Paul Tripp and the Pastor’s “Dangerous Calling” (Part 2)

Paul David Tripp’s “Dangerous Calling” Seminar was an excellent example of what a parachurch speaking ministry ought to be.  In my last post I commented on two of Tripp’s perspectives on the temptations of pastoral ministry today.  Here are some more thoughts about his presentation:

3. Dr Tripp’s third perspective was a reminder that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, “everything else is body.”

He spoke about the dangers of confusing our personal kingdom with God’s kingdom.  This temptation may loom larger in popular, successful ministries, but I am not immune from mistaking my predispositions for God’s purpose for me.  Furthermore, we must be watchful of other well meaning friends.  “There are people who love you and who have a wonderful plan for your life.”  

Paul Tripp and the Pastor’s “Dangerous Calling” (Part 1)

Last week a small group of us from church attended a seminar by Paul David Tripp on the “Dangerous Calling” of the Christian ministry.

Those who know me know that I can be a skeptical old dog when it comes to these seminar speakers.  “Good technique/little real substance” has been my reaction on more than one occasion.  But I am glad to report that Dr Tripp exceeded my expectations with his materials, his theological acumen (and concern), and his ability to talk for 5 hours with only a lunch-break to give his constitution a rest.

Let me give you a precis of the seminar:

Tripp made a number of salient points (8-11 depending on how you reckoned them).  Each were brought home with good illustrations from life – usually the speaker’s), and preceded by a solid and authoritative exposition of a passage of Scripture.

Review of “Wonderful Counselor: A Return to Truth”

Wonderful Counselor: A Return to Truth, by Ab Abercrombie and Kerry L. Skinner

I think this is one of the very best introductions to Biblical Counseling one can buy.

This book by two experienced biblical counselors seeks to provide believers with a reliable guide dealing with life’s problems.  In ten chapters the authors skillfully explain the rudiments of a Christ-centered approach to counseling.

The first chapter, “Foundations for Biblical Counseling” lays down a solid theological underpinning for the method which follows.  To begin with a definition of biblical counseling is given which focuses attention on the will of God and divine assistance for individuals (13), instead of how one professional can help a counselee.  There is much in this chapter to commend, including its examination of the faulty methodology of secular models of therapy (17-19, 21-24), and the identification and ‘ownership’ of personal sin and worldly ways of thinking (28, 30, 32-36).

Finding the Will of God – Pt. 2

Last time we saw that it is unwise to put out fleeces a la Gideon and expect to get any direction from the exercise. This is because a. Gideon had a vast army to go up against, and, b. because we are to walk by faith, not by sight. So let us pursue this question of the specific will of God further.

2. How Then Can I Know What God Wants Me To Do?

In his helpful book Decision Making and the Will of God, Garry Friesen puts forth what he calls “the Wisdom View” (p. 199). Friesen defines his view thus (I have clarified some of his wording and added some thoughts of my own):

a. The revealed commands and principles of God’s Word (i.e. God’s ethical code), are to be obeyed. Thus, where we know what God requires of us (e.g. the Beatitudes, the Armor of God, The Ten Commandments minus the Jewish Sabbath, etc.) we should be striving to please Him. This is the burden of passages like 1 Thess. 4:1f. or Rom. 6:11.

b. In those areas where the Scriptures give no specific command or principle, and it is not a question or morality per se, the believer is free to responsibly choose his or her course of action – provided they do not violate God’s ethical requirements as set forth especially in the New Testament (e.g. Eph. 4:1-5:21). All decisions must be faith-decisions, since “whatever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23).

Finding the Will of God – Pt. 1

It is a commonly held belief among Christians that one of the most perplexing problems we experience is knowing what the will of God is for our lives. The reason for this is not hard to find. For one thing, we are most sensitive to this question in times of stress, when the stakes are high and our emotions are perturbed. We want a clear path to appear in front of us – we want to know what our heavenly Father would have us do.  In these situations we turn to God and pray for guidance.  But frequently we discover that the help does not come to us when and how we think it should, and we begin to wonder if there is some secret key to the will of God which we need to discover.

1. The Problem with Fleeces

Everyone is familiar with what Gideon did when he wanted absolute assurance that he was not deluded, but that the Lord truly had told him to take on the Midianites – he laid a fleece out, not once but twice (Judg. 6:36-40).

So we say to ourselves, well, if God honored Gideon’s prayer for guidance and God answered him, He may honor my request – after all, we say to ourselves, we just want to do the right thing in God’s sight. So we spread before God our fleeces, metaphorically speaking. For example, we pray,

“Father, if I am meant to go into business with this guy then let such and such happen.”

Or,

“Lord, if it is your will for me to meet the women who will be my wife then let her come and talk to me at church tonight (P.S. and let her friend who despises me be home sick or something).” We may even cite Gen. 24:12-14 to help our case!

But there are several things wrong about this procedure: