Jay Edward Adams (January 30, 1929 – November 14, 2020) was an American Presbyterian preacher and author who was known for his development in the mid and late 20th century of counseling based on Biblical scriptures.

[1] After decades in practice, Adams wrote Competent to Counsel (1970), which was highly influential for biblical pastoral theology.

[3] Over time, Adams became a popular advocate of "strictly biblical approaches" to counseling, described as having perspectives that have continued to influence evangelical Christianity in the early 21st century.

"[6] According to Ian F. Jones, Tim Clinton, and George Ohlschlager, "Jay Adams brought a biblical revolution to Christian and pastoral counseling in the 1970s, challenging a field that was racing toward rancor, even dissolution by its fascination with all manner of anti-Christian psycho-babble.

"[3] Mark McMinn has said, however, that "Dr. Adams has received a great deal of unfair, uninformed criticism from the Christian counseling community.