Pre-Council Conference
Monday, September 28th, 2026 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sonesta Airport Hotel
Pastors and elders often express that they feel under-equipped to respond to the complicated counseling needs presented by their congregations. Ministers are regularly confronted with a host of mental, emotional, relational, and habitual disorders among people in their churches, and believing that they are unqualified to respond effectively, they send saints to secular professionals who preach a false gospel to them.
What if the shepherds of the CREC were built up with a greater confidence in the sufficiency of God’s Word for all matters pertaining to life and Godliness? What if pastors and elders were better equipped to instruct God’s people in how to live and think in a way that pleases Him? What if ministers could skillfully respond to suffering with the Scriptures and with a gospel hope in the Man of Sorrows?
Join us on the Monday before the 2026 CREC Council meeting in Nashville, at the Sonesta Airport Hotel to receive some instruction, encouragement, and resources from CREC pastors who are certified biblical counselors, and to hear from Dr. James Newheiser, director of the Christian Counseling program at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC.
This conference is organized through a partnership between Trinity Presbyterian Church, Valparaiso, Florida, Reformation Covenant Church, Oregon City, Oregon, and Christ Church, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Conference Schedule
1. What is Biblical Counseling? – Jim Newheiser
2. Counseling is a Pastor’s Duty – Duane Garner
3. The Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling – Jim Newheiser
4. A History of Pastoral Care and the Future of the CREC – Uri Brito
5. Counseling Practicalities – Mike Ruff
6. Covenant Renewal Liturgy as Counselor – Bo Cogbill
7. Q&A Panel
Our Speakers
Dr. James (Jim) Newheiser, Jr., is the Director of the Christian Counseling Program and Professor of Christian Counseling and Pastoral Theology at RTS Charlotte. For 25 years, Dr. Newheiser served as the Preaching Pastor at Grace Bible Church in Escondido, California. He is also the Director of the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship (formerly CCEF West) and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Biblical Counseling at The Master’s University. Furthermore, Dr. Newheiser serves as a board member at both the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC) and the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Dr. Newheiser teaches many of the counseling courses as well as some practical theology courses. Jim has been married to his wife Caroline since 1979, and they have 3 adult children.
Duane Garner is senior pastor of Christ Church in Raleigh, North Carolina where he has ministered since 2012 and is a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He has served as editor and author of a number of publications, including “Why the End is Not Near” and “For Signs and Seasons: A Primer on the Church Calendar.” Duane has been married to his wife Sarah since 1997, and has two adult children and two grandchildren.
Uri Brito is the Presiding Minister of the CREC, has been the senior pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, Florida since 2009. He is the editor of “The Church-Friendly Family”, and the author of “The Trinitarian Father.” He received his Bachelor’s in Pastoral Studies from Clearwater Christian College and graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary with an M.Div. He is a certified counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC). He is married to Melinda and they have five children.
Mike Ruff is associate pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Valparaiso, Florida, and is a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
Bo Cogbill (MDiv, Westminster/Redeemer Seminary, Dallas, TX, 2012; PhD, Biblical Counseling, in progress) was installed as the pastor of Reformation Covenant Church, Oregon City, Oregon in January of 2019. Bo and his wife Rachel are both ACBC-certified biblical counselors, and they have three children. Pastor Cogbill currently sits on the board of the Reformed Evangelical Seminary, the Joint Eastern European Project, and the CREC Domestic Church Planting Network.