Years ago, I had this conversation with a minister. I was sharing my spiritual ambition—my desire to help people, to be of service—and just kind of opening up about how I felt about ministry.

He responded to me with a knowing, mildly annoyed tone.

Yeah, when I first got into ministry, I felt the same way. I thought it was all about helping people, too. But the reality is… mostly it's a lot more practical than that.