Jay E. Adams (1929–2020), a pioneer in biblical counseling, served as a pastor, church planter, denominational executive, seminary professor, author, and lecturer. He taught homiletics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and was the director of advanced studies at Westminster Seminary in California. He was the founder of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC), and the Institute for Nouthetic Studies (INS). Adams was the author of over one hundred books, including the best-selling Competent to Counsel, a book that launched the modern biblical counseling movement. He was a recipient of The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the State of South Carolina.