Faithful, Not Famous

I would guess that many pastors are tempted to be a "people-pleaser". I know I am. You naturally want people to like you, but being in ministry isn't a popularity contest.  Ezekiel faced this same situation. 

Ezekiel 33:30-32 says, "Son of man, your people are whispering behind your back. They talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors, saying, `Come on, let's have some fun! Let's go hear the prophet tell us what the LORD is saying!' So they come pretending to be sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them. They express love with their mouths, but their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don't do it!"

The exiles admired Ezekiel for his preaching, but they did not put into practice what he told them. They did not apply it to their own lives and change, but he preached it anyway. Godly leaders “perform” for an audience of One. 

It is also tempting to try harder and think you are doing something wrong when you look at how other churches are "doing it"; or how mega-churches just keep getting bigger. A recent article I read says that worshippers are getting a spiritual "high" that keeps them coming back for more. 

What this boils down to is, "How do I define success in ministry?" Is it all about the numbers? Mother Theresa’s perspective helps me to stay grounded in the deepest truth about what success really is; it rescues me from my own inner strivings when I need rescuing. She says,

I was never called to be successful;
I was called to be faithful
and in my striving to be faithful
my life will be fruitful
and because it is fruitful
you could say I am successful.”