Rescuing Ambition for Ministry

Do you desire to be involved in ministry? Does your passion burn for serving God? I am writing primarily to those who long for vocational ministry, but the principles apply to anyone seeking to serve God in any way.

Paul’s first epistle to Timothy gives sobering instructions concerning the proper way for a man who possesses ambition for ministry to find his desire fulfilled. In 1 Timothy 3:1 he states that if a man is “reaching for” oversight (Gk. episkopos), that is, the responsibility of leadership in the local church, then he is desiring a good thing. But what of this desire, this ambition to lead?

Ambition can be constructive or destructive, driven by pride or driven by a passion for the glory of God. In his new book, Rescuing Ambition (Crossway, 2010), Pastor Dave Harvey seeks to show that ambition is not evil in itself, but has to be redeemed, or rescued by Christ. He believes ambitions for greatness are natural because we were made to experience glory—just not our own. Comparing our inner ambition for glory to storm chasers, he says,

Maybe you don’t chase tornadoes, but we’re all born glory chasers. Glory moments stir us…We experience something totally vicarious, some strange exercise in identification. And make no mistake, it goes deep. It calls to something we value. To do something that matters. To seek something greater than our own puny existence (p. 21-22).

The temptation for those who desire ministry is to let their natural ambition for glory become selfish, turned inward. What should be fuel for the glory of God becomes selfish ambition for our own glory. Ministry becomes a means for getting praise, flattery, gifts, and ultimately worship. The root cause of this is sin.

Sin does the same thing to us that it did to Adam and Eve. It distorts the truth of God and undermines our essential dependence on him. It seduces us to crave things that deface God’s holiness and assault his glory. Ultimately, sin moves self to the center of our desires and dreams. Rather than promoting God’s order and glory, we become relentless self-promoters. It’s a condition that shrinks the soul (p. 37).

Sometimes those who desire ministry see those already in ministry, and the respect and influence that typically accompanies faithful execution of the task, and assume that the way to obtain influence and respect is to seek influence and respect. These mistaken observers, however, miss two points. First, the way to glory is not to seek glory. The way to glory is to seek humiliation and servanthood. “Humility comes before honor,” says Proverbs 15:33. “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you,” says James 4:10. Many aspiring leaders misunderstand the path to leadership. Second, those faithful leaders that have obtained influence and respect did not do so by seeking it. They, too, pursued a path of service and humility that led to influence and respect.

Selfish ambition, on the other hand, is self-glorifying, and any time glory is drawn from anything other then God, it has the opposite effect of worship—it shrinks the soul. Harvey quotes Jonathan Edwards:

The ruin that the Fall brought upon the soul of man consists very much in losing the nobler and more benevolent principles of his nature, and failing wholly under the power and government of self-love. Before, and as God created him, he was exalted and noble, and generous; but now he is debased, and ignoble, and selfish. Immediately after the fall, the mind of man shrank from its primitive greatness and expandedness, to an exceeding smallness and contractedness (Charity and Its Fruits, 226-7).

Ambition and humility are not mutually exclusive. A minister with a proper humility will also be possessed of a holy ambition. G.K. Chesterton distinguished between a proper humility, which he called “the old humility,” and a “new” false humility that dampened ambition. He appealed to a return to the old humility.

The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.

Humility, then, should harness, not hinder ambition. Harvey expounds on rescued, or redeemed, ambition.

Formerly our aspirations were the soul-shrinking agents of self-exaltation. But because of Jesus, everything has changed. Having God’s approval changes why we obey, aspire, and apply. Now aspiration fuels delight. We can pursue great things for God, and it will enhance our joy in God. We no longer live ambitious for approval, but we act ambitious because we have approval. Here’s the difference: One disillusions us, the other inspires us. One is temporary, the other permanent. One drives us, the other delights us. (p. 59)

So what should a person who desires ministry do with his ambition? He should certainly not squash it, castrate it or kill it. Rather, he should redirect that ambition to bring about the greatest glory to God possible, recognizing that this happens through humble, selfless service that strives for the ideal of William Carey’s famous maxim: “Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.”

O For a Return to a Love of Sound Doctrine

I love theology, because I love the study of God as revealed in his Word and world. Yet, I also realize that life is not about theology and we don’t worship theology. Theology is a discipline, that when kept in its proper place, and based on the right foundation, allows us to worship God in a more knowledgeable and enlivening manner. Theology is the dish upon which the glory of God is served.

So, while I understand that theology is not life, I do believe that every Christian ought to be actively studying theology for the purpose of knowing God better. As a theology professor, it is somewhat disheartening to hear the average Christian express disinterest, boredom, or indifference when it comes to the soul-enriching glorious truths of sound doctrine.

Although I don’t desire for a return to the tumultuous centuries of the early church when the doctrine of the Trinity was being hammered out amidst profound confusion, I would love to see some of the same universal interest among Christians regarding important theological matters, such as this description by a bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century:

If in this city you ask someone for change, he will discuss with you whether God the Son is begotten or unbegotten. If you ask about the quality of bread, you will receive the answer that ‘God the Father is greater, God the Son is less.’ If you suggest that a bath is desirable, you will be told that ‘there was nothing before God the Son was created.’ (Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, 99).

Obviously, confusion reigned at this time, but at least Christians were thinking and talking about important truths. How often in our diversion-saturated culture do we think and talk about everything but the most important matters?

This convicts me because I have found it easy to talk about theology in seminary, but not so easily outside. I find it easier to talk about the weather, politics, or sports than to initiate a conversation with a fellow believer about something eternal. Yet, when conversations do turn theological, I find my soul nourished by the interchange. So, let’s talk more theology and see if the glory of God is not served more often to hungry souls, including our own.

Cain’s Lost Opportunity

While I have read the account of Cain and Abel dozens of time over the years, I was recently struck by one particular truth in a new and fresh way (isn’t God’s Word wonderful that way!).  In Gen 4:5, God expresses His displeasure over Cain’s sacrifice (more likely over the condition of Cain’s heart than over the sacrifice itself), to which Cain responds with an attitude of anger and despondency.  In one of the earliest and most remarkable expressions of God’s grace in all of Scripture, the Lord warns Cain of the dire consequences of continuing on the path he is on and encourages him that it is not too late, with God’s help, to change course and please God.

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. (Gen 4:7 ESV)

Amazingly, this opportunity of turning is offered before Cain’s fateful decision to murder his brother.  Sin, like a wild animal, was crouching at Cain’s door desiring to overtake and devour him.  Yet, Cain could still master it if he would repent and turn to God.

How similar is the situation we often find ourselves in today!  Listen to the words of the Apostle Peter:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith … (1 Pet 5:8-9a ESV)

Satan, like a wild animal, is a fierce adversary.  When he is aided by the pervasive power of unchecked sin, those who fail to heed Peter’s gracious admonition are, like Cain, easy prey.  Cain failed to resist because he failed to repent and, in faith, avail himself of God’s power.

Perhaps you find yourself at an impasse in which Satan and sin are crouching at your door, seeking to devour you.  Every child of God is engaged in a fierce battle, one that must be fought through actively exercising faith in God and in His promises.  We must take heed to the Lord’s gracious admonition so that, unlike Cain, we may please Him.