You and I—we’re not that big a deal.
And it’s okay.
In fact, it’s a really good thing.
In reviewing Zack Eswine’s Sensing Jesus, I mentioned that while not condemning “celebrity” outright, Eswine does remind us that even if our platform is greater than most, we’re still not excluded from the “daily grind” of the ordinary aspects of life and ministry.
This is an important reminder for us all. But there’s another danger that we face far too often, probably more than celebrity:
Professionalism.
I don’t mean this in the sense of being ill-equipped or unprepared. God’s given us His Word that we might be “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). The danger many of us face in any form of vocational ministry—not just those who serve as preachers and teachers—is turning our calling into something crass.
We want to be respected by the world in the wrong sort of way—admired for our gifts and talents, all the while forgetting that this, perhaps, isn’t what God has in mind. I love the way John Piper puts it in Brothers, We Are Not Professionals:
I think God has exhibited us preachers as last of all in the world. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but professionals are wise. We are weak, but professionals are strong. Professionals are held in honor, we are in disrepute. We do not try to secure a professional lifestyle, but we are ready to hunger and thirst and be ill-clad and homeless. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things (1 Cor. 4:9-13). Or have we?
Brothers, we are not professionals! We are outcasts. We are aliens and exiles in the world (1 Pet. 2:11). Our citizenship is in heaven, and we wait with eager expectation for the Lord (Phil. 3:20). You cannot professionalize the love of His appearing without killing it. And it is being killed. (p. 2)
Seeing ourselves as professional Christians is sure to destroy not only our effectiveness in ministry, but also our love for Christ. When we think we’re a big deal, we forget that it’s only by God’s grace we’re capable of doing anything… and sooner or later it begins to show.
The updated edition of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals is on sale now for seven dollars at Westminster Books. If you don’t already have a copy, I’d encourage picking one up from WTS while this sale lasts.
