Redefining the Idea of Success

ReLeaders, rebuilding, and how to catch the eyes of God

Whose eye are you trying to catch? The eyes of man, or the eyes of God?

That’s the question every ReLeader must ask themselves.

In my very first post, I mentioned the Old Testament leaders Zerubbabel and Jeshua, who took on the task of rebuilding the Temple. They were ReLeaders. The arrived to fix what someone else tore down.

As they began to rebuild, it became obvious that the “rebuild” was going to look nothing like the first build:

Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!”—Haggai 2:3

How could it? They didn’t have the resources Solomon had when the original Temple was first built.

Comparisons to the Original

When Solomon constructed that Temple, it was one of the greatest structures ever built. 2 Chronicles 2 and 1 Kings 5 give us the details. This build had:

• 3,600 supervisors

• 70,000 enlisted laborers

• 80,000 men to quarry stone from the hill country

In 1 Kings 6, we read about the extensive blueprints and the materials used for construction. And get this: They overlayed the entire inside with solid gold!

I’ve seen rappers with gold “grillz” and the Black Keys sang about “Gold on the Ceiling,” but overlaying the entire inside with gold? Wow!

In 1 Kings 7 we read that the Temple even had gold hinges and in 2 Chronicles 3 it says they used gold nails—that’s a whole other level! And each gold nail weighed 20 ounces. Today each of those nails would be worth over $30,000. And we can only guess how many nails they used.

In fact, there is quite a bit of speculation as to the cost of building the Temple. Most estimate the cost of construction to be somewhere between $100 and $300 million in today’s currency. God asked if anyone remembered the former splendor of the Temple and I think we can all agree it was unbelievably spectacular.

As ReLeaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshua knew what they rebuilt would never be as good as the original.

(I know what you’re thinking: Thanks, Jon, for the encouragement.)

Don’t worry. I’m not done yet. Haggai 2:9 is a mind-blowing passage every ReLeader needs to absorb. Pertaining to the rebuilding of the Temple, The Lord declares this:

“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty.”—Haggai 2:9

Yes, in the eyes of humans, the “next thing” may not seem as magnificent or glorious, but in the eyes of God, its greater!

Pastoral Success: Not What You Think

So, let me circle back to the question every ReLeader must ask themselves: “Whose eye are you trying to catch? The eyes of man, or the eyes of God?”

I am a pastor, so let me talk “pastoring” for a minute. In God’s eyes, the role of a pastor as a shepherd to their flock has never changed. But in man’s eyes, the culture’s definition of a “successful pastor” has changed dramatically over the years.

• Today’s pastors take a car to the hospital instead of a horse.

• Today’s pastors keep notes in Evernote or Google Docs instead of a notepad.

• Today’s pastors preach from an iPad instead of paper notes.

Yes, the “how” of pastoring can change. It will always change because our society changes. But the “what” never changes. We spread hope, we love people, we preach the Gospel, we serve in the role of shepherd to the flock we have been given.

Over the past few decades, one of the big changes I’ve seen is a shift in the mindset of what success looks like for a pastor.

The Megachurch Mindset

In the late 1990s and early 2000s we saw the mega-church burst on the scene. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church having 2,000 or more people in average weekend attendance. I currently pastor what would be deemed a megachurch, so I’m certainly not bashing them. In fact, the first church in the book of Acts was a megachurch (see Acts 2:41, in which “about three thousand were added to their number that day”).

However, with the arrival of the megachurch model, the size and visibility of these large churches changed a central element of pastoring: Pastors became known.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Moses was known. Elijah was pretty high-profile. Peter was visible. Paul had a lot of influence. But this elevation of pastors’ images and personalities across America brought a shift in the mindset of many pastors. The measuring stick for success began to be tied more to the size of the church than the significance of the church.

Pastoral success became measured more by the number of campuses launched than the number of disciples launched. Success somehow got tied to the number of conferences at which you were invited to speak.

For centuries, pastors were shepherds. They were men and women who served a flock (without the temptation to compare flocks). To put it in the words of Jack Hayford, “Pastors should be more focused on growing big people than big churches.”

Yet somewhere along the way—without most even realizing it—the definition of a “successful pastor” changed and shepherds became showmen. Young and upcoming pastors began to believe the lie that if your church isn’t massive, you’re failing.

Why are we talking about this? Because as Releaders, we are not fixed on fame and fortune, but on faithfulness to our call. Remember the question every ReLeader must ask themselves? “Whose eye am I trying to catch, the eyes of man, or the eyes of God?”

What impresses men does not impress God. You are not a showman. You are a shepherd. And shepherds should smell like sheep.

That should force us to redefine success.

Not Success But Surrender

God is far more moved by your surrender than your success. We are called to sit in hospital rooms, not green rooms. You are NEVER more of a pastor than when you sit on the side of a bed in a hospital room, holding hands with a family while their loved one slips into heaven.

I’ve been in my share of green rooms, but I fight to limit my time in them. Instead, I try to prioritize spending more time out with the people God has called me to shepherd. Fight to keep the smell of sheep on you.

ReLeaders are faithful men and women who do what they do because they are not trying to catch the eyes of men, but the eyes of God.