I like fail but I like success better

Success isn't such a buzz word anymore, not like fail is. 

I believe in failure, I learn more when it happens.  Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Why is failure such a buzz word now like success was a few years ago? Maybe it's to remind this next generation bred to be over confident, with high self esteem,  and a "we can do anything" attitude failure is an option. No need letting them feel the cold hard concrete when they go splat on their next attempt to soar.  


Of course we have been teaching them they can do just about anything, except fail.  So now, we are in a season of "failure." Blogs, leadership conferences, books, and podcast all on one thing, to fail.   What is that saying?  Are we trying to redeem all that over zealous push to win at all cost, because we all know that didn't work out so well. It just stressed us out, burned us out and all we wanted to do before suceed was quit!

Maybe it's an escape clause from all the legalism. But could it be a lure into keep on trying, you will get the hang of all the rules eventually?

So the word is out, failure is an option, failure is okay, and yep failure is necessary, but I don't have to like it as much as I like success.  I like to say at the end of a long list of failures it worked! God was merciful and He came through!! 

After we fail for the umpteenth time, do we loose sight of what success really looks like? 

In minstry this is paramount, because success isn't necessarily big numbers, even though we want to quantify everything.   How many were saved? How many were baptized? And if we don't get the numbers we say (in a pious voice) "it's not about quantity it's about quality."


 But then what is quality?  Is it someone that can fail well? Succeed gracefully? 

If were to look at some Biblical examples do we get really overwhelming pictures of success. 

Jesus, I am sure would not have been on the missions committee.  


He offended all the rich people! Jesus couldn't do the small group, He didn't have a home and He traveled a lot. His Bible studies were off the charts and His own disciples thought he talked in riddles.  Yet, He didn't just break all the rules He fulfilled them. His idea of success was considered a fail to the rest of the world. 

Paul, great missionary to the whole world, writing most of the new testament was not an easy person to work with. He even put bold Peter in his place. I wonder what the dynamics on his traveling team was like?  What about his small group meetings? Paul would talk for hours. How well do you think that would go over? Or have Paul preach a Sunday morning service? We probably wouldn't invite the guy back. One service with him would be enough,  imagine a whole week! This dude didn't care about what people thought! He didn't care about his long list of credentials, I mean successes.  


I believe the key to success and fail is counting it all loss, compared to knowing Christ. 

Should we not care what people think! Jesus only cared about what God thought and wanted.  To Jesus, success was about thinking God thoughts, speaking what God was saying, loving the way God loves, stepping where God stepped.  Succeed or fail it really didn't matter.   At the time the Cross looked like an epic fail, yet it was the truest success. What mattered was only one thing, God's thing.  God's thing was about redeeming people, for He is the Righteous One, and isn't that the right thing for God to do? 

Is our thing, God's thing?  Do we show up for a bible study baptized in our own thought or Holy Spirit thought? Do we walk in our power or Holy Spirit power? Do we care about people for His Name Sake or for ours?

What is God's thing in your ministry? leave a comment.