I can't remember from whom I heard this, but it has stuck with me for years: Maintenance pastors measure success by their personal sense of fulfillment in ministry. Missional pastors measure success by changed lives and changed communities.

I believe this to be true, not just about pastors, but with reference to individual followers of Jesus and congregations of believers as well. And I belief this applies to followers of Jesus who go by all different brand names. Many Christians and churches measure success according to individual satisfaction. The pastor feels comfortable in how he/she is spending time in ministry. People who come to worship have a sense of spiritual warmth and peace. The entire congregation and its leaders becomes content with doing things in certain ways that signal a message of predictability and equilibrium in the congregation. If everyone personally "feels good," then that means success.

Pastors, church leaders, and congregations who choose to be driven by making disciples of Jesus measure success differently. They are looking lives changed by Jesus. These persons and ministries gauge effectiveness as they see people baptized and beginning a relationship with Jesus, growing with other followers in commitment to Jesus, and engaging the ministries to which the Holy Spirit has called them and for which the Holy Spirit has equipped them. As Jesus followers take their new life into their homes, families, friendships, and workplaces, the change becomes exponential. Relationships change, marriages change, families change, friendships change, work lives change, the way people do business and deal with each other changes - and whole communities begin to change. This is what it means to succeed in fulfilling the Great Commission. (See Matthew 28:19 in the Bible.)

Which kind of church would most likely draw you? Think about that, and I'll see you around the next bend in the river.