Dave Harvey

Dave Harvey is Director of Church Planting and Church Care with Sovereign Grace Ministries and the author of Rescuing Ambition (Crossway Books, 2010).
 

May

27

2010

Dave Harvey|5:00 AM CT

Can I be Humbly Ambitious?
Can I be Humbly Ambitious? avatar

[Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series of posts by Dave Harvey. Please see part 1 and part 2.]

Christians are flammable. God created us to burn. Not like a match—bright and hot but quickly extinguished—but long and strong. That’s why God created ambition. Ambitions are like a flamethrower. God ignites them, he points them in the right direction, and eternal work gets done. God’s work in God’s way for God’s glory. Why burn for anything else?

Paul shows us what the flame of godly ambition can do through a person. At the end of his letter to the Romans Paul says that he has “fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:19). Now I can’t even say I have fulfilled my diet goals today. But Paul? Ministry of the gospel among a pretty serious chunk...

 
 
 
 

May

26

2010

Dave Harvey|9:48 AM CT

Can Ambition be too Humble?
Can Ambition be too Humble? avatar

[Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series by Dave Harvey. Please see part 1 here.]

In talking about humility and ambition, think spiritual crime scene. Ambition starts out as a business partner with humility, but doesn’t want to share control. An argument ensues. Ambition gets carried away, whacks humility and the next thing you know humility is a chalk line on the sidewalk. Ambition becomes a partner of one.

But here’s a plot twist. Is there ever a time when ambition is the victim of humility? I think there is, and I think it requires some serious investigation.

In Philippians 2, Christ’s humility is displayed in his action. “He made himself nothing,” “He took the form of a servant,” “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient.” To “have this mind among yourselves” is to follow an example of action, intention and initiative....

 
 
 
 

May

25

2010

Dave Harvey|9:23 AM CT

Can Ambition Be Truly Humble?
Can Ambition Be Truly Humble? avatar

It was the elephant in the room. One just can’t write a book on ambition without facing the hulking presence of humility. In the historical stare-down, humility always won. Why not just campaign for greed? … or theft? But what I discovered in studying scripture and the experience of people pursuing ambition—some historic, some quietly heroic—really grabbed me. Here’s a snapshot: The greatest ambitions are realized on the path of humility. In this short series of posts, I want to explore the goal of ambition found on the path of humility. But first, a little history lesson.

Salmon Chase is a name that likely means little to you unless you’re an avid Civil War reader, which pretty much eliminates me. He served as the Treasury Secretary in President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet. Salmon Chase had a nasty job. He had to find money for...