Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(Success Is . . . )

The world today is obsessed with being successful perhaps more so in the business world which is often confusing when brought into the church as a model for the church. Of course, the definition of success varies depending on the situation. In a church this idea of success usually means having a lot of people in church on Sunday morning. A church is said to be successful if it has a lot of members and not successful if it has just a few members.

It is interesting that the word success is found only eleven times in the Bible, and all are in the Old Testament. The word success is used to mean “prosper” or “have an advantage.” Still, a definition of this “prosper” or “have an advantage” varies, but it is unrelated to any outreach effort (unless you count wiping out your enemies as outreach). On the other hand, the word faithful is found seventy-eight times in the Old and New Testament and means to be trustworthy, that is, to do what is expected. As Lutheran doctrine teaches, although people spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by word and action, God is still the one who grants success and faithfulness, without which the coming to faith does not occur. “Witnesses” or “evangelists,” therefore, cannot claim success for “bringing one to faith.”

The problem with defining success in the church by looking at the outside, the numbers, is that the numbers do not look into the heart to see if one is faithfully growing in faith. And, as we just said, God never asks us to be successful; He asks us to be faithful. Being faithful shows itself in one’s desire to be in Divine Service, in Bible Class to be given the gifts of God, and to be an active, contributing member of a congregation.

While we may rejoice in the numbers in attendance, we might rather count our success in the number of those who are regular attendees, meaning every Sunday and every opportunity, as well as those who are active and respond in service using their time, talents and treasure as a reflection of the faith God has given and in their faithfulness.

16 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)