It was the Fall of 1985, and I knew that we would soon be starting a non-denominational church in my home town of Dodge Center. Growing up, the only thing we didn’t do in Dodge Center was attend school, as our residence was in the West Concord School District. I’m very glad I went to WCHS as that is where I found my wife, Melanie Wheeler, and many other people and things that impacted my life. But I knew that our church plant would be in Dodge Center. I remember the Fall Day well as I was sitting in my office and I had one of those experiences described in Psalm 27:8 (NLT) — My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” Inwardly I sensed the Lord was encouraging me to spend some focused time with him. So, I left my office and went for a walk in the park.
A beautiful Fall Day, leaves fallen off the trees, I am walking down a pathway in the park. The question arises in me, “Lord, how will I know if I am successful as a Pastor?” Obviously, this question was coming from the desire and plan to start a church and make a transition from full-time farming into full-time ministry, and I wanted it to count for something real and significant.
I continued my question with what I understood was NOT the real measure of success. “I know that success is not measured by numbers of people in your church, or by how much money you have…those are natural measures that people sometimes use to determine if you are successful or not. But as far as having a spiritual impact on people’s lives and having an impact in our community, how will I know if I am successful?”
As I continued to walk down this pathway in the park, my attention was drawn to a huge bird’s nest up in the tree. It was very visible as the leaves were all gone off the tree. And I sensed the Lord was replying to my question with another question for me to consider. “How is a bird successful?” I thought about that for a while with various responses as to how I knew you would not measure the success of a bird, as in nest building, or bug eating, etc. But then it’s like a light bulb went off in my head with the realization that a bird is successful in reproducing itself in offspring.
At that point I sensed the Lord was saying to me, “That is how you will be successful as a Pastor, in reproducing yourself in others.” And then even more specifically, “Reproducing the Christlikeness that is in you, in others.” I could go on and on about how that word from the Lord has sustained me these many years with ebbs and flows with numbers of people in our church and with opportunities to compare ourselves with other churches around us, which the scriptures say is without understanding (2 Corinthians 10:12).
My focus, rather than on numbers and finances, has been on who am I mentoring? What am I teaching? Is I possible for people to become more Christlike because of what I am doing? And when I am done here, will there be someone else ready to take over? Have I reproduced the likeness of Christ in me, in others? My only goal in life is that when this life is done and I stand before my Father in Heaven, is to the hear the words, “Well done.”
