God’s Calling or Another’s Success: Which are you chasing?

Do you do ministry in hopes that some big name in the church world will take notice of your work and you will be glorified, or so that through the unique work of Christ in your ministry the lost will be saved and God will be glorified?

Is your ministry driven by the far-fetched hopes that some day you might receive some sort of recognition by a church world rock star, or are you satisfied in knowing that Stanley, Young Jr., Warren, McManus, Hybels, Groeschel, Noble, Piper, Driscoll, Chandler, Mahaney, Keller, etc. will never know your name? And that this doesn’t matter because your name is found in the book of life and that is all the recognition that matters.

I worry sometimes that we place these guys on such high pedestals that they become the product of our goals and ambitions. We wonder what Andy Stanley would say about our church, or about what John Piper would say about our preaching. But I really don’t think that in the end, God is going to hold a staff meeting with these guys to see how you would measure up in their eyes.

I think all the guys that I mentioned above are great guys who are making a great impact for the kingdom of God. But their impact is not your impact. Their calling is not your calling. Their ministry is not your ministry. You are specifically gifted and specifically called with a direct purpose for ministry that God has ordained upon your life. Don’t abandon that uniqueness to chase the success of others.