Ego-centric Motivation
A lot of people go into ministry because they are on a power trip. Power can feed a person’s ego. The ministry attracts the ego-centeric person because it is very powerful. In Matt. 18:1-5 Jesus spoke against ego-centricity when the disciples asked Him who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus explained that unless they changed and became like a little child they would not enter the kingdom.
Yes. We should be concerned about ourselves. God is not against our desire for power as long as it is a desire for His power, and as long as said desire has the right motivation. It must be a motivation to serve others.
My Motivation
My entrance into Christianity was self-serving. It was a mixed bag. I was in a mess and I wanted to get out of it. I had graduated from high school. My parents had given me good guidance, and I found myself in the graduate school of life. I had created some problems for myself and I was at one of those crossroads where life could go either way. I needed to be more skilled at life and I chose God as my way to fix things.
I Chose God
I had no thought of going to Church. I had been and it wasn’t for me. I kept it between me, God and my Bible. It was more than comforting. It was exciting. I was excited but lonely so I decided to find a Church. When I went back to Church I did not find much guidance. I found a lot of people who were just as messed up as I was, and they did not seem to be on a search to fix their messes.
The mess that I needed fixing was money and relationships. More money was needed because working did not come close to fixing that problem. Relationships with people who were just as concerned about knowing God as deeply as I wanted to know Him would have been helpful. I am sure they wanted to know Him but they did not seem to have the level of concern that I had.
Help From the Saints
There were a few people in the Church who seemed to understand what I needed and they gave it to me, but they were very old and I was very young. These old people instinctively understood how hard life was for a young man and they would pull me aside after Church and encourage me while I try to figure things out. (I think we need more of that.)
It wasn’t Enough
It helped me keep the faith while I figure out how to get out of the mess. The pastoral guidance from the preaching was not enough and neither was the Sunday School, but God even used that lack in order to help me find my way. He used the lack of guidance to send me outside that Church on a search for more guidance. I took my religious growth into my own hands buying workbooks on the Bible and on personal development. I worked my way through them.
It Worked
It worked while I worked. I did not intend to separate myself from my weed-smoking friends, or my friends who seemed to be on an endless search for the next female conquest. However, this new way of existing did get me dis-invited from the next pot-smoking session. It was working. God was fixing my mess. I found no comfort in a weed or a bottle anyway. I did find comfort in God and His Word. And, I would later wake up one day and just discover that I was feeling especially good.
Be careful
I needed to be careful because the danger was that I could easily exchange one mess for another mess. Just as much danger existed inside the Church as outside the Church because the big word in the Church was “Exploitation”. There is the possibility of sexual exploitation, friendship exploitation, money exploitation, you name it, it is very real; so you want to be careful. My mess gradually began to straighten itself out but it was so painful and the progress was so slow that I did not notice that things were getting better. I just looked up one day and felt good! There access to more money. I had a few friends; a good woman; a child on the way and all I knew is that I wanted to introduce the God I found, to others and that is how I ended up in ministry.
My discovery
I discovered that God works and I had a deep desire to share with people that if He worked for me, He could work for them.
Life Step Ministries 
He really does work.
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