In Pastor’s meeting today we discussed this article. It nearly destroyed us. Deeply convicting. Intensely personal. Pray that we would continue to be humble and transparent. Pray that we would resist pride and sinful blindness.
Paul Tripp “The Pastor: Who Do We Think He Is Anyway?”
Let me ask you a question. What man in this room would be comfortable with me playing a public recording of everything you said in your home the last two months? I’m here because I’m a pastor and I am concerned for us. Your ministry is never shaped by your knowledge or skill. It’s always shaped by your heart.
Brothers, let’s say it: Ministry is war. That war is not fought in programs or finances. It is fought on the turf of your heart. Ministry is war and we need to be equipped and skilled soldiers so that we are not the casualties of that war.
We all know for sure that the ultimate goal of any form of ministry is the glory of God. God’s zeal is that there would be an ever-growing company of people that surrender every desire and every action to his glory. That’s the purpose of ministry. But ministry is a glory war. In ministry, there are subtle glories that compete with the glory of God. It’s very easy somewhere in ministry to have a glory shift take place somewhere in your heart and not even know it. It’s very easy to shift from a pursuit of the glory of God and his kingdom to begin to serve the glory of self and the glory of the kingdom of self.
How do you serve the kingdom of God in ministry? By doing ministry. How do you serve the kingdom of self in ministry? By doing ministry. The kingdom of self is a costume kingdom that masquerades itself as the kingdom of God.
Jesus came so that those who live would no longer live for themselves. The DNA of sin is selfishness. What sin does is turn me in on myself. Sin makes me all too focused on my wants, my comfort, my pleasure, my success. As long as sin still lives in me, the selfishness that is the DNA of sin is still within me. Pastors, admit it. That is still a struggle for you.
The entire transcript is available at Desiring God.