Dr Joe Stowell shared a previous encounter with famous evangelist, Dr Billy Graham, at a dinner function. Being assigned the seat next to this well-acclaimed minister of God, Dr Stowell was naturally tense and eager to strike some conversation. So he ended asking Billy Graham what the greatest highlight of his ministry was, given his long history of serving God. Dr Stowell didn't just stop there but extended his question by offering examples like evangelizing to heads of state, meeting royalty, etc., which he felt silly and embarrassed about when Billy Graham said this: "The highlight in my ministry, Joe, is my fellowship with Christ."
This little anecdote conveys a huge message. That in everything we do to serve Christ, it's not about us doing great things and receiving recognition and praise from people all around. It's about our fellowship with Christ. And Paul was the epitome of it all. In Philippians 3, he made a list of his bragging rights: being from the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee who possessed legalistic righteousness, etc., which all prestigious positions. However, he casted them away and considered them "rubbish" (in the original translation, it meant "dung" which was the most detestable thing). He denied his bragging rights so that he would not exalt himself, but magnify Christ. If our lives are to be all about Jesus, we need to vacate that space for him by trashing out our pride.
In that same chapter, Paul wrote in the first line to "rejoice in the Lord!". If you read deeper, however, you will realize that this simple phrase can mean "stop rejoicing (or bragging) in yourself and start living to rejoice in the Lord". Jeremiah 9:23-24 says "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom...but let him who boasts boast (instead) about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord..."
Paul went on to warn the Philippians against "those dogs". And you might be thinking who he was referring to with such a harsh and demeaning term. Paul was talking about the Judaizers--Jewish Christians who wrongly believed that it was essential for Gentiles to follow all the Old Testament Jewish laws (e.g. circumcision) to receive salvation. Paul criticized them because they thought that what they did made them believers rather than the free gift of grace through faith. They placed more emphasis on religious effort ("confidence in the flesh") rather than internal faith. We need to remember not to judge other people's spirituality by their level of human activity. These Judaizers were creating more rules and feeling good about themselves for being able to keep these rules, and they ended up feeding their own prides. So how should we approach ministry? In everything you do, examine your motives. Are you serving God with a loving heart or serving your pride by appearing especially religious? Paul didn't do everything just to escape hell. He longed to experience Christ and he did that by letting go of his bragging rights and being in fellowship with Christ through suffering.
One of the most amazing traits I admire about Paul is his graciousness and selfless attitude. In Ph 1:15-18, he wrote about his contemporaries who preached out of "selfish ambition" and "rivalry" against him. They were taking advantage of Paul's situation to make a name for themselves. Regardless of their motives, Paul rejoiced that the gospel was being preached. Many times, we lament over the fact that other churches are growing and our own is stagnant. Dr Joe Stowell shared about a church member coming up to him one day and saying this "Pastor aren't you bothered that some of our members actually went over to XX church today for the Easter service?" Apparently, a church in the same neighborhood had invited their members to bring friends to this special Easter service. Those who brought the most friends received certain rewards. And as you guessed, many of their friends were from Dr Stowell's church. XX church made their celebration a grand affair with easter egg hunting and prizes, and they had an overwhelming attendance. So what do you think Dr Joe Stowell's reply was? Would he have felt bad or angered? Well, thank God he had gotten over it by the time the church member threw him this question. He said this: "Wow, isn't it wonderful that so many people were in church listening to the message of Christ's resurrection on Easter sunday!" The church member was lost for words.
Dr Stowell also related another story of how one day a larger church moved into the vicinity of a smaller church that had been at location for donkey years. As the larger church filled up and were crowding out the neighborhood, the pastor from the smaller church went over to the larger church and talked to the pastor from the larger church. The pastor from the smaller church welcomed the other pastor and even offered the smaller church's parking lots to the larger church. He told the pastor this: "For many years, we have been praying for a revival in our neighborhood, and finally God has made it happen." Sometimes, we get all bitter and upset about huge churches growing and we belittle the work they do through criticism. But Paul was amazingly selfless and without a sense of rivalry. At the end of the day, we serve for the same God.
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