Success In Ministry

In one of my first classes at seminary, the professor teaching the class began the semester by asking us two very probing and convicting questions: (1) "How should we measure success in ministry;" and (2) "How does God measure success in ministry?" Because the class was comprised mostly of anxious and insecure, first-year seminarians, no hands went up. After a few pregnant moments of silence, the professor threw out a few commonly held answers to the first question - answers that no one in our class wanted to share publicly, but had, at one time or another, most likely embraced and pursued personally.

"Ultimate success in ministry, for too many pastors, is measured by increasing church membership numbers, growing budget dollars, excellent ministry programming, and widespread notoriety and influence in the larger Christian community," he said. "Unfortunately," he continued, "I think it is possible to achieve all of these things and still fall short of God's standard for successful ministry; which, I believe, He measures by two standards: consistent faithfulness in ministering under the authority of Scripture and ongoing obedience in following the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit."

That day in class, God used my professor to help me begin to understand the reality that large crowds can be gathered and big budgets can be assembled in a way that draws the attention and praise of men, but fails to honor and please the heart of God. Successful Kingdom ministry is best gauged by faithfulness and obedience to Christ.

Last week, during a mentor-team meeting at Denver Seminary, I was blessed with an opportunity to spend an hour with one of the most faithful and obedient servants of Jesus I have ever met - Dr. Vernon Grounds. For more than fifty years, Dr. Grounds has served faithfully and obediently (in several leadership roles) in equipping leaders at Denver Seminary. Now in his nineties, Dr. Grounds continues to serve the seminary community as Chancellor - meeting often with current students, alumni, faculty, and ministry leaders from around the world. By God's grace, through the outworking of the Holy Spirit, Dr. Grounds has been blessed with the rare combination of a profoundly brilliant mind and a deeply compassionate heart. I pray that Dr. Grounds' legacy of holistic, Gospel-centered, faithful and obedient ministry will continue to shape Denver Seminary many years after he hears Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

After the mentor-team meeting ended, on my way out of Dr. Grounds' office, my friend Betsy, who is Dr. Grounds administrative assistant, handed me a piece of paper with a short poem printed on it. As she handed me the paper, she whispered, "I am pretty sure Dr. Grounds wrote this." Here are the words to the poem, which is anonymously authored in V.R Edman's book, Disciplines of Life:

When God wants to skill a man,
and drill a man,
and thrill a man;
when God wants to mold a man
to play the noblest part;
when He yearns with all His heart
to create so great and bold a man
that all the world will be amazed,
watch His methods - watch His ways -
how He ruthlessly perfects
whom He royally elects;
how He hammers him
and hurts him
and with mighty blows converts him
into trial shapes of clay which only God understands.

When man's tortured heart is bleeding
and he lifts beseeching hands,
how God bends,
but never breaks,
when His good he undertakes;
how He uses those He chooses
and by every purpose fuses him,
by every act induces him
to try His splendour out.

God knows what He is about.

Indeed, God does know what He is about - molding us, shaping us, and leading us into greater faithfulness and more radical obedience to Him in mission and ministry.