If you’re on this website, at the very least it means that something is going on in your soul. And that “something” could be a growing passion to pursue vocational pastoral ministry or lay eldership in the local church, or be sent to a cross-cultural ministry in an international setting.
Maybe you want to preach, maybe you want to shepherd, maybe the mission field makes the mouth of your soul water. Whatever it is, the risen and glorified Christ is doing something in your soul. To be sure, as men thinking about ministry, we struggle with impure motives, don’t we? We wrestle with our ambitions to lead and preach and we wonder if this growing desire and ambition is a good thing. Certainly our motives can be mixed and contaminated, but the Apostle Paul tells us that a condition for pursuing ministry is that you have these desires and ambitions!
You see, Aspiring Men takes its name from 1 Timothy 3:1, where Paul unpacks for Timothy who and what an elder/pastor is to be and do. In that verse he says: “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
Did you catch that? “Aspires” and “desires.” Isn’t this what you have — aspirations and desires to serve Christ in the context of the local church? Sure, you might have some mixed motives, but these desires and aspirations are a good thing, even required. The term “aspire” here (ὀρέγεται) literally means “to stretch out after.” It has the idea of something being stretched to its limits. The term “desires” (ἐπιθυμεῖ) is a strong internal passion (sometimes translated as “lust” in other contexts). Bottom line, there is a good, right, and healthy ambition for ministry that cannot be contained or denied. It is this internal, passionate desire that is the starting place in determining if a man is called to spiritual leadership ministry in the church.
And so, what is Aspiring Men exactly? We encourage you to explore this site and find out. But before you do, we leave you with one thought to ponder: Ministry is war, and it might cost you everything. You have been warned ... but don’t forget the joy.
The Aspiring Men Leadership Team,
Dave Belch, Dan Jarms, Jared Millican
Dr. Dan Jarms is teaching pastor and team leader at Faith Bible Church in Spokane Washington, as well as associate dean at The Master's Seminary in Spokane. He has been married for over 30 years to Linda, and has three adult children. He earned his B.A. in English at the Master’s College, B.Ed. at Eastern Washington University, M.Div and D.Min in Expository Preaching at The Master’s Seminary. His other interests include NCAA basketball, woodworking, and art.
Send Email View Resources by Dan Jarms
Dave and his wife Lois served on the mission field for 42 years in Venezuela and Tenerife, Spain. They are now retired, but can't help themselves from preaching the gospel everywhere they go.
View Resources by Dave BelchFrom Aspiring Men
God has surprising plans. Anyone who has been around Faith Bible Church for a while knows that we are a training and sending church. Joyful surprises come when new men and families rise up to be trained within the church. Then there i...
