Discussion Thread - Faithfulness and Success in Christian Leadership
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Jan 9, 2024
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Discussion Threads
PROMPT: When we evaluate the life of a leader, how SHOULD we decide whether or not a leader has been “successful”? It is easy to measure ministry and leadership success based on observable traits or numerical indicators. But perhaps we should first consider how we should measure vocational/ministry/leadership success. Substantiate your measurement based on Scripture and the leadership lessons/examples of those we’ve studied throughout this course. Faithfulness and Success in Christian Leadership
When I think about “success” in ministry, or really any success as a believer, I cannot help but think of the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 16:26, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (English Standard Version). As we have seen in the life of many of the “great” historical leaders that we have studied so far, it can be easy to justify slaving away in unhealthy work/family balances for the sake of ministry.
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The problem with this approach to life and ministry comes with the fact that often this puts the onus for ministry success on our personal efforts and abilities, rather than the power of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. I was once having a conversation with a lead pastor of mine a few years ago about my ministry ambitions, and I shared with him that I recognize within myself the capacity to put myself in position that my character is not yet ready for. In other words, I have the charisma and competency to manipulate and crawl my way into big, public ministry positions, but I believe that this would only lead to great personal brokenness and failure in my life, not to mention the cost it would exact on my family. Instead, I want to grow in my character to the point that God can put me in absolutely 1
Doreen Moore, Good Christians, Good Husbands? Leaving a Legacy in Marriage and Ministry
(Fearn, UK: Christian Focus Publications, 2004), 23.
any position he wants to, and find tremendous success in that. To quote Jesus again from Luke 16:10, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” When we trust our “success” to the Lord, and instead focus
on honoring him with what we have already been given, we invite God’s work more readily in our lives. It is this mindset of leadership and success that most truly mirrors that of Christ, one of
humility and servanthood. By living this way, we will not only lead our ministries in a godly way, but our families and friends as well.
Replies (3x200+): Hey Donnette, First let me thank you for your incredible encouragement and insight on my own post, it was very uplifting and thought-provoking for me! As I read your post, I was immediately struck by your reminder to be careful in our judgement of others. That is an exceptionally important reminder in a class where much of our study is centered around examining the lives and ministries of others and trying to draw insights of our own. I also agree with you that remembering to count the cost of a life with Jesus is essential for remaining faithful in the long run. I would, however, add that one great motivator for continuing on in our service of the Lord is to not only count the cost, but to count the benefit as well! There is great joy, peace, purpose, hope, and freedom to be found in a life that pursues what God says is best for us, rather than what the world says is best for us, and that is encouraging for sure. Lastly, I loved your reminder that our ministry will find the greatest success when we are leading people in the power of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. We cannot change hearts and minds, only God can do that. Great post! -
Andy -------------------------
Hey Samara, I appreciated reading through several of your takes on how to approach success when it comes to
faithfulness in Christian leadership. Most importantly, you made mention of the fact that true leadership success for any believer comes down to whether or not God sees them as successful in
their obedience to his calling on their life. It can be so easy to get caught up in earthly metrics
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about size and growth, and while those things can be helpful indicators at times, only the Lord knows what actions are being done fully for his honor and glory. While I did enjoy your example
of Billy Graham’s integrity as godly leadership success, I am curious your thoughts on his somewhat painful family life. Is a leader really honoring God to the fullest when their own family is living almost exclusively in their absence? This is a balance that I struggle with as I do my own examinations of the many historical Christian leaders that we have studied so far in this class. Regardless, I am beyond excited to one day get to walk through heaven’s doors and hopefully hear those words that we all desire to hear, “well done my good and faithful servant, and welcome home.” Great post! -
Andy -------------------------
Hey Karen, I fully agree with your initial assessment about how it can be easy to get caught up in observable traits and figures when attempting to measure ministry success, and how we must really ask what
God’s measurement for these things would be. Your examples about ministry integrity being one
of the most clear indicators of whether or not we as believers are honoring the Lord were spot on. I personally chose Billy Graham as the subject for another one of my papers in the class and found a wealth of material that was dedicated to his total commitment to integrity and honoring the Lord with his life, not even wanting the appearance of evil to hinder his ministry. That said, even with Billy Graham, I believe that there are things that we as followers of Jesus should do differently as we lead our ministries, the main one of them being making sure that we maintain a
healthy ministry work/life balance. Our first ministry is to the families that God has given us to steward well, and if we do not honor the Lord in that then I believe we will never be fully honoring the Lord in our vocational ministries either. Great post! -
Andy
Bibliography
Duesing, Jason G.
Adoniram Judson: A Bicentennial Appreciation of the Pioneer American Missionary
. Edited by Michael A. G. Haykin. Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2012.
Shaw, Mark. 10 Great Ideas from Church History: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to Shaping Your Church
. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017. Forrest, Benjamin K., Kevin L. King, and Edward E. Hindson.
Celebrating the Legacy of the Reformation
. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic, 2019.
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