Don't allow your ministry become an idol

An idol is simply anything that people worship.  It could be some inanimate object such as a statue or picture.  It could be something like wealth, or power, or fame, or personal appearance.  One's job or position could become an idol.  The fact is that virtually anything can become an idol if it gets between you and your relationship with God.  That even includes ministry.

How can ministry become an idol?  In the first place, if you are trusting in your theological education and ministry expertise more than you are trusting in God, your ministry has become an idol.  This past weekend I heard a seminary president tell an audience that he always tells the graduating class that they have learned a lot as they earned their degrees, but they must not trust in any of it.  A church that is doing what it is supposed to do is one that is empowered by the Holy Spirit.  As ministry leaders we need to gain all the knowledge we can and use it as we lead our churches, but we must also never forget that if God is not in what we are doing, our efforts will be in vain.  Christ is the head of the church.  The Holy Spirit is its source of power.  As ministers, we are merely agents he has assigned to lead our churches for a season.  We must do all we can, but we must also continually seek God's leadership and power to achieve what he has called us to do.

Another way ministry can become an idol is when we replace what God has said in the Scriptures with our own philosophies and beliefs.  Especially those of us who are called to preach, we must be very careful how we handle the Word of God.  If we try to substitute the teachings of man over the teachings of God, we have allowed our ministries to become idols.  We have an obligation, a duty, to handle the Scriptures accurately and not to add to or subtract from anything they may teach.

One of the most common ways ministry can become an idol is when it causes us to be so busy we simply don't have time for God.  We are so busy doing things for God that we have no time to be with God.  We may read the Bible but it is to prepare a message or lesson.  Seldom is it for our own spiritual nourishment.  When we pray it is because we have been asked to pray due to our ministry role.  Otherwise, we may seldom pray.  We forget that God called us to be something before he called us to do something.  He called us to be Christians, disciples, before he called us to do ministry.  We need to remember that our best doing will flow out of our being.  As we grow deeper in God our ministries will also go deeper.

Ministry demands much from each of us, and it is so easy to become so busy doing the Lord's work that we neglect our own relationship with God.  When that happens it is an easy step to one of these three problems.  We need to be alert and careful that we don't fall into any of these traps or our ministries can very quickly become an idol.