Learning to Lovewell: W4 - THU
Our Metrics for Success
Galatians 5:22-23, NLT 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Recently, I was at a conference with high school Bible teachers, chaplains, youth pastors and summer camp directors. Though the focus of the conference was on discipleship, some of the seminars focused on the metrics they would use to measure success. What success? you ask. Well, in a school setting, a setting I was a part of for 18 years, you’re asking whether or not you are helping your students grow both spiritually and with an understanding of the unique call and beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist tradition.
Obviously, the spiritual growth aspect of success is very subjective. At the end of one of my presentations, I was asked what I use for metrics at my church to gauge whether or not people are growing spiritually.
I said that in the church world, we talk about all kinds of metrics like attendance, baptism, membership. And yes, those are good for certain things, but honestly, the metric I think is most powerful is whether or not people are growing in the fruit of the spirit. Are the people we are serving, teaching, and discipline becoming more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, and so on?
This is very hard to measure on the daily, but when you do see it, you know; it’s undeniable.
A few months ago, I was talking to a couple in my congregation after worship. They were explaining to me that they had recently been a part of a conversation where the other party in the conversation was criticizing Crosswalk. Though I don’t know exactly what the criticism was, it’s often along the lines of us not being a “real church,” or that “Crosswalk is just that lovey dovey church.” This couple started to get defensive, then told me they suddenly stopped. Then, they asked each other, “How do we respond in this moment, in a way that reflects Jesus.” My heart leapt and my eyes began to water. This couple opened themselves up, in a very tense moment, to what the Spirit wanted to do through them. That, my friends, is fruit!
Then there’s the person who started coming back to church after over a decade away. Their past was full of church hurt and trauma, and though they wanted to get involved and plugged in, their heart was understandably fragile. Over time, I got to watch as God brought healing into their lives. Now, they are serving with joy and so excited to be a part of God’s work and community. That is fruit!
I often say, my job isn’t to fix anyone, it’s to repeatedly introduce them to Jesus and let Jesus go to work in their heart. Then, the only metric I get as to whether or not that is happening is the fruit of the Spirit. It doesn’t mean they’ll overcome all their struggles with sins, but fruit is proof that they are letting God work in their life.
We will know we are being relevant in living out the ways of Jesus, by the fruit, ours and those around us. So let us be good farmers for Christ, planting seeds, caring for the soil, and making sure people have access to the water of life.
Galatians 5:22-23, NLT 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Recently, I was at a conference with high school Bible teachers, chaplains, youth pastors and summer camp directors. Though the focus of the conference was on discipleship, some of the seminars focused on the metrics they would use to measure success. What success? you ask. Well, in a school setting, a setting I was a part of for 18 years, you’re asking whether or not you are helping your students grow both spiritually and with an understanding of the unique call and beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist tradition.
Obviously, the spiritual growth aspect of success is very subjective. At the end of one of my presentations, I was asked what I use for metrics at my church to gauge whether or not people are growing spiritually.
I said that in the church world, we talk about all kinds of metrics like attendance, baptism, membership. And yes, those are good for certain things, but honestly, the metric I think is most powerful is whether or not people are growing in the fruit of the spirit. Are the people we are serving, teaching, and discipline becoming more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, and so on?
This is very hard to measure on the daily, but when you do see it, you know; it’s undeniable.
A few months ago, I was talking to a couple in my congregation after worship. They were explaining to me that they had recently been a part of a conversation where the other party in the conversation was criticizing Crosswalk. Though I don’t know exactly what the criticism was, it’s often along the lines of us not being a “real church,” or that “Crosswalk is just that lovey dovey church.” This couple started to get defensive, then told me they suddenly stopped. Then, they asked each other, “How do we respond in this moment, in a way that reflects Jesus.” My heart leapt and my eyes began to water. This couple opened themselves up, in a very tense moment, to what the Spirit wanted to do through them. That, my friends, is fruit!
Then there’s the person who started coming back to church after over a decade away. Their past was full of church hurt and trauma, and though they wanted to get involved and plugged in, their heart was understandably fragile. Over time, I got to watch as God brought healing into their lives. Now, they are serving with joy and so excited to be a part of God’s work and community. That is fruit!
I often say, my job isn’t to fix anyone, it’s to repeatedly introduce them to Jesus and let Jesus go to work in their heart. Then, the only metric I get as to whether or not that is happening is the fruit of the Spirit. It doesn’t mean they’ll overcome all their struggles with sins, but fruit is proof that they are letting God work in their life.
We will know we are being relevant in living out the ways of Jesus, by the fruit, ours and those around us. So let us be good farmers for Christ, planting seeds, caring for the soil, and making sure people have access to the water of life.
- Is there a fruit you are seeking after in your life right now, or one you have seen growth in as of late?
- Where and in what ways do you see God at work in the world around you? How can you tell it’s God at work?
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