In this episode of the Hope + Help Podcast, Christine Chappell interviews Mike Emlet about his book, Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners: Loving Others as God Loves Us. Some of the questions addressed in this interview are:

• How does the Bible define the categories of saint, sufferer, and sinner?
• Why is it important to connect the stories of saints, sufferers, and sinners to the story of Jesus Christ?
• What does the term “ministry priorities” mean, and how do the Scriptures inform the way we set them?
• Why do we sometimes struggle to minister to suffering people well?
• What is a counseling example of ministering well to someone walking through a season of suffering?
• Are there any dangers of overemphasizing one of these three biblical categories over the other in our care for people?

Michael R. Emlet, MDiv, MD, practiced as a family physician for over ten years before becoming a counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He currently serves CCEF as their Dean of Faculty. He is the author of the books CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet, Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications, Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners: Loving Others as God Loves Us, as well as the minibooks Asperger Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Angry Children, Help for the Caregiver, and Overeating. Emlet serves as an elder at City Church Philadelphia and enjoys gardening and pottery in his free time. He and his wife, Jody, are the parents of two young adults.

A production of the Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship, the Hope + Help Podcast offers compassionate biblical conversations about life's challenging problems. The podcast accomplishes this by offering a mix of interviews with seasoned biblical counseling professionals and ministry leaders on a variety of topics. Listeners can expect to receive biblical wisdom as well as practical steps for facing suffering, struggling, and sin with courage and grace. Hosted by author/writer Christine M. Chappell. 

SAINTS, SUFFERERS, AND SINNERS: LOVING OTHERS AS GOD LOVES US

A friend feels rejected. A counselee is angry. A church member’s child is ill. You want to help, but where do you begin? Author and counselor Michael R. Emlet outlines a model of one-another ministry based on how God sees and loves his people primarily as saints, while bringing comfort to the sufferer, and faithfully speaking truth to the sinner.

Filled with everyday illustrations as well as counseling examples, Emlet demonstrates what it looks like to approach fellow believers simultaneously as saints, sufferers, and sinners. Emlet unpacks Scripture and draws on his many years of counseling experience to help counselors, pastors, and friends love others wisely and well.

As part of CCEF’s Helping the Helper series, this guide for ministry provides an overall framework for wisely helping any person by loving others in the same way that God loves us.