FAILURE is not the end, nor is it final. It is often the gateway to success and achievement.
Jonny and I decided to talk about failure with you this week. We are moving quickly to the end of the calendar year, and our minds move toward things past and opportunities ahead. Sometimes after we have run through a string of tough years, experienced some failure, and gotten discouraged, we decide to play it safe. Sometimes failure has stung us so sharply that we decide to stop trying new things. We draw ourselves in close, hedge our bets, don't take chances, and lay low, doing only what is necessary to survive. (of course I have never done this!) That's when we are at the greatest risk of not living! That is when we should be the most scared! As pastors of smaller churches, 200churches, our leadership is so critical, and if we give up trying, afraid of or jaded by failure, who is going to do it? Really, our churches need our leadership. They need our faith to be strong - in THE ONE who alone can help us. They need our vision to be clear. They need our courage to be inspiring. They need us to believe in them. They need us to take risks. They need our permission, even encouragement - to fail! They need our praise when they fail, for simply trying - having the guts to stick their neck out and do something risky and maybe even scary for the Kingdom of God and for our Savior. Failure is almost never fatal or final, but again, a path to accomplishment. We really want to LIVE. We don't want to just mark time. Have we failed? Absolutely, just like you! But we are going to come out to the batter's box swinging like wild monkeys. You can't give up, stop trying, and pack it in. You, Jonny, and I just might be one or two more failures away from a big ministry breakthrough. For the big accomplishments, sometimes you have to be tough enough to handles some major failures without giving up, packing it in, and walking away. Are you? If you have been playing it safe, laying back, doing just enough to get by - we hope this episode encourages you. We hope it challenges you to move forward, to take a risk, to at least try again - try something new. Go for it Baby - there's a new year coming! And we have fantastic opportunities ahead of us!
kerry
12/3/2014 03:58:35 pm
I feel like failure city sometimes, after just shy of 18 yrs of pastoring. But i will continue for the lord called me and i mustbe faithful. Thank you for the encouragement, keep it coming i visit 200 podcast on a regular bases, i need it, God bless.
If we keep making the SAME mistake and enduring the SAME failure time after time then perhaps we're not learning as we should from our failures! Take them as a signal that you're missing something. Comments are closed.
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