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| This article originally appeared at https://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/the-standard-of-success/ |
Take a look at the most-celebrated names in broader evangelicalism, and it would be easy to conclude that numerical fruitfulness is what defines ministerial success. But both Scripture and church history remind us that steadfast faithfulness is actually the true measure of success.
Consider the prophet Jeremiah, for example, whose tireless preaching was met with little to no visible fruit. Or William Carey, at the outset of his heroic missionary career, who waited seven long years before there was any response to his evangelistic efforts.
In today’s post, I would like to consider some of the dangers that come from measuring success by the wrong standard.
Unintended Consequences
When “numerical fruitfulness” is equated with “ministry success” a number of unintended consequences may surface. Here are a few:
1. When ministry labors (Col. 1:29) fail to yield noticeable numerical fruitfulness, pastors can be tempted to abandon a biblical philosophy of ministry in favor of church growth theory.
One of the strange phenomena of this “New Calvinism” is the proliferation of churches that have tried to merge Reformed theology with a market-driven methodology. Far too many in the “young, restless, reformed movement” promote Calvinistic soteriology while at the same time maintaining an unbiblical ecclesiology. This is problematic, in large measure, because biblical oil and pragmatic vinegar simply do not mix!
John MacArthur, David Wells, and Gary Gilley have addressed this issue quite well here, here and here. As I’ve noted elsewhere, not everything that glitters is gold.
2. When the faithful proclamation of Scripture does not result in visible numerical fruitfulness, pastors can be tempted to abandon genuine expository preaching.
When numbers are made the standard of success, sound biblical exposition is often thrown overboard. In its place, ‘evangelical fluff’ is served up for the sake of popular appeal, in hopes of establishing a broader audience. It is a sad reality but many today seem to wear Hebrews 5:12–14 as a badge of honor; (they glory in their shame).
Shallow sermons, in turn, propagate the doctrinal ignorance, biblical illiteracy, and theological compromise that dominates the American evangelical landscape today. To make matters worse, gifted orators who mishandle the Scriptures are often elevated as exemplary leaders. The numerical success of their ministries is used to justify their lack of faithfulness to the Word of God.
3. When numbers, nickels, and noses are equated with “ministry success” many church planters, missionaries, and pastors, can be tempted to leave their current “unsuccessful” ministries prematurely.
Surely one of the reasons behind the proliferation of two to three-year ministry tenures comes back to this. When numeric success, rather than ministry faithfulness, is paraded (even unintentionally), it has the potential to dishearten and discourage those who do not see that visible fruit.
