Handling Success, Handling Failure

In my Christian ministry, I have failed many times as well. Sometimes I was too fearful or shy, sometimes too pushy, sometimes simply a poor communicator. When I fail academically, fortunately, it has had few repercussions. When I have failed spiritually, my only recourse is to throw myself upon the mercy and grace of God and ask Him to redeem even my failures.

Now as a retired professor, serving as an affiliate staff of Faculty Commons, I am engaged in ministry to professors all the time. And, frankly, that can be discouraging at times too. But whereas my academic failures were clear, ministry ineffectiveness is a bit less distinct. 

As I considered success and failure in this challenging mission field of academia, I recalled a slogan from the Campus Crusade “I Found It” campaign back in 1976. Cru defined successful witnessing as:

Sharing Christ,

In the power of the Holy Spirit, and

Leaving the results to God.

For professors working on the college campus, that definition can be targeted to our campus as:

 Consistently taking the initiative to represent Christ on campus,

 Using the gifts and opportunities God has given, 

 In the power of the Holy Spirit, 

 Helping move all closer to Christ, and

 Leaving the results to God.

If you are a parent, you know that our control over other humans is limited. Our control over other people’s spirits is likewise extremely limited. And, from being a faculty member for most of my adult life, I know my ability to control other faculty is extremely limited.

So, colleagues, our real spiritual failures are when we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and when we trust in our own efforts to cause people to change.

Let us pray for wisdom, let us pray for the Holy Spirit to change hearts, minds, and lives of those we meet on campus.