With Instruments In A The Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp seeks to help flawed believers fulfill their God-given role of becoming tools of change in the lives of other flawed believers. Tripp received a Master of Divinity from, what is now, Philadelphia Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is currently president of Paul Tripp Ministries whose stated mission is, "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." He also serves as Executive Director of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a pastor, a teacher, a sought-after speaker and a prolific author. His writings and lectures consistently display an intense personal conviction that Scripture is foundation of Christian living and ministry. His other books include What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry, and Sex and Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies. All of these develop his theme of Christ-centered Biblical Counseling through various emphases. He presents his arguments as an experienced theologian and counselor with an appreciation of the difficulties of exhortation and encouragement toward life-change even in the context of the church.
Summary
Tripp opens his book by declaring that the book is about, “How God uses people, who are themselves in need of change, as instruments of the same kind of change in others.” He states, “This book’s goal … is to help change the very culture of the church” (preface xi). Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands is presented in two parts. In chapters 1-6 Tripp goes to great lengths ...
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...e expects to read this book and be able to immediately apply it, he is a better retainer of knowledge than I am. The second half of the book, especially functions better as a handbook. It is something a counselor would keep handy and refer to on many occasions, particularly at the beginning of a counseling ministry. There are instances, in part two on application, when the reader wishes for more of a fleshing out of some of his sample applications, I would like to have been able to follow the story of Sharon and Ed, for instance, more thoroughly as a case study.
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp is a thought-provoking and motivating book. I would not hesitate to recommend this book for pastoral ministry, as well as to those called to counsel and to all Christians who wish to respond to God’s purpose for Christian community.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Wilson, Barbara S., Arlene Flancher, and Susan T. Erdey. The Episcopal Handbook. New York, NY: Morehouse Pub., 2008. Print.
As a Christian counselor, we have the power of the Word on our sides, but so many of us do not understand how to properly apply scripture into the counseling relationship in an effective manner. In Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy, Garzon (2005) attempts to accomplish the following; educate individuals on the various techniques one can use to apply scripture, and to encourage and stimulate God ordained creativity in the hopes to create new techniques and methods for applying God’s Word in the counseling relationship.
In the Pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks, Lindsay underwent many of the relatable choices and struggles high school students endure every day. During this episode, Lindsay was in a rough spot due to the death of her grandmother, and as a result she changed her normal decisions. This includes everything from what she wore to school to the types of people she associated herself with. Though many changes were occurring, one thing remains: her desire to appear unchanged by her parents. I enjoyed the intro to Freaks and Geeks because the conflicts were engaging, and the introduction was easy to follow.
In African American Pastoral Care: Revised Edition, Dr. Wimberly spoke about responding to God’s unfolding and continually changing times when dealing with healing and reconciliation. In this revision of his classic book, Dr. Wimberly updated his message by examining current issues in African American pastoral care, counseling, and outreach ministry in the community. Dr. Wimberly reminded us that we need to do more for our members and proposed new pastoral care approaches to the crisis of disconnection. Using his own narrative, he explained and described how pastors and church leaders can claim a new narrative method for reestablishing the African American village. His paradigm for African American pastoral theology is inspiring African Americans.
Gary Collins, a Christian counselor, helps individuals to comprehend their full potential using a God-centered way of coaching. He believes that, through coaching, an individual builds up a vision for their life and a desire for a good future. The book aids coaches to acquire skills that they require to help others, to emerge winners during difficult and challenging moments in their life. The book is also designed to develop Christian coaches’ in questioning, listening and responding. These can help Christian coaches to assess themselves and build up a strategy for their work. Collins rewrote the second edition in order to simplify his coaching methods. The second publication develops his practical skills as a new head in the world that is changing quickly, which includes how to use diverse situations, insights based on the Bible and customized forms among others.
Sometimes individuals consider becoming counselors after overcoming some major life challenge such as addiction or a history of bad relationships. Perhaps an individual has encountered a particularly effective counselor or therapist and has a desire to follow in those footsteps. Others may have had a bad experience with counseling and concluded that it can be done better. People do not think of this work so much as a job, or even as a career. More typically, a constellation of life experiences that demand explanation and a sense that others seek one out for assistance and emotional sustenance become driving forces leading one toward the counseling profession” (An invitation to). .
The goal of this book review on Engaging God’s World written by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. is to examine his ideas on redemption, vocation in the Kingdom of God, and to explore his thoughts on Christian education as described in the book’s epilogue. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. discusses several key notes regarding redemption, such as salvation. Vocation in the Kingdom of God is another subject he touches on in relation to the way God works within His Kingdom connecting us to the ‘King of Kings’ as his ambassadors on earth. Lastly, Plantinga explains his view on how Christian education is important to sustain ourselves, earth now, and the New Earth.
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th Edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
1) Corey, Gerald Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 6th edition, Brooks and Cole, Stamford, CT p. 153.
History does not lack examples of the persecution and what could be considered a mass genocide of the people who are labeled as outcasts in our society. People are often fearful of being considered weird or to be seen as outside of society’s norms. However, there are also people who would die before having to shape themselves according to what society expects them to be. Every Pride parade shows us the resilience of people who are seen as outcasts in our society, people who, regardless of that label, are still proud to be who they really are. However, there are people who are incapable of coming out no matter what their wishes might be, people who live out their entire lives pretending to be someone they’re not. Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home”
Biblical Counseling is making a strong impact in today's churches and community. Counseling is seen as one of the most productive ways of helping a
“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant” says the Roman poet Horace. Basically what he is saying is that facing hardships can play a role in developing one’s character. Although the process of adversity might not be pleasurable in the moment, I believe that whenever one experiences adversity, it will always leave them better off than before.
Outcast is a poem written by Claude McKay that was written to let people know how hard it was to be an African American in the great western world. Claude McKay was a Jamaican- American writer and poet that came to recognition during the Harlem Renaissance for his literary works against the racism that had still existed in America at that time. Outcast is a short poem that speaks to others about what life was like and how hard it was to fit in if you were an African American in a group of whites. This poem tells that he feels trapped in his adopted country and just wants to go back home to the place where he actually felt like he was wanted and cared about.