A Conversation with Jonathan Holmes: CCEF's Executive Director
CCEF Podcast: Where Life & Scripture MeetShow Notes
"We're excited to announce Jonathan Holmes as our new Executive Director! In this episode, Gunner interviews Jonathan about his journey into biblical counseling, his background, and his vision for CCEF. They discuss the importance of counseling in the church, the founding of Fieldstone Counseling, and the future direction of CCEF. Read the latest announcement from CCEF's Board of Trustees regarding Jonathan Holmes's recent appointment to the role of Executive Director. Mentioned in this episode: Becoming a Refuge is an on-demand teaching series that helps churches respond to domestic abuse. Learn more here. In this episode, Jonathan mentions an article by David Powlison, "What Is Your Calling?" Journal of Biblical Counseling 28, no. 3 (2014). Find it here.
More from CCEF Podcast: Where Life & Scripture Meet
When work feels repetitive, fruitless, or disconnected from our gifts, it's easy to wonder whether it really matters. In this episode, Gunner Gundersen talks with CCEF colleagues Lauren Whitman, Darby Strickland, and Todd Stryd about why even good work can feel meaningless. They explore how the brokenness of work, cultural expectations, and the temptation to find our identity in our jobs can shape our experience of our daily responsibilities.
Comparison and envy are such ordinary parts of human experience that we often barely notice them. But what do they reveal about our hearts, and how do they affect our relationships with God and others? In this episode, Gunner Gundersen is joined by Ed Welch and Aaron Sironi to explore how envy takes root in the things we value, from recognition and influence to relationships and abilities. They consider how social media can fuel comparison, how envy undermines love and contentment, and how it can expose our doubts about God's generosity.
How should biblical counselors engage secular psychology and the many other voices seeking to understand human desires and motivations? In this final episode of our seven-part series on CCEF's distinctives, Gunner Gundersen is joined by Jonathan Holmes, Dr. Mike Emlet, and Dr. Todd Stryd to explore CCEF's seventh distinctive: "Biblical counseling engages with the voices around us." They discuss how biblical counselors can neither simply embrace nor dismiss other perspectives, but instead engage them charitably and critically.
What makes the local church the natural home for biblical counseling?
In this fifth episode of our series exploring CCEF's seven distinctives, Gunner Gundersen is joined by Jonathan Holmes, Darby Strickland, and Lauren Whitman to discuss our fifth distinctive: "Help and change follow a path, but not a script." Together they explore the importance of dependence on the Lord and his work in the lives of those we help. They consider the importance of seeking input from others, the dangers of following a script, how to navigate our feelings of inadequacy, and why this distinctive matters for our local churches. Rather than fixing problems or changing others, our role is to be fellow travelers on the path God is already leading them on.