When I first saw Dave Harvey’s new book, Rescuing Ambition, I knew it was one I would need to grab. It’s not that I felt as though my ambitions were out of whack, as much as I was looking for a book to build a Biblical case to support my own ambition.
Thank God that it did more than that.
Harvey’s gift is helping the reader get back to the Gospel in every light. In Rescuing Ambition, he takes what church leaders, pastors, and theologians have decried and denounced and builds a case for what Biblical ambition looks like.
In short, the governing question is “Who does your goal or dream or ambition bring glory to?” If the answer to that question in any way comes back to you, then it is simply not Biblical, Godly ambition. Godly ambition always brings the glory back to Christ – in our striving, our success and/or our failure.
In fact, it is within the framework of failure that God seems to do the most work in and on our hearts, which leads us to a more Godly ambition. He presents case after case – including words of men like C.H. Spurgeon, David Brainerd, John Calvin, Elton Trueblood, etc.
These men validate my experience in church planting as the time in my life when I most longed to do something for God, but in hindsight, was really wanting to make a name for myself. The failure that God in his sovereignty allowed me to experience, shaped my theological framework and intimacy with Christ more than any other time in my life.
Have you ever dreamed that God would so something big through your life and/or ministry?
This book is for you.
Also, his book When Sinners Say, “I Do” is my required reading for couples going through premarital counseling with me. I strongly recommend it for any couple preparing for marriage, or looking for a deeper understanding of what it looks like to have your marriage shaped by the Gospel. Get it here.
