Book Review: Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey

The topic of ambition has scarcely been addressed by the Christian community in the last couple of generations.  Even hinting at the fact that someone might embody just a smidge of ambition is enough to make a person question his motives in his own endeavors.  This is largely due to the preconceived notion that all ambition is selfish ambition.  Dave Harvey, in his new book, Rescuing Ambition, is out to combat that ideology with the biblical notion that there is another kind of ambition that is not selfish, but selfless...  Godly ambition.

Harvey begins by laying out the biblical foundation for ambition - the pursuit of glory.  What we pursue determines whether our ambition is godly ambition or selfish ambition.  Harvey puts it well when he says, "We will always pursue glory.  The only question is, 'Where will we find it?'  Will we love the glory that comes from God, or will we love other glories?"  Herein he shows how ambition was corrupted during the Fall of mankind in the garden of Eden and how ambition was converted by the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was converted from an inward focus on self to an outward focus on the glory of God.  Harvey again and again reminds us that all godly ambition is for the glory of God.  The rest of the book is spent unpacking that idea, the implications of it, and an admonishment to go dream big for God's glory.

The most helpful chapter for me in Rescuing Ambition was the chapter entitled, "Ambitious for the Church."  Too often I tend to disconnect godly ambition in my life from the life of my local church.  I am prone to think that being ambitious has to do with high & lofty ambitions like finding a cure for cancer or preventing sex trafficking, all the while neglecting the very specific purposes God has placed right in front of me, one of which is contributing to the building & perfection of God's church in Oswego, IL.  Harvey reminded me to be ambitious for the church for the glory of God.
"Ambition for the church compels us to join our imperfect self with other imperfect selves to form an imperfect community - all for the glory of God...  When church is not an ambition but only a place, the real ambitions of our lives inevitably crowd it out."
Readers will really appreciate three things about this book.

1. Harvey has made this book very readable & enjoyable.  He does a great job of systematically unpacking what God's word has to say about ambition without making it too complicated as well as supplementing his careful exegesis & thoughts with many stories from church history and people from his own church.  This mixture makes for a very enjoyable read.
2. Just reader his chapter on "Ambitious Failure" is worth the price of the book.  His aim in this chapter is to answer the question, "Where is God when our dreams lead to defeats?"  I'm so glad that he took a whole chapter to answer this very important question as it is directly related to our ambitions.
3. Harvey never lets the gospel come out of focus for the reader.  Our ambition is directly connected to the gospel, and Harvey will not let the reader forget that.

This book is for anyone who has ever dreamed big dreams.  And this book is for anyone who thinks dreaming is for chumps.  Get it, read it, and may we all have big ambitions for the glory of God.

Thanks to Crossway for publishing this fantastic book.  You can buy it here.