Recently, I was interviewed for an article by the wife of a colleague who has been doing college ministry for 15 years. In answer to a question, I said that I hope to be doing college ministry for decades.
With relief, she said,
“That’s so refreshing to hear. In 15 years of ministry, I can’t tell you how many times people in ministry have essentially asked my husband when he’s going to move on to “real” ministry or if he wants to be a “real” pastor.”
There are many jobs that people consider as stepping stones towards something bigger and better. Unfortunately, certain ministry roles, like youth ministry or college ministry, are often viewed this way.
A stepping stone is something that helps you reach something else—its significance is determined by the ends it helps achieve. Step on enough insignificant stones and you may just reach the riverbank that promises life satisfaction and a sense of self-worth.
Stepping stones in life, by definition, are not our desired destination. We step on them to reach a more fulfilling location. But this begs a convicting question as we consider this in the context of ministry roles: why is our ministry unfulfilling? If a ministry is actively fulfilling the Great Commission, what more could we desire?
For stone steppers in secular vocations, a desire for more influence, more money, and more frequent and noticeable success drives their steps. Is this any different for those that view ministry roles as stepping stones? We can answer that question by answering another; is it ever right to consider ministry roles as stepping stones? As always, we answer these questions, and all questions, with the Word of God.
Biblical Evidence for Stepping Stone Ministries
“Show me that in the Bible” is an often-unsatisfied request these days. Scripture serves as our defense against the many “lay-prosecutors” who put our ministry, beliefs, and conduct on trial.
Paul
To those who consider any ministry as a stepping stone, I would call Paul to the witness stand and ask his opinion. His response would likely be the following,
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me (Col. 1:28-29 ESV).
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58 NASB).
Paul didn’t walk on stepping stones in ministry; he walked in the footsteps of the Holy Spirit, a path where he fulfilled his mission as a minister of the gospel in every place, with every person, to the extent of his energy, at all times.
Paul’s vocational destination was to be an apostle to the Gentiles, but that didn’t stop him from visiting Jewish synagogues when first entering a city. Paul had a mission to the Gentiles, but he also had a commission – to make disciples of all nations. He urged believers to be steadfast and immovable in all work of the Lord. If we are actively serving in a ministry, can we claim to be immovable if we have the desire to move onto something bigger and better?
James, John, and the Corinthians
We would call the “sons of thunder” to the witness stand as we did with Paul, but unfortunately, James and John would both be put on trial in this case. Recorded in Mark 10:35-45, the brothers seem to be considering their earthly ministry as a stepping stone to seats at the right and left of the throne of glory. Jesus’s answer in verse 40, and Matthew 20:23, explain that the Lord sovereignly appoints the positions of His people in His Kingdom. The same applies to positions in ministry today.
Paul had a similar incident with the prideful Corinthains who were envious of believers who exercised prestigious and seemingly more spiritual giftings. His response to them in 1 Corinthians 12 was similar to Christ’s response to His disciples. Paul explains that giftings are sovereignly appointed by the Lord, and that each one is vital to Christ’s Church. In his rebuke, Paul humbled the envious who sought prestigious and showy giftings and uplifted the lowly who may have felt insignificant. The same applies to ministries today.
Our application from these passages is that the Lord sovereignly appoints His people to ministries and positions in the church. Ambition and merit have nothing to do with the Lord’s sovereign will. Learning from this, we can understand why considering a ministry as a stepping stone towards something bigger and better is unbiblical, and those guilty of this would find themselves alongside the rebuked Corinthains and the selfish “sons of thunder.”
"Ambition and merit have nothing to do with the Lord's sovereign will." -Austin Pfrimmer #collegiatedisciplemaker College Minister, Your Students Aren’t Stepping Stones Click To TweetIf Ministries are Stepping Stones, People are Stones that are Stepped on
How do we define ministry? If we asked the Greeks, they would tell us that ministry, or diakoneo and douleuo, means, “to be a servant or slave.” Jesus declared himself a servant in Luke 22:27, serving the will of the Father as stated in John 5:30.
Ministry is service to others in the name of Jesus, for His gospel, in assured anticipation of the consummation of His Kingdom. Put simply, our job in ministry is people. If we consider any ministry as a stepping stone, we are stepping on the people that were brought to us to be served. Stepping stones are used to achieve something further. If you use ministry to achieve something further, you use the people in your ministry to achieve it.
Considering a ministry as a stepping stone will poison your discipleship. One of the most important attitudes my wife and I display to our BSU students is that we are on campus for them and have dedicated our lives to the ministry that is for them. If my wife and I didn’t have this attitude, our students wouldn’t feel bad for missing Bible study; they wouldn’t be surprised when we didn’t reach out to support them; they wouldn’t expect us to be devoted to their discipleship.
“Considering a ministry as a stepping stone will poison your discipleship.”
Austin Pfrimmer
If you consider your ministry to be a stepping stone towards something bigger and better—say, church planting or senior pastoring—your people will know, and your people will suffer in more ways than spiritual.
If your ministry is just a stepping stone towards a more prominent ministry position, your motivation will be your resume. You’ll be concerned with showing measurable growth in the number of people you attract. You’ll be prone to make important changes, not because they’re right but because they make the ministry look more impressive. Your reputation with potential application references will be more important to you than your relationship with your people. The ministry and your people will become a tool you use and manipulate to best display your hireability.
“The Mind of a Person Plans His way, but the Lord Directs His Stepping Stones”
To answer the pressing question, yes, the Lord uses temporary experiences to prepare us for further ministries and ministry positions. Most people in ministry can point to past experiences and positions they held that specifically prepared them for their current ministry. Some of these past experiences were unfruitful or complete catastrophes that only served as a learning experience for the minister. Others were fruitful and good; the Lord simply said it was time to move on. Personally, I have yet to leave a ministry that didn’t feel mostly like a learning experience for me.
We acknowledge that the Lord does in fact use certain ministries and positions specifically as stepping stones for us, but my challenge is simple: how do you know when He’s doing that—and what if you’re wrong?
Proverbs 16:9 indicates to us that we are usually wrong when considering the direction of our lives.
The mind of a person plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9 NASB).
Taking this biblical truth into account, a terrifying possibility presents itself. What if we consider a ministry as a stepping stone, treat that ministry like a stepping stone, and come to find out that it was the very ministry the Lord had been preparing us for and called us to? The mere possibility should make every minister tremble, and we should feel motivated to avoid it. Paul’s apostolic command in Col. 3:23 gives each of us a simple way to avoid such a possibility,
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men (Col. 3:23 NASB).
The Lord directs our steps, and the Lord directs our stepping stones. It’s impossible for us to truly know if our current ministry is our ultimate calling, a learning experience, or simply meant to fill a line on our resume. The conclusion that we have drawn is that considering a ministry as stepping stone, and thus, treating a ministry as a stepping stone, creates terrifying problems and possibilities for us as servants of the sovereign Lord’s will. Our solution then is to never consider a ministry or position as a stepping stone, and instead, with all our effort, work heartily and esteem highly every ministry as though it were our ultimate calling—because no matter what ministry we are doing, we are serving the Lord.
