Ready to Restore Book

Adams has been a popular Biblical Counselor advocating that Christian lay people encourage and equip one another from the Bible since the 1970s.

Adams puts together a brief overview of how he handles Biblical Counseling. This is written for the 'new-to-the-concept' Christian. Adams overviews a TON of stuff from how to take and initial inventory from the counselee to listing Biblical topics that one can address.

Adams says that the Holy Spirit is really the Counselor and only changes comes from Him and from a person's engaging the Bible as a believer. He says that real change happens when one's heart changes; lots of what Adams ends up listing in detail seems like it is meant to change the outward behavior. Have them "put off" sinful behavior and "put on" godly behavior he says. Actually it seems like he says this kind of thing a lot. It's frustrating. It seems like he tells people in detail how to act like Christians when that is the problem: people are sinners, who suffer, and can't get it together to change their behavior.

What's the value of the book? It seems like Adams has written so much that is helpful about Biblical Counseling and it is a pretty good overview of what to expect in counseling situations.

I think there are better 'second generation' Biblical Counselor books that give us novices more helpful input on the "head to heart" change required for true transformation.

I find value in the book, it isn't one of the best ones that I have found helpful.