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A review by joshmillernj
Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Paul David Tripp
5.0
In the introduction, the author states that there are many reasons a book is penned. Some are explanatory, others are encouraging, still others instructive, and then some are exegetical. However, he stated that this book is a diagnostic book. He then went on to write "It is written to help you take an honest look at yourself in the heart-and-life-exposing mirror of the Word of God - to see things that are wrong and need correcting and to help place yourself once again under the healing and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Wow! The author was dead on - this book diagnosed many things about me that needed a spotlight. I am often challenged, inspired, encouraged, and sometimes convicted by the books I read. However, this book shone a spotlight on many areas of my life and on many areas both in seminary and the pastorate/ministry that need to be addressed in a high percentage of churches and pastors today.
If I were to include the areas that I underlined, marked, or starred for emphasis in this review, one would have much more than a Cliff's Notes version of the book!
Broken into three parts, the first part of the book examines Pastoral Culture. I liken Tripp to a skilled surgeon in this section as he pinpoints with laser-like accuracy the culture that many of our (at least here in the US) seminaries, churches, and pastors operate in on a day-to-day basis. An interesting tidbit about this section is that he chronicles his own life as he was careening towards destruction in the ministry and life he was leading while not even realizing it. His transparency and candor was quite refreshing in a day and age of hearing about the success stories of so many pastors/ministries that dot the land.
Part two is titled "The Danger of Losing Your Awe - Forgetting Who God Is." Over and over again, the author reiterates the need for the pastor to be captured by the same grace that he is teaching/preaching to his members to be captured by. He hammers on the insidious nature of pride and its proliferation in most pastor's lives (I agree because I know this battle in my own life) and ministries. But he does it in a way not to make you feel guilty, but to encourage the pastor to confess their sin of pride and to run to the same healing grace of Jesus Christ that we would direct our church members to.
Part three is titled "The Danger of Arrival - Forgetting Who You Are." Oh, the many, many dangers of thinking that one has arrived...especially one who is in full-time ministry! Tripp masterfully describes how easy it is to arrive in the position of thinking one has arrived in the ministry without even realizing it.
A major theme that runs throughout this book is one that continues to pop-up in books I have read as of late - that of the danger of ministering in isolation. Tripp cautions to the many dangers of those who allow no one to question them concerning their weaknesses, ministry, or personal life. The word "intrusive" was one that the author uses often to describe the community that a pastor/staff member ought to surround himself with. Oh, how many heartaches (for both churches & ministers) could be avoided if we were humble enough to follow this advice!
This is a must-read for anyone in the ministry or anyone who loves their church/pastor enough to understand some of the pitfalls that are often hard to detect.
Wow! The author was dead on - this book diagnosed many things about me that needed a spotlight. I am often challenged, inspired, encouraged, and sometimes convicted by the books I read. However, this book shone a spotlight on many areas of my life and on many areas both in seminary and the pastorate/ministry that need to be addressed in a high percentage of churches and pastors today.
If I were to include the areas that I underlined, marked, or starred for emphasis in this review, one would have much more than a Cliff's Notes version of the book!
Broken into three parts, the first part of the book examines Pastoral Culture. I liken Tripp to a skilled surgeon in this section as he pinpoints with laser-like accuracy the culture that many of our (at least here in the US) seminaries, churches, and pastors operate in on a day-to-day basis. An interesting tidbit about this section is that he chronicles his own life as he was careening towards destruction in the ministry and life he was leading while not even realizing it. His transparency and candor was quite refreshing in a day and age of hearing about the success stories of so many pastors/ministries that dot the land.
Part two is titled "The Danger of Losing Your Awe - Forgetting Who God Is." Over and over again, the author reiterates the need for the pastor to be captured by the same grace that he is teaching/preaching to his members to be captured by. He hammers on the insidious nature of pride and its proliferation in most pastor's lives (I agree because I know this battle in my own life) and ministries. But he does it in a way not to make you feel guilty, but to encourage the pastor to confess their sin of pride and to run to the same healing grace of Jesus Christ that we would direct our church members to.
Part three is titled "The Danger of Arrival - Forgetting Who You Are." Oh, the many, many dangers of thinking that one has arrived...especially one who is in full-time ministry! Tripp masterfully describes how easy it is to arrive in the position of thinking one has arrived in the ministry without even realizing it.
A major theme that runs throughout this book is one that continues to pop-up in books I have read as of late - that of the danger of ministering in isolation. Tripp cautions to the many dangers of those who allow no one to question them concerning their weaknesses, ministry, or personal life. The word "intrusive" was one that the author uses often to describe the community that a pastor/staff member ought to surround himself with. Oh, how many heartaches (for both churches & ministers) could be avoided if we were humble enough to follow this advice!
This is a must-read for anyone in the ministry or anyone who loves their church/pastor enough to understand some of the pitfalls that are often hard to detect.