by Chadwick Brewer<\/p>\n
The fact of the matter is that Christians struggle not to be competitive in their righteousness. There is also a strange competitiveness between preachers and members concerning which preacher they have. This is not at all new. Paul tells the Philippians to do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit (Philippians 2:3) and rebukes the Corinthians for boasting about different preachers (I Corinthians 1-4).<\/p>\n
We, as ministers, tend to compare ourselves and our ministries to one another. We fall into the same trap the Corinthians did in II Corinthians 10:12, where we compare ourselves by ourselves and prove ourselves to be without understanding.<\/p>\n
Ministry is not a singular task. It is not just public speaking, teaching Bible classes, having home studies, or evangelizing. There are dozens of aspects of ministry. It may be true that I am better equipped in one or two areas than the average bear, but to boast in that which the grace of God has given is foolishness. Not to mention, there are more areas in which I will be subpar than areas in which I excel.<\/p>\n
We all share in the work. We are on the same side. We are not in competition with one another (I Corinthians 12). I am thankful for all those who spend and are spent for the sake of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Chadwick Brewer The fact of the matter is that Christians struggle not to be competitive in their righteousness. There is also a strange competitiveness between preachers and members concerning which preacher they have. This is not at all new. Paul tells the Philippians to do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit (Philippians 2:3)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1511],"class_list":["post-69061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68235,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-preachers-ministers\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":0},"title":"Are Preachers Ministers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Yes! They are not the only ministers in the church, but they minister in a certain way; they serve in teaching and edifying the church's role. They minister the gospel to the lost and the saved. That is a certain way of ministering, but the average\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40667,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/meet-the-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":1},"title":"Meet the Preacher","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Danny Dodd You may know us, but then again you may not. Preachers have a way of hiding behind the pulpit. We can easily be stereotyped. Through experience, we often learn to become very guarded and protective of our hearts and homes. Paradoxically though we often feel obligated to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52834,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-am-i-having-financial-struggles-even-though-i-serve-god-through-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":2},"title":"Why am I having financial struggles, even though I serve God through ministry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why am I having financial struggles, even after I chose God first and serve Him through ministry rather than a secular job? Answer: True preaching has never been known to pay well. While there were times Paul received enough financial support to focus completely on the preaching of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pride-and-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":3},"title":"Pride and Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Reeves There has been some discussion lately about preachers and jealousy. Brother Tommy Peeler has pointed out that preachers are not the only ones who struggle with jealousy. I knew a man one time that told a gospel preacher that he did not think that it was fair\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20581,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/professional-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":4},"title":"Professional Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. Bragwell via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2013 The trend toward developing a \"professional clergy\" among churches of Christ has been in the making for some time now. More and more, both churches and preachers, have come to view gospel preachers as professionals much like the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/preacher-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":49220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tent-making-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":69061,"position":5},"title":"Tent-Making Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor God's design is that those who dedicate their lives to preaching the gospel receive full support for that work. Paul told the church in Corinth, \"So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel\" (I Corinthians 9:14). 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