6 Signs You Identify More as an Instrument of Grace Instead of a Recipient of Grace

I am almost finished reading Paul Tripp’s book Dangerous Calling. I need to review this book within the next couple of days. But I also need to let this one soak for a little while. In the meantime I want to share with you a helpful section.

In his chapter on “Always Preparing” Tripp notes that “there is no grace that we offer to others that we don’t at once need ourselves”. He then gives a few signs that “indicate your work as an instrument of grace has caused you to forget or deny your identity as a recipient of that same grace.” Here are six:

1. The Bible has ceased being a mirror
2. Worship morphs from private quest to public duty
3. Christianity becomes a system rather than a relationship
4. Your desire to master content is not coupled with craving
5. You have more concern for the sin of others than for your own
6. The pride of knowing replaces the humility of being known

This book has proven both convicting and deeply helpful. I would recommend it to any person in ministry.

Get it today.

Mustache Coaches and Pastoral Identity

100 stinking push ups. 

That’s what one of my coaches in High School made me do because I called him Kareem Abdul (insert his last name).  Apparently, I should have called him Kareem Abdul COACH (insert his last name).  He clearly derived his identity as “coach”, even down to his early 90’s coach mustache.  So, a mouthy freshman teasing him about his less-than-stellar hook shots must have insulted his identity a little too much.  So he figured making the scrawny kid do a hundred girly looking push-ups ought to teach me to respect not only his ‘stache and his hook shots but also his identity as COACH.  Actually it made me give him another title…but that was before I was rescued by Jesus.

It occurs to me that “Coach” isn’t the only one that struggles with these identity issues.  Pastors may be worse.  That is why what Paul Tripp’s article on Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity will prove to be so helpful to many ministers.  Consider this statement:

This is part of the reason for the huge disconnect between my public ministry life and private family life. Ministry had become my identity. I didn't think of myself as a child of God, in daily need of grace, in the middle of my own sanctification, still battling with sin, still in need of the body of Christ, and called to pastoral ministry. No, I thought of myself as a pastor. That's it, bottom line. The office of pastor was more than a calling and set of God-given gifts that had been recognized by the body of Christ. Pastor defined me.

What I take from this article is that there is something deadly that can happen to my soul if I sign things Pastor Mike or Reverend Mike instead of just Mike.  This is something that I have believed for awhile; actually since hearing a kilted Mel Gibson shout, “Men don’t follow titles, they follow courrrrrrraggge”. 

The funny thing about pastoral ministry though…

Nobody is tempted to call the guy who pours your coffee at Starbucks Barista Joe when you see him in Wal-Mart.  But I’m “Pastor Mike” when I’m preaching and when I’m getting faux chicken at the Wal-Mart deli.  And contemporary pastors are not alone in this either.  There is a reason why we identify Paul as the Apostle Paul, because he signed his letters that way.  Paul wasn’t just Paul he was “sent Paul”.  Just as it seems that John the Beloved Disciple was also known simply as “The Elder”. 

Yes, there is a very real sense in which this is part of our identity. 

“Pastor” can be deadly or life-giving depending on your view of pastor.  If you mean an utterly dependent jar of clay that is only shepherding people as he himself is being shepherded, then “pastor” is a constant reminder that you aren’t your own.  But if “pastor” is a badge you wear that means “dude in charge” you’ve crossed the line from life-giving to deadly.  You’re a disciple first and a pastor later on down the line.  Your identity isn’t defined principally by your role in the mission but by the One who sent you on the mission. 

If you are anything like me your root identity often shifts from disicple to pastor to a million other things.  It’s healing, though, to remember that I won’t be wearing a name tag in heaven that says Pastor or Reverend.  It will be my new name given to me by Jesus…which by the way I’m really pulling for Aragorn.  But I can be certain it won’t be “Shepherd” because there is only one of those in heaven and He ain’t me. 

Making An Assumer of Yourself in Counseling

There are few things worse in counseling settings (read—”helping friends out”) than to assume that you really know what is going on.  After hearing a persons story and struggle it is quite easy to jump to conclusions from our own experience and our own theological assumptions. 

In his book, Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, Paul Tripp not only helps us see the problem of assumptions he also offers a few correctives that encourage us to ask the right questions. 

When you assume, you do not ask.  If you do not ask, you open yourself up to a world of invalid conclusions and misunderstandings.  You may try to be God’s instrument but miss the mark because you are putting two and two together and getting five—and you don’t even know it.  Thanks to your assumptions, the person you think you are helping may exist only in your mind. (168)

I think that danger may be especially prevalent with theology and book nerds like myself.  We can assume that just because we “know fundamental things about people in general” that we know the person we are counseling.  Yet we should not confuse this general theological knowledge with “knowing the particular individuals God has sent our way”.  Tripp is even more pointed when he says:

“…you cannot know me only by knowing what Scripture says about me.  You will know wonderfully helpful things about me as a human being, but you will not know how these truths are uniquely manifested in my life without asking.” (169)

In order to combat this temptation to assume too much we are advised to do three things:

1. Always ask people to define their terms.  (“Huge fight” to one lady might be “minor tiff” to another)

2. Always ask people to clarify what they mean with concrete, real life examples of the terms they have used.  (Give me a concrete example, step by step, of the “huge fight”)

3. Always ask people to explain why they responded as they did in the examples they have given you.  (Share your reasons, values, purposes, desires.  Ask the person to evaluate what is behind the behavior.  “Taking the camera off the scene and putting it on the person”).

If you found this helpful and you spend any time with people you would be well advised to invest a little cash in Paul Tripp’s book Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.  Not only does Tripp have the wisdom and perseverance to grow an amazing mustache he also knows a fair bit about gospel-driven counseling and relationships as well. 

You can purchase the book here.

Marriage in a Fallen World

In preparation for a marriage seminar I am co-leading, I am reading through Paul Tripp’s book on marriage: What Did You Expect?  I found this immensely helpful:

…Our marriages live in the middle of a world that does not function as God intended.  Somehow, someway, your marriage is touched every day by the brokenness of our world…there is one thing for sure: you will not escape the environment in which God has chosen you to live.  It is not an accident that you are conducting your marriage in this broken world.  It is not an accident that you have to deal with the things that you do.  None of this is fate, chance, or luck.  It is all a part of God’s redemptive plan.  Acts 17 says that he determines the exact place where you live and the exact length of your life.  He knows where you live, and he is not surprised at what you are facing.  Even though you face things that make no sense to you, there is meaning and purpose to everything you face.  (What Did You Expect? p.21)

Are You a Fool?

Paul Tripp using the Proverbs as his guide offers twelve characteristics of a foolish person.  A fool is a person who:

1. Is convinced that he is right (12:15)
2. Quickly shows his annoyance (12:16)
3. Is hotheaded and reckless (14:16)
4. Spurns discipline and correction (15:5)
5. Wastes money (17:16)
6. Delights in airing his own opinions (18:2)
7. Is quick to quarrel (20:3)
8. Scorns wisdom (23:9)
9. Is wise in his own eyes (26:5)
10. Trusts in himself (28:26)
11. Rages and scoffs, and there is no peace around him (29:9)
12. Gives full vent to his anger (29:11)

(Quoted from Paul Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, page 291)

You are in this list.  So am I.  So is your teenager, your toddler, and your grandma. 

Discipleship is the process whereby fools are transformed into the image of the Only Wise God.  Jesus helps us stop being idiots.  He also helps us to patiently (wisely) help fools be transformed by Wisdom Himself.

Why Your Heart May Not Be Satisfied

Statistically speaking, a good number of you will not read this entire quote.  And statistically you are ripping yourself off.  What Tripp identifies here is  an amazingly helpful diagnosis:

“…I am persuaded that the problem with the body of Christ is not that we are dissatisfied with what we do not have, but that we are all too satisfied with what we do have.  We are comfortable with a little bit of holiness, a little bit of ministry, a little bit of sacrifice, a little bit of wisdom, a little bit of satisfying glory that only the grace of Christ is able to give us.  I am deeply persuaded that we must resist with all of our might the kind of self-satisfied spirituality that marks the life of so many believers.  And I am further persuaded that this pseudo-spirituality is one of the cruel deceptions of a wily enemy.

What is the danger of this kind of spirituality?  It never results in truly Christ-centered, grace-driven, God-glorifying, heart-satisfying righteousness.  True righteousness only ever begins when you come to the end of yourself.  Only when God leads you to the place where you begin to abandon your own agenda and false righteousness, does true righteousness take hold.  And only then can a passion for selfless service and true worship grow in your heart.

But the battle is ever-present, and I am afraid that at the same moment we are nibbling at the table of the Lord, we are often stuffing ourselves at the buffet of the world.  No wonder our hearts are not satisfied; we are feasting on food that has no capacity to satisfy.  And no wonder we are addicted; as we feed on what cannot satisfy, we must go back again and again and again.

This is from Paul Tripp’s book Broken Down House.  I would encourage you to check out my review of this book and to buy yourself a copy. 

Seeing Life Through My Fingers

“You seem really stressed out and intense, lately”, my wife graciously pointed out to me. 

“No!  I’m not intense”, I said, rather intensely. 

It wasn’t until a few days later that grace broke through and I was able to see that for a good month or so I had been running furiously on a performance treadmill.  I was functionally denying the gospel and bowing to an idol of control and self-sufficiency.  I was doing what Paul Tripp says is like putting a hand in front of my face:

“Imagine that you have placed your hand, with fingers narrowly separated, in front of your face. When you attempt to look through your fingers, your vision is obstructed.  As long as your hand is in front of your face, no matter where you turn to look, your vision will be altered by your fingers.  So it is with an idol in my heart.  It will exercise inescapable influence over my life.  Wherever I go, whatever I am doing, the idol will influence what I do and how I do it.  This is the reason God says, “It makes no sense for me to talk about anything else, because whatever I say somehow, some way, will be used to serve the idol that rules your heart.  Therefore, I want to deal with your idolatry.  That is my priority.”  (Paul Tripp, Age of Opportunity, p30-31)

I am sure that I still have my hand in front of my face in certain areas.  I pray that the Lord exposes these idols and lays them bare.  But I know also that unless these idols are replaced with a firm fixation on Christ, I’ll settle for throwing my hand in front of my face. 

Here is something to ponder…In what way does the truth of what Tripp is suggesting shape your relationships with other people?  What role does a hand in front of the face play in our arguments with other people?

Review of Broken-Down House by Paul Tripp

Author: Paul Tripp

Pages: 224 pgs

Publisher: Shepherd Press

Price: 9.95

Genre: Christian Living

Quick Summary:

If you are familiar with Paul Tripp then you know what this book is about: sin leading to brokenness and Christ our redemption. This particular book considers the image of a broken-down house that God is rebuilding. It is about restoration and how to live while we are in the middle of this process. The subtitle “living productively in a world gone bad” is truly what this book is about.

The book is broken up into two sections, knowing and doing. The first section attempts to ground the reader in solid gospel-drenched theology. The second section attempts to apply the gospel to action. If you realize the brokenness you are living in and wonder how to bring about redemption to brokenness then this book is written for you.

What I Liked:

As always Tripp grounds everything in the gospel. He is becoming one of my favorite authors. He has the ability (which comes from experiencing grace) to tear down with the gospel and build back up with the gospel. You leave wounded and healed at the same time. Truly this is not the work of Paul Tripp but the faithful Shepherd that uses his writings for His glory. The gospel has power and Tripp stays close to the gospel in his writings. You will benefit from every chapter in this book because every chapter is soaked in the gospel.

What I Disliked:

It took me forever to read this book. Not because it is a slow read but it never seemed to connect in such a way that I felt compelled to read it except for as a devotional. I need to read it again—but it seems that it does not seem to flow together that well (but that could be my own reading of it).

Should You Buy It?

Because it took me so long to finish it I have the added advantage of knowing what stuck. One chapter in this book still sticks with me. So that’s worth the cost of the book to me (even though I got it for free). Even though the book feels more like a shotgun (small pellets scattered everywhere) than a rifle (a single pointed aim) some of the pellets are sure to stick in deep—and because they are gospel saturated even the little that does sink in will spread like wildfire and change your life. You need this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Paul Tripp on How to Effectively Minister the Word

In the past year the Lord has led me to the writings and ministry of Paul Tripp. What a blessing of transformation in my life. My latest read has been Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands. I am only on chapter 2 but so far it has been wonderful. Here is a sample. Tripp is discussing the “spiritual cut-and-paste system” of Christian ministering of the word:

“In this kind of ministry, self is still at the center, personal need is the focus, and personal happiness remains the goal. But a truly effective ministry of the Word must confront our self-focus and self-absorption at its roots, opening us up to the vastness of a God-defined, God-centered world. Unless this happens, we will use the promises, principles, and commands of the Word to serve the thing we really love: ourselves. This may be why many people read and hear God’s Word regularly while their lives remain unchanged. Only when the rain of the Word penetrates the roots of the problem does lasting change occur.”

(Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, p.24-25)

By the way that picture of Tripp....yes....the 'stache is real. How can you not listen to a man with the discipline to have a mustache like that????