Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

Small church pastors look at how other ministers preside over large, growing congregations, and then they sometimes wonder what they are doing wrong and why they cannot be more "successful." R. Kent Hughes says that we are operating with a faulty understanding of success. He says that success means being faithful to what God wants you to do, it means praying regularly, loving God and each other, caring for your family, having the right attitude, believing God in all things, etc. Hughes shares stories from his life and how he once felt discouraged enough to consider leaving the ministry, but his wife talked him out of it. She encouraged him by talking about the lives that have been changed for the better, even though the church he started was small. This is a good book for pastors to read when they are struggling,and even when they are NOT struggling.

Though written 20 years ago, this book has never been more relevant. Kent Hughes warns of the pragmatic signs of success that have infiltrated the church, but he also gives words of comfort to the pastor. The author begins by recalling a dark time in his ministry when church attendance began to dwindle and he came very close to resigning as pastor and abandoning his call to ministry. But the Lord gave him and his wife Barbara new hope as they began to open the Scriptures and discover that true success is not measured by marketing techniques and worldly standards, but by six basic principles: faithfulness, serving, loving God, believing, prayer, and holiness. These principles define true success in ministry. The second half of the book provides a number of encouragements and practical helps in ministry. It's not that we should hope our churches (or denominations) will shrink in size, but we can rest assured that if we're faithful to God's Word and let Him take care of the results, we will find true success in His eyes. If you are in any level of pastoral ministry, this book is a must.

Many pastors and church leaders find themselves evaluating their ministries by corporate standards. As a result, if the church or ministry does not meet particular benchmarks they feel the ministry is unsuccessful. Kent Hughes has been a pastor for over four decades and he writes Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome for the pastor who is feeling this pressure. The book was originally published by Tyndale House in 1987 and has now been updated and republished last month by Crossway. Hughes recounts a scene from early on his ministry where he was working on a church plant. From all accounts this was going to be a successful ministry. Hughes was blessed with a clear demonstration of pastoral gifts, a solid core group, a promising social demographic, and financial backing. However, after a short period, Hughes was on the edge of despondency and ready to leave the ministry. He goes on to articulate the depths of despair that colored these early days of ministry: "My long-established world of bright prospects and success melted around me. I was in the darkest, deepest depression of my life. My memory of this time is of a gray, horizonless sea. A faint light falls from a threatening sky and I am treading water alone, sinking. Soon, I will be below the surface. Melodramatic, to be sure! But that is how I felt. I wanted out." For someone like myself who is in the process of church planting, this book is encouraging and sobering, while being very practical. Hughes goes on to describe the way in which the Lord brought him low only to bring him back up through prayer and dependence upon the God of the Scriptures. It was through this process of praying and reading that Hughes began to learn what ministry was all about. Thankfully he is now sharing his story of God's grace in his own life. The majority of the book is made up of defining what biblical success is. The successive chapters are, Success is...faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, attitude. Hughes is deeply transparent throughout the book. His wife Barbara occasionally and helpfully pops in to add her perspective during the times of trial and growth. Her presence in the book would be helpful for pastors' wives for sure. This would be a great book to pick up for a pastor who is feeling `beat up' in ministry. It would also be a great gift for a seminary student or young man who is pursuing ministry. Either way it is a helpful and biblical reminder of what matters and what does not. And Hughes has done it for over forty years.

This book is concise, and largely biographical. It is geared toward protestant ministers, but I think it will resonate with a wider audience since the Bible calls us to such a counter-cultural view of success. Your concept of success will be enriched, confirmed and maybe even changed. This is a timeless read, and well worth rereading. You may even want to keep a loaner, as I have!

It is so easy to miss what God would consider fruitful and faithful ministry by falling prey to the worldly ways success is measured. Every pastor and Christian worker should read this book. Dr. Sandy Shoemaker