September Newsletter

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What is Your Definition of Success?

By Dr. Robby Partain

At the end of the journey, how will you know if you were successful as a ministry leader? How will you know if you are a success in your present ministry? What does “success” mean for you?

A lot hangs on the answer to that question. It will eventually affect your self-esteem, your happiness, your relationships with the Lord and others, your stress level, and your health. Choose wisely, because whatever you make your model of success will eventually make you.

Here are some possible ways to define success.

1) I am a success if people are happy with my decisions. The problem with this definition is that it turns you into a people-pleaser. Instead of doing what is right or responsible, you will do what people want. You will give others the power to determine whether or not you are a success. Is that a power you want to give to people in your church?

2) I am a success if my numbers are increasing. This is the old nickel-and-noses approach. If your church budget and attendance are growing, then you are a success. Of course nickels and noses have some importance, but they are affected by lots of things that are outside of your control.

3) I am a success if my numbers are good compared to so-and-so. This is a less-exacting variation on the nickels-and-noses theme. Your nickels and noses may not be increasing, but if you have more than “Church X” then you are successful. You can always find some church that makes yours look good. On the other hand, aren’t there also plenty that will make yours look bad?

4) I am a success if I feel good about how things are going. So now your mood is in charge of deciding if you are a success? Maybe things ARE as big a mess as you feel they are, but then again maybe you should not have had extra jalapenos on your pizza last night. Feelings and moods are fickle. Are you going to let them have the final word on your work?

All of the above definitions of success are faulty, yet we are tempted by them. Does one of them sound like you? (Personally, my sinful flesh tends toward number one.) We need to expose these temptations for what they are – ploys by Satan to fill us with pride or discouragement and to rob us of peace and joy in our calling. We need to reject these faulty definitions of success and replace them with a better one.

I want to propose a better definition of success for those called to the work of ministry leadership. Here goes: I am a success if I carry out my call with integrity and faithfulness. In other words, whatever God has given you to do, do it to the best of your ability and with Christ-likeness and continue at it until God gives you another assignment or calls you home. I believe this is the biblical definition of success in ministry based on Paul’s words to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 1:6-7, 2:14-16, 3:12-4:8).

The beauty of this definition is that it means success is about what you do, not what other people do. It will give you strength to resist people-pleasing and playing the comparison game. It will give you an objective way to evaluate your ministry beyond the feelings of the moment. It does not mean things will always go well or that you won’t make mistakes, but it will give you the strength to recover from difficulties. And one day you will be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). That is true success.