As Christians in ministry, we are not exempt from the temptation to compare our ministry to others. We may ask ourselves, “Does my ministry look as vibrant and growing as his ministry?” We may wonder, “Do I have as many followers or converts under my belt as he does?” Well, if there were ever a person we could compare ourselves to, it would be John the Baptist. Do you know what Jesus’ commentary on John the Baptist’s ministry was? In Matthew 11:11 Jesus said of John, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” Wow! What did John do to make himself so great in the Lord’s eyes? Well, Jesus went on to say in Matthew 11:11, “notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” What made John great was his . . . well, his lack of greatness in his own eyes. John didn’t set out to build a great ministry. He simply set out to minister. We can and should compare our ministry to John’s ministry because John understood the principle that Jesus shared in Matthew 11. We can make sure our ministry looks like John’s ministry if it is marked by three main characteristics.
First, your ministry is not your own. Like many of us face today, John had comparison shoved in his face. In fact, John’s own disciples compared John’s ministry to another’s. Do you know whose ministry that was? It was Jesus’ ministry! In John 3:25, John’s disciples seem to be concerned that John’s ministry will soon be outshined by Jesus’ rising ministry when they say, “Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.” In case you have felt badly because of a comparison someone has made between your ministry and another’s, imagine having your ministry compared to that of Jesus Christ Himself! That’s exactly what John’s disciples were doing. Well, John was not flustered by the comparison. Instead, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). John reminded his disciples that “his ministry” wasn’t really his ministry to begin with. It had been chosen for him and entrusted to him. John continued, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him” (John 3:28). Previous to this, the religious leaders of that day had given John opportunity to grab credit and grow his ministry’s popularity (John 1:19-23). Yet John never lost perspective of his stewardship. John was not in competition with Jesus’ ministry! John was paving the way for Jesus’ ministry.
Likewise, when we remember that our ministry is really God’s ministry entrusted to us, it makes comparison melt into irrelevance. When we realize that anything good that we are or that we have is from God in the first place, we will be humbled and empowered to do what He has called us to do. We won’t have to waste time grabbing credit for ourselves on the one hand or feeling sorry for ourselves on the other. Recognizing God’s ownership of “our” ministry gives us the liberty to be more effective in that ministry.
Second, your ministry is not about you. When comparison was shoved in John’s face, it would have been easy for him to make his ministry about himself. Comparison breeds self-focus. Was he baptizing as many people as Jesus was? Was he preaching to crowds as large as Jesus was? Was his style as interesting, engaging, or captivating as Jesus’ style? It would have been easy for him to make his ministry’s success a matter of personal identity and worth. However, John helped his disciples shift the focus from him and back onto Christ when he replied, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.“ Just like the wedding day is all about the bridegroom, not the “best man,” so John’s ministry was all about Jesus. John was just the “best man” of Jesus’ ministry. He was there to promote Jesus, not himself. Just as the best man of a wedding finds joy and fulfillment in drawing attention to the bridegroom, so John found joy and fulfillment in drawing attention to Jesus. John recognized that “He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (John 1:8). As a result of this perspective, John didn’t measure his worth by the success of his ministry. Instead, John could truly say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John was satisfied as long as Jesus was being promoted.
In the same way, when we understand that our ministry is about making Jesus’ name greater, our own notoriety ceases to worry or weary us. The moment we make our ministry about us, our identity, worth, and success become inextricably tied to that ministry’s seeming success or failure. In contrast, when our ministry isn’t about us at all, we are free to simply promote the name of Jesus and allow Him to grow the ministry as He wills.
Third, your ministry has one purpose. While it is not wrong to have many programs or goals for your ministry, those programs and goals should never overshadow your ministry’s ultimate purpose. They should simply support and serve that purpose. What was John’s vision for his ministry? Did he have monthly or annual goals for his ministry? How many people did he preach to, regions did he cover, or converts did he baptize in total? We don’t know. We do know the end of John’s story. Humanly speaking, some may have considered his ministry a failure. After all, he was eventually imprisoned and killed! Yet Jesus called him the greatest man ever born! In the Lord’s eyes, John’s ministry was a success because it fulfilled the purpose for which it was established—to pave the way for the gospel. As John said to his disciples in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” That was the one purpose of John’s ministry. John’s ministry prepared hearts and minds to see that “true Light” (John 1:9), and we are still reaping the benefits of that ministry today. In a sense, John paved the way for you and me to hear and accept the gospel because God used him to build the platform for Jesus’ ministry.
Like John, when we make the one purpose of our ministry—not numbers, programs, or popularity—but paving the way for Jesus in hearts and minds, we will see success. We may not see the results of every gospel seed we plant or water, but we can know that we are in the good company of John the Baptist. If we keep in focus our one purpose—proclaiming the gospel—then all the secondary things will fall into place.
The reason we can compare our ministry to John’s ministry is that, when we look at John’s ministry, we don’t see John at all. We see Jesus every time! So, what does your ministry look like? Does it look like someone else’s ministry that you admire? Does it look like a certain denomination or style of “Christian” that you think will gain popularity? Does it look like you? Or does it look like Jesus? That is how our ministry should look to other people. It shouldn’t look like thousands of numbers, bursting memberships, bustling programs, flashy fashions, or dynamic personalities. It should look like Jesus.