There are, I suspect, many good and possible answers to that question but when I think of these current times here in the secular West, I return again and again to one Verse in Philippians. I admit that at first glance that doesn’t narrow it down very much. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is full of wonderful, stirring stuff to get the blood of any Church planter flowing hot. After all who, when asked to consider mission for the cause of Christ, is not stirred by these verses?

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:7-14 (NIV)

Any one of those verses would be a worthy contender with the call to know Christ, to sacrifice, to press on, to even suffer, to win the prize. Come on! But hold on consider chapter 4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:4-13

Rejoice, pray, guard your heart & mind, knowing the secret of contentment and doing it all in the strength of Christ. Alright then.

But the verse I consider the most searching, the most penetrating, the most challenging is not in either of those chapters, as wonderful as they are. No, the verse I am constantly brought back to is in chapter 2 and not the wonderful hymn to Christ or ‘shining as lights in the world’ either but verse 3.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

I’ve wondered how many churches, church plants, ministries, books, albums, blogs (!), conferences, would disappear if God did a Thanos, clicked his fingers and decreed that everything done out of selfish ambition or vain conceit was to disappear.

What would happen to our industrial celebrity complex if we could with a wave of the magic wand get rid of everything that was launched out of selfish ambition? At a stroke most of Europe’s cathedrals would be gone for starters built as many were for the glory of an earthly not heavenly King. Mega church after mega church, gone. But then so would plenty of small churches that were set up to satisfy the ego of the leader who wasn’t given his due in his previous church. One person ministry after one person ministry gone. Social media accounts would vanish in a puff of bluster. But would my church survive, would my conference, would my ministry? Now that’s a tougher question.

It’s such a searching question because how can I know if my ambition is a godly one or a selfish one? How would I recognise my own vanity and conceit?

Of course my ambition was purely for the kingdom of Jesus. My goals purely for His fame, my hopes merely the natural outworking of God’s call. Of course we’ll succeed but we’ll succeed humbly. We’ll make it big, we’ll have influence but like every lottery winner ever, the wins won’t change us.

In a moment where the Western evangelical church is grappling with the issue of power and its abuses, with celebrity and platform (which is both constantly complained about and desperately sought after) the root that we may need to dig out is ‘selfish ambition’ and the accompanying ‘vainglory’.

But genuine humility is hard to fake, and the truth is we need more leaders willing to sit at the far end of the table ¹ instead of in the green room.

____________________________________________________________

1. Luke 14:7-14

The post What is the One verse every church planter must reckon with? appeared first on The Simple Pastor.