Name: Biblical Counseling & the Noble Labor of Pastoral Care | Preachers & Leaders Conference 2026
Start: 2026-07-06T09:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-07-07T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Tyndale Theological Seminary

https://preachersandleaders.com

We want to call pastors to the noble labor of pastoral care and to equip them for wise practice and coordination of care for the hurting and the wayward. We’ll be hearing from keynote speakers Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju. In partnership with Geloofstoerusting, TGC Nederlands/Vlaanderen, & 9Marks we invite you to join us.

On Day 1 of the conference we will largely focus on the call of pastors and ministers to care for people as an essential aspect of gospel ministry. It will explain how the Word of God transforms the heart, and thus the responses of people in the context of their various troubles. It will also explain how the Word is conveyed to the people of God in a variety of complementary ways, including public, private, and personal ministries of the Word.

On Day 2 will largely focus on the more specific task of counseling, equipping pastors and ministers for the heart-focused conversations about their troubles. The unique goal of biblical counseling is largely to use Scripture to establish trust in the Lord regarding the particularities of personal suffering, distinguishing it from other approaches. We will provide a general method for exploring the heart and offering Scripture-based guidance. We will also describe how to coordinate care beyond just pastoral counseling meetings.

https://preachersandleaders.com

Speakers:

Jeremy Pierre

Dr. Jeremy Pierre serves as Dean of the Billy Graham School at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has authored several books, including When Home Hurts: Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church (Christian Focus, 2021), The Dynamic Heart in Daily Life: Connecting Christ to Human Experience (New Growth Press, 2016), and The Pastor and Counseling (Crossway, 2015). His writing has been featured in Tabletalk Magazine, 9Marks Journal, Baptist Press, and The Gospel Coalition. He is an elder at Clifton Baptist Church, where he has served on staff in various roles. He and his wife Sarah raise their five children in Louisville.

Deepak Reju

Dr. Deepak Reju (MDiv, PhD) is the senior pastor at Ogletown Baptist Church (Newark, DE) and co-host of the Counseling Talk Podcast. Deepak has a commitment to faithfully teach God’s Word and love God’s people. He is husband to his best friend Sarah and father to five children. He enjoys date nights with his wife, getting beaten (often) by his kids in a board game, biking, reading, NFL football and (amateur) baking. He is the editor of the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series (P&R publishers), and author of On Guard, She’s Got the Wrong Guy, Pornography, and Fatherhood. He’s also co-author of Build on Jesus, and a two-book set called Rescue Plan and Rescue Skills. Deepak serves as a trustee of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF).

Ryan J. Davidson

Dr. Ryan Davidson has been serving as the pastor of Grace Baptist Chapel in Hampton, VA since August of 2008. Ryan is married to Christie, and they have four wonderful children. Ryan holds degrees from Samford University (B.A.), The College of William & Mary (M.Ed.-Counseling), Southern Seminary (Th.M.) in Louisville, KY, and a (Ph.D.) in Early Christianity/Pastoral Theology from The Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ryan also enjoys teaching around the world in various places and serves as Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at International Reformed Baptist Seminary (IRBS) and an adjunct Professor at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands. He has published several works including Thinking Through Anxiety (Broken Wharfe, 2017/2026) and Green Pastures: A Primer on the Ordinary Means of Grace (Broken Wharfe, 2019/2022), and is a contributor to the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. Ryan likes fishing with the kids, enjoying his wife's culinary delights, running (every once in a while), and fellowship with friends around the table.

Ellen Oosterhuis

Ellen Oosterhuis runs a private practice as biblical counselor / psycholoog. She studied mental health science and psychology in Maastricht and Utrecht and has worked as Cognitive Behavioral Therapist at Eleos. She moved overseas to the US and Singapore for 11 years. In that time she got in contact with CCEF where she started courses in biblical counseling and recently earned her masters in biblical counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Laurens Pruis

Laurens Pruis is the Preaching Pastor at Gereformeerde Baptistengemeente Rotterdam-Zuid (Reformed Baptist Church of South Rotterdam). He earned an M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and was sent out by Kenwood Baptist Church to plant a church in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Biblical Studies at SBTS.

Conference Schedule:

Schedule for 6 July

08.30	Doors Open: Arrival and Check-In
09.30	Welcome & Introduction
09.45	Worship through Song
10.00 Exposition of Scripture	1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 "The Labor of Care" Laurens Pruis
10.30	Worship through Song / Break
10.50	Worship through Song
11.00 Talk 1	The Noble Labor of Caring for God’s People Deepak Reju
11.50	Worship through Song
12:00	Announcements / Book Giveaway
12.15	Lunch
13.15	Worship through Song
13.30 Talk 2	How Scripture Transforms the Heart Jeremy Pierre
14.20	Worship through Song / Break
14.45 Breakout Sessions	Option 1: The Use of Scripture in Pastoral Counseling Throughout Church History Ryan Davidson Option 2: Gospel Clarity in the Cultural Context Mental Healthcare Ellen Oosterhuis Option 3: Counseling People, Body & Soul Jeremy Pierre
16.00	Worship through Song / Break
16.15	Panel Discussion (Q&A)
17.05	Worship through Song
17.15	Dinner
18.15	Worship through Song
18.30 Talk 3	Public, Private, and Personal Ministry of the Word Deepak Reju

Schedule for 7 July

09.30	Welcome & Worship through Song
09.45 Exposition of Scripture	Romans 12:1-2 "The Transformed Life" Ryan Davidson
10.10	Worship through Song / Break
10.45	Worship through Song
11.00 Talk 4	The Unique Purpose of Biblical Counseling Jeremy Pierre
11.50	Worship through Song
12.00	Announcements / Book Promotion
12.15	Lunch
13.15	Worship through Song
13.30 Talk 5	A Method for Counseling and Care Conversations Jeremy Pierre
14.20	Worship through Song / Break
14.45 Breakout Sessions	Option 1: Scrupulosity, OCD, & Faith Ryan Davidson Option 2: Untangling Emotions Ellen Oosterhuis Option 3: Pornography Deepak Reju
16.00	Worship through Song
16.40 Talk 6	The Church and Coordinated Care Deepak Reju
17.15	Closing Song, Conference Conclusion, and Benediction

1. The Noble Labor of Caring for God’s People – Deepak Reju

Pastors have a joyous labor of shepherding. It’s good labor, but also a hard one. What does a faithful shepherding of God’s flock involve?

2. How Scripture Transforms the Heart – Jeremy Pierre

In Scripture, God speaks to the whole heart, including the thoughts, emotions, and choices that make up a person’s response to whatever context he occupies.

3. Public, Private, and Personal Ministry of the Word – Deepak Reju

The public, private and personal ministries of the Word are all vital for our work of caring for God’s people. What do they each contribute and how do they work in coordination together?

4. The Unique Purpose of Biblical Counseling – Jeremy Pierre

Biblical Counseling aims to help individuals understand their own heart responses to the difficulties they face and to compel trust in promised help of God.

5. A Method for Counseling and Care Conversations – Jeremy Pierre

A simple method of intentional listening, cooperative reflection, and biblical guidance is often effective for helping people understand themselves and, more importantly, the Lord in the context of their troubles.

6. The Church and Coordinated Care – Deepak Reju

If we think at the level of the congregation, how do we develop a counseling ministry? And what does it look like when the church as a whole embraces the care of souls?

Break-out Session Descriptions:

Day 1 Breakout Sessions:
Option 1: The Use of Scripture in Pastoral Counseling Throughout Church History (Ryan Davidson) This session will be an overview, with case samples, of how Scripture has been a primary resource in counseling Christ’s people throughout the 2,000 year history of the church.
Option 2: Gospel Clarity in the Cultural Context Mental Healthcare (Ellen Oosterhuis) This session will address the many options of (christian) mental health care in the Netherlands that we take into consideration and the question how a biblical view of the person helps to find gospel clarity in the midst of this.
Option 3: Counseling People, Body & Soul (Jeremy Pierre) Human beings were created body and soul to know the Lord and to occupy his world as his image bearers. This is vital to recognize in counseling.

Day 2 Breakout Sessions:
Option 1: Scrupulosity, OCD, & Faith (Ryan Davidson) This breakout will provide a helpful look at obsessive thought patterns that can seem overwhelming, and particularly those related to religious, ethical or faith matters (scrupulosity). A focus will be considering the hope in Christ one can have as fear, worries and obsessive thoughts arise particularly about the spiritual walk. Option 3: Pornography (Deepak Reju) We’ll consider the best strategies for defeating pornography. Our goal is to consider how you come alongside a struggler and make sure he or she has sustained victory in Christ.
Option 2: Untangling Emotions (Ellen Oosterhuis) In a care system and a cultural context that takes our emotions in high regard we will think of a biblical view on emotions that help us to be informed, but not lead by our emotions.
Option 3: Pornography (Deepak Reju) We’ll consider the best strategies for defeating pornography. Our goal is to consider how you come alongside a struggler and make sure he or she has sustained victory in Christ.