There are certain questions that I ask myself regularly. Do I really need another cup of coffee? How is my daughter so adorable? And when it comes to planting Checkpoint Church: what's the point? Why are we doing all of this? At the end of the day, what do I hope to have achieved? The irony is that the answer to the question is to make you answer that question for me.
Whenever it comes to ministry, few people share a common metric for success (whatever that word even means). Some demand numbers and want to know how many butts are in the pew. Others demand to know the number of discipleship groups forming. More still, and this is a tough one to type, want to know how much fiscally is being produced. All of these have merit (some more than others) but none match up with my answer to the question.
At the end of every day, I measure the results of the day by how many beautiful, wonderful human beings were engaging with life that day. That is to say, how many conversations were facilitated that day? How many people experienced God in a new way (or, even better, for the first time) that day? Did relationships form between our followers and subscribers?
See, the truth of the matter is this: without you none of this means anything. I'm fairly decent at talking away at a brick wall. Some might call it a gift. Others a curse. But that's never the goal. I want you to feel heard. Seen. Understood. Engaged. The biggest compliment I can receive isn't a share, follow, or like on a video or post. It doesn't matter if you like what I do (but it is a bonus, if you do). If you are engaging, even with constructive criticism, then I consider that engagement a success. So, let's get engaged?
God loves you. I love you. You matter. Be boldly blessed, friends.