counselling organizations had stands there and offered information and more about their organizations. There qwere folks from ABC, CBCC, Gospel Care Canada, Insight, Healing Hearts, BCM Worldwide, and more.

The CBCC website and facebook page has more information and pictures. This event is a 'not to miss' event and I am looking forward to the 2026 Confererence to again be held at Hope Bible Church in Oakville.

The 2025 Winter 'REFRESH' Biblical Counselling mini-Conference in Elora, Ontario

January 2025. All Biblical Counsellors in the Southern Ontario Region are warmly invited to the Winter "REFRESH" mini-Biblical Counselling conference. The last one held in the summer of 2024 was a great success. This winter's one is going to be even better with training, breakouts and guest speaker Jeemin Moon talking on 'suffering & glory'. See the advertisement below and plan to attend.

Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition 2025 Conference in Oakville, Ontario

November 2024. It is great news that the 2025 Canadian Biblical Counselling Coalition (CBCC) conference registrations are now open. The event, as in past years, will take place at Hope Bible Church in Oakville, Ontario. This is a great gathering of Biblical counsellors from across Canada.

YBC's Social Media Accounts are all Up and Running

October 2024. I have now completed my five Social Media accounts and links so that you can be better informed of all that YBC is doing in the Biblical counselling field. I try to update them weekly and often offer slightly different information on each Social Media account according to the viewers needs. That is, LinkedIn has a different viewing audience than does Instrgram or Facebook.

After a Quiet Counselling Summer, Things are Picking Up

September 2024. Summertime is always a quieter time in churches and most ministries. God never slows down, but ministries do. I know that people need summer breaks, but people's needs never stop - even over the summer.

This summer I have had a chance to meet with a few counselees outside of counselling and have seen some pretty amazing transformations in some. Others, not so much, but I know the Lord works in all of us, both counselee and counsellor.

I am looking forward to helping more people in need of Biblical counselling both inside their churches (if they have Biblical counselling as a ministry) or by Biblical counselling outside of their churches.

I will also update you on upcoming Biblical counselling wokshops and conferences.

I am now Listed on Crosscare, a Christian Counsellor-Counselee Matching Website

July 2024. I am really excited to share that I am now listed on Crosscare as a Biblical counsellor specializing in men's life-issues such as Abandonment, Anger, Anxiety, Conflict, Fear, Identity in Christ, Christian Manhood and Stress. Please visit this wonderful site that brings together Christian counsellors and prospective counselees by matching their needs and counsellor expertise.

Upcoming "Refresh" Biblical Counselling Day

June 2024. Coming up next month! If you are interested in becoming a Biblical counsellor or wanting to hone your BC skills, there is a 1/2 day gathering and workshops in Elora, just north of Waterloo. Here is the advertisement. Please contact Brittany Greydanus directly. The event is on July 13th at Grand River Community Church in Elora.

Launch of new YBC Blog

June 2024. I find it much easier to update a standard format BLOG rather than changing the coding of this website. So I have created a YBC Blog at: Your Biblical Counselor Blog Whenever something happens in the counselling forum or some new information or events come to hand, I will immediatley put it up on the blog.

New Website Up and Running

May 2024. Now that my website is up and running (after a few glitches), I am excited that this information on it can now be shared to all who are interested. Besides the couselling itself, I enjoy coding the website. It is a simple website but I believe in providing good information above pretty pictures.

Links to Other Website and Social Media Pages

May 2024. I have been linking to several other Biblial counselling websites and Social Media Pages. This has allowed me to get my information out to a wider audience. I am amazed at just how many Biblical counsellors are using Social Media along with their own websites - these avenues are having a great impact on making known Biblical counselling to those who can benefit from it.

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Views and Articles from YBC about Biblical Counselling

You Believe in Jesus But Do You Believe Jesus?

I have at times said to myself, "What's it all about?" "What is my purpose in this world?" and "Why would God choose to save me?"

I know for sure that I am not the first to ask these questions nor will I be the last (unless He comes soon). I also know that I don't have all the answers - or maybe any answers. I have lived my Christian life believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, sent to Earth to die on the cross and be resurrected for my sins... His righteousness for my sin - what a great but unbalanced exchange!

Nearly all my counselees have asked one or more of those original questions and I would be prideful to say that I answered any of them satisfactorily.

A more practical Biblical counselling question may be, "Have I lived my life as a Christian just believing IN Christ yet not believing Him?" There is a huge difference between BELIEVING IN CHRIST and BELIEVING CHRIST. So how does all this fit into my Biblical counselling ministry?

Well, for nearly every counselee that I have had and do have, I pose that question at the beginning of our first session and the answer tells me a lot about their walk with Christ. I often see a quizzical look on their face. It's almost like they are saying, "how dare you question my faith?" or, "I came here to be fixed, not preached to."

I point out that I am not questioning or judging their faith at all but I am asking them to put 'feet' to their talk. That is, does their life reflect their belief and trust in ALL the Word of the Lord? Most confess that parts of the Word seem unbelievable or for someone else and not themselves.

That is why, in my counselling I spend a lot of time up front to find out not only about their declared faith but the degree of unbelief they have in the promises, the commandments and the present-day applications that are in the Word.

To be honest, that often puts the brakes on, or at least changes, their initial reasons for coming to counselling. I believe their desire for a "fix" is really a desire for "faith" and more of it. Many hours of counselling in the horizontal can be taken care of by counselling in the vertical.

So, I believe that I shouldn't dwell on the first three global questions as much as the two questions about BELIEVING IN and BELIEVING (trusting) Jesus.

Thanks for reading.

Ian Ridpath - Your Biblical Counselor - for Men.

Article on Secular Counselling Therapies and Biblical Counselling

I thought I would do a bit of investigation into some of the secular counselling methods. I went to some of the Psychotherapy websites and came across the following list of most-recognized and well-used therapies.

They include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT),
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT),
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT),
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDRT),
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT),
• Dielectrical Behaviour Therapy (DBT),
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT),
• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT),

... and I am sure there are more.

I don't really have time to investigate all or indeed any of these and I am not sure as a Biblical counsellor that I even should. Then it came to me that none of these really seem to tackle the heart of a person. That is, the real source of will, emotion and behaviour as described in the Scriptures.

Unless PRIDE is stripped from a person, then all of the diagnosed methodologies that are labelled in the above list of therapies won't actually do anything to address this root of evil, ungodly behaviour, better known as SIN. Indeed, unless sin is recognized by therapists then most improved behaviours using the above therapies are merely treating the wounds with bandages. Even though the bleeding may be curtailed, the source of the bleeding is often not.

Therefore, in my opinion, since the root of nearly all sin is pride, then the major purposes of Biblical counselling ought to be to address the pride issue. This is best accomplished when Biblical counselling is focused on discipleship that will 'renew the mind' and 'kill the pride'.

I would therefore label the 'therapy' of Biblical counselling as either KTPT or RTMT. That is "Killing The Pride Therapy" or "Renewing The Mind Therapy". Both of these are addressed by the Holy Scriptures such that they must be the core of all counselling.

This is why it is virtually impossible to Biblically counsel a non-believer. Discipleship and even Evangelism must be done before behaviour issues are to be addressed. God wants to change the heart first, which will in turn will change behaviours to bring a person to a right relationship with God. Amen

Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom and Application

The Bible is quite clear about the progress from knowledge to application. Proverbs has many verses about this. To me it comes down to the KUWA process... Knowledge to Understanding to Wisdom to Application.

Article on Desires, Emotions and Behaviours

It is well known in Biblical counselling circles that behaviour modification is not the primary target or goal of such counselling. Behaviours are the outward or horizontal manifestations of a person's life. This only changes when there is a vertical (God vision) change of the inner heart.

This inner heart of a person is made up of their desires, emotions and will. It is the will that transforms emotions into behaviours.

Emotions are always driven by desires, met or unmet. There is often fear or lust associated with unmet desires. Either the fear of getting something we don't want, or the lust of wanting something we don't have.

This concept can be shown by looking at any behaviour, then looking at the emotion that is driving the behaviour and then looking at the unmet desire or expectation.

Here is a list of a few examples. These do not necessarily go directly horizontal across from each other.

Any of the Desires can trigger any of the Emotions, that show up as any of the Behaviours.

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