What is a successful church? That’s hard to quantify isn’t it. If we were to poll a hundred Christians about their church, if it is a success or not, what kind of things would they look at? What measurements? What statistics? What characteristics?

The first thing they would mention is attendance. “Yes, our church is successful because we have a lot of people. Our building is full.” Or maybe, “No, we aren’t quite successful. We haven’t grown in a while.”

But is that a good idea of success? Just getting people through the door?

Maybe they would say its successful because the services are really good, the musicians are really talented, the preaching is really dynamic. “That’s a successful church! Because I really like it.”

But is that a good idea of success? Your personal enjoyment?

We’ve been looking at what it means to be a real success in life. It seems to me that Jesus would look at my life and call me “successful” when I am down here being the best husband I can be, an active loving and present father, and a pastor who deeply loves his church. Jesus modeled that for me. And he modeled it for you!

Success – true success – is not measured in statistics but in servanthood. Is it any different for a church?

When you talk to people about your church, I imagine you get asked, “What church do you go to?” That’s a great question, but it misses the mark if we’re really looking at true success. Going to church was not the goal of Jesus. Being the church was. I know, I know…it would be really awkward to ask someone, “What church do you be?” But the point is, if we only define ourselves by where we go, we miss out on a large chunk of what the church is all about.

Success is all about a destination, an arrival. When we talk about where we go to church, we’re thinking in those terms. You rarely hear anything in the New Testament about where people go to church. It’s more about what they do along the way. It’s journey over arrival.

Take a look at some of the hallmarks of a church that is following Christ the right way, centered on what Jesus made important:

• “Loving each other” (John 15:12)

• “Meeting each other’s needs” (1 John 3:17-18)

• “Encouraging each other and building each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

• “Praying together” (James 5:16)

• “Serving the poor” (Matthew 25:31-46)

• “Making disciples” (Matthew 28:19)

Those aren’t really signs of success. They’re signs of health. That’s what we need to focus on as a church, I believe. And a healthy church is supernatural in its love for one another.

Supernatural means a manifestation of event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. That’s a mouthful. To boil it down, the supernatural is often unexplainable even when experienced.

It’s hard to put your finger on it, but we all know it when we see it, feel it, live it. Experience it. That’s the type of love Jesus calls the church to. A love that is experienced but unexplainable.

Imagine you were there on day one, the founding of the church in Acts 2. Sings! Wonders! A holy wind and a rushing surge! And the response? You and I may think of supernatural like it’s a sci-fi epic, a novel about demons and angels, or some mysterious “other” that sets us apart. I’m not discounting the power of spiritual gifts. I just want to point out that wasn’t the focus of the first church. Their primary concern was loving each other. Getting together to share the word of God. Putting their devotion on the right things. Giving generously out of their resources.

That was the hallmark of a healthy church. And it still is. It’s hard to explain, and that’s okay. Because it’s supernatural love. It doesn’t come naturally. It’s hard to define or quantify. And it’s what I want for my church more than anything else.

The most tangible evidence for my faith in Christ is not believing the right things, my Bible reading, worship service attendance, the way I vote, the way I dress, or what I watch and don’t watch. It’s how well I love. The most important reason we get together each weekend is that it will expand our capacity to love.

How are loving this week? Who are you loving this week? And can you rely on the Spirit’s supernatural power to energize you to love more and better?

What are the keys to success? Everyone wants to know. Just punch that in Google, along with whatever field or career you’re in, and you’ll get no less than 2,000 articles that tell you how to achieve your specific dreams.

But what they won’t tell you is your destination.

You see, you can get the keys to success, but if you don’t know what success really is, it’s like driving without a road map. Or I guess without Siri, now that we all have smartphones.

Keys to success only work when you already know where you’re going. And you only know where you’re going if you know the type of person you want to be. So what is it? How do you want to be?

In our world, to move forward means to produce, regardless of what it does to your body, mind or soul.

Success in business is determined by increasing annual revenue and soaring stock prices. If you’re an artist, success is determined by how many pieces or books you sell. The success of a concert or sporting venue is based on tickets sold.

Successful parenting in our culture means your kids are successful. Against all odds, they are getting all A’s, having perfect attendance, achieving a character award, getting the solo in an orchestra or the lead in the play, starting QB job on the field. That ultimately leads to getting into the college they want – free of charge, of course – and finally landing that dream job with a dream spouse. So they can have kids…who are getting all A’s, having perfect attendance…

The cycle goes on. But are we going nowhere fast? I often wonder, “Is this what Jesus considers successful?”

In Mark 8:36 he asked us this same question. He measured out the importance of following him against the desire to gain wealth, fame, prestige, position. And here is his conclusion:

³⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Mark 8:36

What’s the list? How do you measure success? By a dollar amount? Okay, let’s try to “gain the whole world.” Let’s see what it would take.

Any idea what the net worth of the richest man in the world is? His name is Jeff Bezos and, among other things, he owns Amazon. He’s worth $112 Billion! I can cover the $112 part, it’s the Billion that will give me some trouble. Next on the list is Bill Gates. We all remember him, right? He would need another $32 Billion dollars, a third of his total net worth, to surpass Bezos. In fact, if you’re number ten on the list, and that means you’re Larry Ellison owner of Oracle, then if you doubled your total net worth you’d still be short of the goal to earn the whole world.

Take a sobering look at your bank account. None of us are in that neighborhood. We’re not going to be able to chase them down. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that it doesn’t matter. Our markers of success and living extraordinary lives don’t even make it on Jesus list. If it’s real success you’re looking for, you won’t find it in Forbes or Inc Magazine. It’s somewhere else.

It’s in the heart.

Consider a few questions.

Who or what is determining your worth?

Who are you trying to impress?

When will you find contentment?

Jesus didn’t define success with stats and figures. He came up with another idea. While the world chases riches, and the enemy tries to destroy, Jesus came to give us life – and life to the fullest!

Successful living is the glory of living fully alive!

What’s more successful than that? St Irenaeus put it this way: “The glory of God is men and women fully alive!”

What makes you fully alive? How can God use your life for his glory? It’s not in the extraordinary markers of riches, wealth, status, ladder-climbing, perfect attendance, and looks. If you’ve got any of those, then that’s nice. But that’s not what will bring you life.

Our lives are mostly lived in the ordinary. And when we realize that, we can live each day successfully by making the most of it, learning to listen to others, be present with them, and serve whoever needs us now.

That’s how I want to measure success. I don’t always get it right, but I’m trying.