Welcome to the Paul Tripp podcast, where pastor and bestselling author Dr. Paul David Tripp

connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.

In this week's connecting clip of the week, we'll hear a snippet from Paul's conversation with

Brett Rail, executive director of Christ's

Bible Institute in Japan. In this clip, Brett explains the biggest obstacle to gospel ministry in Japan

and how it's quite different from what we might expect. To hear the full episode, check out the

Paul Tripp podcast episode 371. Here's Paul and Brett on this week's connecting clip of the week.

So in the Japanese mind, the typical way of a person in Japan thinking, their worldview,

what obstacles are to the gospel in that culture?

You could argue in America, the huge obstacle to the gospel is just that rampant individualism,

you know, the self-made person.

So it's rampant collectivism.

It's the exact opposite.

And so if you want to talk about like heart idolatry or whatnot, I mean, one of the

biggest hard idolatries in Japan is just being Japanese, which means conforming better

than anyone else.

And those things together are, I did this like taxonomy with one of our seminary

students who's went to church plant. And we were kind of just, I was coaching him, we were kind

of processing together. And we landed on this like, do everything the same but better, be the same

better. And so it's this weird feeling of like trying to get ahead without like really getting ahead.

In Japan, you know, one of the first things, you've been there with this, one of the first things that people notice is how clean the streets are.

And these cities, you know, there's almost no trash anywhere. It's just beautiful cities in terms of that.

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