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Many define success as "the accomplishment of a goal or purpose;" it is a good or bad outcome of an undertaking. Success is the result of meeting marks set by yourself or others. How does the Bible articulate marks of a successful Christian?
As a former contractor, I measured success by a well-built home, a happy homeowner, and hitting my profit margins. What does success look like for the football coach? He recruits great players, develops them, and wins his ball games. A litigation attorney cannot succeed without eloquent and informed hearings; he better win trials. What about success for a fisherman? Well, you've got to get fish in the boat! A successful project manager equips a team to perform duties to complete the project in the budget and time allotted. He then measures marks to assure goals were met and affirms his team accordingly. For the Coca-Cola Company, success looks like getting sugar water in as many mouths as possible. Well, you get the picture! Success is the result of meeting measurable goals.
The bar for success varies based on one's heart. Take, for instance, a successful Washington politician. How well can he get elected, look good, and say the right things while taking your money? Similarly, if you polled 1,000 Christians, you would get 100,000 opinions on what makes a successful Christian. Barna Research Group conducted a survey asking American churches what they measure for success: (1) Budget, (2) Size of staff team, (3) Square footage of buildings, (4) Quantity of members, (5) Salvations & Baptisms squeaked into the top five. There is nothing wrong with measuring these; as a matter of fact, a church should measure all five. The problem with these is Jesus' number one measurement for success does not make the church's top five.
Additionally, George Barna said that 76% of the church does not even know what discipleship is. I believe the problem begins with the fact that "we get what we measure." A failure to measure discipleship results in a failure to make disciples. Jesus said that discipleship is the measurement of a successful Christian: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19). In his book Replicate, which I believe is the most complete and comprehensive work for success in a modern-day discipleship group, Robby Gallaty defines discipleship in this way: "Disciple-making is intentionally entering into someone's life to help them know and follow Jesus (evangelism) and teach them to obey His commands (discipleship)." Jesus' plan is for you to be invested in and to, in turn, be investing in others." Yes, you!
Gallaty also points to Jesus' declarative statement to His Father: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do" (John 17:4). God gave Him a task—that task was not just to die on the cross. Notice that Jesus told the Father that He accomplished the work He was sent for, prior to dying on the cross. In this prayer, Jesus never mentions miracles, multitudes, or programs. Rather, forty times He prays for His disciples. The task the Father sent Him to complete was to invest in twelve men."
I meet weekly with my discipleship group and do life on life. Why? Because I want to be successful! I need to be challenged, admonished, have accountability, and be encouraged. Don't settle for a mundane walk with Jesus; join a discipleship group and find true success. Francis Chan said, "Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." Who is discipling you, and who are you discipling? Please stop and pray about your answer. Who would Jesus have you disciple? Call your pastor and ask him to help you begin. A successful Christian is a disciple-maker.
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