Alasdair Groves

Alasdair Groves

By Alyssa Rodriguez

I. Known for:

Alasdair Groves is most known for being the executive director for the New England branch of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, also known as the CCEF. He is also known as the director of the Christian Counseling Educational Foundation School of Biblical Counseling. [1]

II. Biography:

Alasdair was born son of Alan and Libbie Groves, his father was the late Westminster Theological Seminary professor who was an Old Testament professor at Westminster. He grew up outside of Philadelphia and went to college at Dartmouth them later attended Westminster and the Christian Counseling Education Foundation school to get his master’s degree of divinity and counseling emphasis. Between both schools he met his wife Lauren and they ministered together for two years with the Navigators. When Alasdair finished seminary, he spent a whole year on staff as a counselor with the CCEF and was also a interim director of pastoral care at Westerly Road Church in Princeton. He finally became a faculty member at Christian Counseling education Foundation in 2010 but then soon left Philadelphia to found CCEF in New England on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont. Alasdair still lives there today with his wife Lauren and three kids, Emily, Adara, and Alden. He served as a director of the Christian Counseling Education Foundation School of Biblical counseling in addition to his teaching role for the last two and a half years. He published his first book Untangling Emotions earlier this year by Cross way, he also published more than six articles in the Journal of Biblical Counseling and helped achieve a chapter to an e-book for pastors that was published by Covenant Eyes. In New England and even beyond, he taught many seminars, Christian Counseling Education Foundation podcasts, and produced several videos, audio resources and blogs. Fun facts about Alasdair is that is a fiction enthusiast, loves to produce good music and food, and loves ultimate frisbee[2][3]

III. Theological views:

His belief is what prompted his book Untangling Emotions, were he talks about how we engage with God. He believes that we must listen to our emotions and see what they are telling us about what we value, see what we are doing with them or what we are doing to escape them, letting ourselves sit and examine what is happening in our heart and what we value, and how we are overall handling it. Then realizing that we cannot examine our own emotions without bringing them to the Lord. He believes that once we bring them to the Lord, they backfire because our emotions were made help us share God’s heart. To love what He loves and hate what He hates, to be passionate about what excites God and grieve the things He grieves, and delight in what delights Him. This being said He believes that our emotions are fundamentally an opportunity for us to share in His heart, so then every emotion whether it is sadness, guilt, anxiety, or joy it is the perfect opportunity for us to hear His promises speaking into the situation. Hearing God’s heart of compassion or lovingness, whatever it might be. He believes that all emotions are meant to lead us into a relationship with the Lord just as we are to connect with each other through sharing of emotion. Because of this belief Alasdair also sees it as seemingly impossible to experience true joy of anything [4]including a sunrise or sunset without acknowledging that this is what Christ has made and that He is greater than us all.

IV. Works/Publications

Alasdair Groves most well-known publication is his book Untangling Emotions published on March 14, 2019 by Crossway with 240 pages only found in the English language. It is under the genre of Self-help and Christian Literature. This book was completed with Alasdair and a man named Winston T. Smith as the authors. On the CCEF page he has over ten articles published. His most recent article was published on March 11,2020 that he called Anxiety, Waiting and the coronavirus. All of these articles are three to ten minutes long about practical things such as ways to deepen time in your devotions, treasuring others, parents who have lost their children, mothers, friendships, and anger. He has several other digital books that he wrote with others. Him and three other men wrote a book on Apologetics published in 2016 by the CCEF with 159 pages. He also helped write another book published in 2016 on Methodology, and Lastly, he helped publish as co-director a third “Must Read” on Sexuality once again published in 2016 with a total of 123 pages by the CCEF. [5]

BOOKS:

Untangling Emotions
Must Reads on Apologetics
Must Reads on Methodology
Must Read on Sexuality

ARTICLES:

Anxiety, Waiting on the Corona Virus
Five Ways to Jump Start Your Devotions
Help! I Keep Losing My Temper
Family Devotions
Treasuring Others
Engaging Our Emotions, Engaging with God
The Ultimate Treasure Hunt
To Parents Who Have Lost a Child
Do You Listen When You Apologize?
A Few More Thoughts for Moms at Home This Winter
For the Moms Stuck Inside
Hungry for Friendship with God? Me Too

COURSES TAUGHT:

Dynamics of Biblical Change

V. Influence on Biblical Counseling

Alasdair Groves has influenced Biblical Counseling in Northern England as the co-founder where has served for over ten years as the executive director. He also served for three years as the director of CCEF’s school of Biblical Counseling for 3 years. [6]

VI. Bibliography

“Alasdair Groves.” The Gospel Coalition. Accessed April 24, 2020.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/alasdair-groves/

“J. Alasdair Groves.” Crossway. Accessed April 24, 2020.

https://www.crossway.org/authors/j-alasdair-groves/.

Lowe, Julie, Alasdair Groves, and Aaron Sironi. “Alasdair Groves: Authors.” Christian

Counseling & Educational Foundation, April 23, 2020.

https://www.ccef.org/people/alasdair-groves/.

Lowe, Julie. “Board Appoints Next Executive Director.” Christian

Counseling & Educational Foundation, September 4, 2019.

https://www.ccef.org/board-appoints-next-executive-director/.