Meet the man who started a ministry that became a movement
Dr. Crabb believed his story found its deepest meaning and purpose when he lived to tell God’s story.
Stumbling into purpose
Throughout his spiritual journey, Dr. Crabb consistently came back to the concept that his story is directly intertwined with God's story.
He often described his story as “sovereign stumbling”—he stumbled, and God kindly guided him. It's how he began studying psychology in college, and ultimately received his PhD in the same discipline.
During his college years, Dr. Crabb wrestled with doubt, questioning his faith. He didn’t want to simply accept Christianity because it was a family tradition— he needed to know his faith was deeply rooted in his heart.
Sovereign
stumbling
A faith-filled epiphany
After being a psychology professor for many years, Dr. Crabb went into private practice. He then discovered something he didn't expect: he transformed from a psychologist who happened to be a Christian to a Christian who happened to be a psychologist.
As a Christian counselor, he felt he had to be the expert with all the answers. But he didn't. He felt inadequate, though not uncomfortably so. Dr. Crabb began to see a new vision of counseling—one that relied on something larger than all of us.
Engaging as a fellow sojourner
Dr. Crabb saw that our culture needed something more than the misnomer that the big problems of life should only be farmed out to a pastor or professional. He felt it was time we admitted our inadequacy and dismantled the cultural lie that we have all the answers. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ, within the context of a community of faith, can change lives.
Dr. Crabb believed that the community of God’s people—the Church—is meant to be the place where the deepest healing occurs. Jesus showed us that real healing happens when we’re willing to offer profound relational engagement.
Our lives belong in God’s larger story
The next several decades could be summed up as Dr. Crabb's journey of learning to live in God’s larger story, focusing his attention on what it means for Christians to be broken yet connected to God in a way that energizes how we love.
The reality is the solution to our relational poverty is rooted in the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection to put all things right again. The life of Christ is meant to be shared, poured from one to another, in the context of relationships, first with Him, then with each other.
He wrote more than thirty books on faith, each building on the last to culminate in a rich theology that reframes psychology from a Christian perspective.
Our lives are small, human lives. But in the eyes of the One who calls us beloved, we are great—greater than the years we have. Our lives and our stories matter because they belong in God’s larger story.
The story that is being written is not just about Dr. Crabb. Or us. It is about God and His glory and the love He offers. It is about entering into something beyond ourselves. It is about a larger story.
We hope you’ll step out in faith and courage and join us in this great adventure.