About

Speaker | Author | Counselor

Helping People Develop a More Resilient Faith

John Thurman helps Christians turn adversity into strength.

A licensed mental health professional, former Army Reserve chaplain, author, and crisis response specialist, John draws on more than 70,000 clinical hours, decades of ministry, and his own experience with depression and PTS to help people develop a resilient faith for the storms of life.

How It Started

John’s journey began during a Boy Scout disaster drill at Fort Valley, Georgia, in the 1960s. As a young volunteer playing a victim, he watched trained responders turn panic and confusion into organized care.

Something clicked.

Crisis could be met with calm, skill, compassion, and hope. That early lesson would eventually shape his life’s work.

Why He Writes

After decades of counseling, ministry, and crisis response, John kept seeing the same thing: good people with sincere faith sometimes found themselves overwhelmed when life suddenly went sideways.

They didn’t need another religious cliché. They needed biblical truth they could actually use.

That’s why John writes and teaches practical, Scripture-grounded strategies to help people navigate anxiety, depression, loss, relationship struggles, and the unexpected storms of life with greater strength, wisdom, and hope.

 

Why You Can Trust These Tools

John’s approach has been shaped in counseling offices, churches, military settings, disaster zones, and some difficult chapters of his own life.

During more than five decades of ministry and counseling, he has served as an Army Reserve chaplain, worked in suicide prevention at the Mayo Clinic, supported disaster recovery efforts, and trained people to respond effectively when life gets hard.

But his work isn’t built on credentials alone. After struggling with depression and PTS himself, John had to put many of these principles into practice. Over the years, John has also written for national Christian organizations, including Focus on the Family and Inspiration.org, and is affiliated with Focus on the Family’s Christian Counselors Network.

A Practical Voice

John writes the way he counsels: conversationally, practically, and with a healthy respect for both Scripture and sound psychology.

His book Getting a Grip on Depression offers hope-filled, step-by-step help, while his upcoming Resilient Faith: Standing Strong in the Storms of Life brings together many of the principles he has spent a lifetime learning and teaching.

John also hosts the Resilient Faith Shortcast and writes regularly about faith, resilience, relationships, and navigating the unexpected turns of life.

And when he isn’t writing or teaching, he enjoys environmental portrait photography and his signature peanut butter, jelly, and Duke’s mayonnaise sandwiches.

Three Guiding Commitments

Presence. Being there for people when life hurts.

Preparation. Building strength before the storm arrives and learning how to respond when it does.

Practical Steps. Turning biblical truth into actions that restore safety, strengthen relationships, and renew hope.

John doesn’t believe in easy answers to hard problems. He offers steady, hope-filled guidance rooted in Scripture and the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5–6—helping people move forward one step at a time.

John's Mission

John’s mission is simple: to help people develop a resilient faith before, during, and after the storms of life.

Through writing, speaking, counseling, and practical resources, he equips people with biblical truth and usable tools so they can move from crisis toward confidence, strength, and hope.