“For the very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge and to knowledge; self control, and to self-control, perseverance and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you form being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV)
I’d like to invite you in on a secret…
Do you know what any given pastor’s worst fear is?
Ineffectiveness.
It’s a huge topic of discussion in our inner circles; mentorships, cohorts, conferences and facebook groups all address this concern. It’s a constant hang up for people of the cloth because there is no real measuring stick for ministry. We don’t possess a system of criterion to gauge our success, let alone a quantitative means to improve upon. And quite frankly, the ministerial field requires a self-emptying like no other.
Pandemic has only increased and complicated the demands on our time, all while reducing feedback and socially distancing us from our flocks. While the current crisis caught me off guard, the challenges of ministry have not. I was a pastor’s kid and grew up in a parsonage. I knew what I was signing up for when I applied for ordination, at least the nuts and bolts of it. But many ministers did not grow up in the heavy folds of the cloth and they find themselves deeply discouraged by the ongoing workload devoid of distinct achievement markers.
That’s why this verse grabbed hold of my heart this morning. Peter hands the reader a working formula to protect us from ineffective and unproductive ministry. What a gift! He says it’s simple addition. We begin with faith and then keep adding to the sum: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. He repeats most of these attributes, reminding us that what is repeated is important. By this point in scripture, we know Peter well enough to recall that he was a results guy. He was concerned about outcomes and even he, working at Jesus’ right hand, had relinquish results to our Heavenly Father.
We can’t calculate effectiveness while we are still on the ground but we can remain aware of our individual storehouse of Christian character. We stockpile faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. We can accumulate these attributes and ready ourselves to avail them to others. We can increase our effectiveness and grow our productivity by becoming more like Christ.
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:10-11 NIV)
Lord, we fight feeling ineffective and instead You ask us to practice addition. Strengthen us as we serve You. Grow our faith. Grow our goodness. Increase our knowledge and self-control. Give us tenacity as we move towards eternity. Make us more godly and clothe us in mutual affection and love for others. Guard us against ineffectiveness and unproductively. We want to serve Your Kingdom well. Amen.