Falwell: Measurements of Success in Ministry Are Messed Up
Interesting article about Jonathan Falwell who has organized the Refuel conference for ministers. There’s a few things he says that I think are noteworthy. Snippets from the article:
The well-known pastor stated bluntly, “Something is wrong in ministry.”
Part of the problem, he indicated, is trying to make it to the big numbers and most influential lists or aiming for the most Twitter followers.
“I believe that we have self-imposed measurements of success that are skewed, that are wrong,” said Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church – which is notably one of the largest churches in the country.
“The measurements of success are all messed up,” he said.
While there is nothing wrong with the “Top 25″ or “Top 100″ largest churches or most influential lists, trying to make it to those lists has forced many pastors to focus on the masses rather than “the one.”
“Stop focusing on the ‘big ministry’ and the ‘big outreach,” he urged, noting that ministers place too much pressure on themselves. “Start focusing on one person, one hurting person, who’s lost, … who’s desperate to hear the Gospel.”
Falwell has been leading Thomas Road Baptist Church since 2007, after his father, Jerry Falwell, passed. He admits that his congregation is large and he can easily hand over duties of ministering to individuals, such as those in the hospital, to other pastors in the church.
But he reminded pastors on Tuesday, “We have a responsibility to minister to the one.”
And when pastors are faithful in focusing on one person at a time, Falwell believes God will then fill their churches with lots of “ones.”
So he encouraged them, “Don’t make it about the lists, the fame, … the respect. Make it about the one.”
OK; I get what he’s saying and am feeling his vibe. But his conclusion about “making it about the one…” just seems a bit… cheesy. I, for one, don’t think it’s just about “the one.” That smells of individualism to me. So while I think he’s got his finger on a legitimate problem for us in pastoral vocation, that is to say, he’s diagnosed the problem well, I don’t think his cure is very good – at least as it is presented in this article.
There are others who’ve diagnosed the identical problem and have presented far better cures. I think of Eugene Peterson’s Under the Unpredictable Plant: Lessons in Vocational Holiness; and Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus. And also Andrew Purves’ Pastoral Theology, although this last one is somewhat off-topic. But I’ve put Peterson and Nouwen back on my bedside nightstand. I need to hear these voices again, and also hearken to the advice given me personally by Darrell Johnson at Regent: “Wayne; influence belongs to the Lord.”
And as for Falwell; he’s definitely right about one thing. All this business of accruing Twitter followers and media popularity is bullshit.
Good call.
Going after numbers by any means is wrong. I do believe that concentrating on the needs of one will affect the outlook of many. It may, by Falwell, be too simply put but I don’t think he is ignoring the masses for the one, but with faithful focus on the one or the few who you can reach, and praying for and to your best ability assigning pastoral staff to the needs of the many, God will then fill their churches with lots of “ones.” In this way, the masses will be shepherded. No pastor can meet the needs of the 1,000 or 25,000 individuals, but their hearts and resources can.
I love the hospital visits, whether to the one or the six from different facilities, or the nursing home visits room visits that might take a major part of your day. For me at least, and I have no congregation, but if I did, it would take me back to the needs of the one, or the few who I could reach. Not having read the whole article, in the simplicity of what was written, I agree with Falwell, and with Johnson, “Influence belongs to the Lord.”