I just finished reading a terrific book by Dave Harvey entitled Rescuing Ambition. The main idea is that ambition has gotten a bad rap over the years. While Scripture clearly warns us against selfish ambition, there is such a thing as spiritual ambition. We are all "glory-chasers"; God has wired us this way. Says Harvey, "We will always pursue glory. The only question is, Where will we find it?" The fact is, we pursue what we value. Mankind fell into sin when he pursued his own glory ("you will be like God") instead of his Creator's. "But the good news of the gospel," Harvey declares, "is that we aren't trapped by the tragedy of misplaced glory. While our ambitious impulses led us to vain pursuits, the Lord of glory has come to rescue our ambition. He has come to redeem us and recapture us for his glory."
The remainder of the book explores at a deeper level the above themes and goes on to speak of ambition's path, contentment, failure, and a host of other related issues. One of my favorite chapters, which appeared near the end of the book, was "Ambitious for the Church." Though Dave Harvey has served for two decades as a pastor, he is not speaking primarily to pastors but to God's people as a whole. The basis for our ambition for the church is Christ's ambition for the church. He gave His life for her. He promised His disciples, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
As we live in community with God's redeemed people, we exalt Christ's purposes. We see for ourselves what Scripture clearly conveys:
Though sin once isolated us, the cross now unifies us. As citizens of a new kingdom and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19), we're not longer merely individuals concerned only with ourselves. We're now "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (1 Pet. 2:9). . . .Christ's promise introduces us to a radical, countercultural idea: the satisfaction of individual ambition is linked to our collective identity as the people of God. The individual Christian simply cannot understand his purpose, and therefore his ambition, in purely individual terms.
Did that last paragraph sink in? Perhaps you should read it again! The New Testament knows nothing of isolated Christianity. The local church occupied an essential place in the life of God's people:
- The very first believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. . . . And all who believed were together" (Acts 2:42, 44).
- Teaching and preaching were experienced publicly. Timothy, as a pastor, was commanded to devote himself "to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching" (1 Tim. 4:13).
- Believers were exhorted "to meet together . . . encouraging one another" (Heb. 10:25).
- They were repeatedly called to "serve one another" (Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet. 4:10).
Our commitment to the local church - or lack thereof - is indicative of our ambitions. In his book, Spiritual Disciplines within the Church, Donald Whitney warns us against being "spiritual hitchhikers" who want "all the benefits but no responsibility; all take and no give; no accountability, just a free ride."
Instead, why not commit yourself to the church that Jesus loves? Be faithful in attending its worship gatherings. Encourage your fellow believers. Serve others to the glory of God! Also, while doing so, beware of the "My-Church-Is-for-My-Ministry" mentality. In making this point, Dave Harvey quotes the psalmist, who testified to the Lord, "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Ps. 84:10). One guy captured the point well by saying, "What you're a part of is more important than the part you play."
That's a good principle to keep in mind, isn't it? Dave Harvey reminds us that such an attitude stirs ambition for the church and frees us to "savor the fruit that accompanies the doorkeeper's devotion: first in, last to leave."
If you are looking for a good book to read before summer's end, I would heartily recommend Rescuing Ambition. You'll be glad you read it, as will others who will benefit from your godly ambition.