From July 13–16, 2018, CBI hosted a conference in Tokyo and Nagoya featuring American pastor, counselor, and author, Paul Tripp. The conference was held to celebrate the launch of CBI’s Joy of Japan Center for Church Planting and Development.
The conference talks were based on two of Paul Tripp’s books: Dangerous Calling and Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.
In Dangerous Calling, Tripp recounts how his early years as a pastor were marked by anger, pride, and a growing “disconnect between the public pastoral persona and the private man.” Upon realizing that this experience was not unique, he wrote this book to help others diagnose these issues in their own lives. He addresses topics such as the separation of the pastor’s head from his heart, the separation of the pastor from his community, and how ministry becomes motivated by fear when we lose our awe of God.
In the preface to Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Tripp says that “this book’s goal is not just that people’s lives would be changed as they give help and receive it. The goal is to help change the church’s very nature.” Throughout the book, Tripp argues that God didn’t intend to place our sanctification only in the hands of trained professionals, but instead designed the church as a body with various parts that each minister to one another and thereby help one another grow in holiness.