02. When You Feel Like a Failure with Missie Branch
Today we’re talking to Missie Branch about what to do when you feel like a failure in the work the Lord has set before you, and what true success actually looks like. Heads up, it might not look how you expected! If you don’t know her, Missie serves as vice president of community engagement for Life Collective, Inc. She is a graduate of Southeastern Seminary with a master’s in ethics, theology, and culture. Missie is married to Duce and together they have four children. Missie is the cohost of the Women & Work Podcast, which we know you’ll enjoy.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Many of our listeners are engaging in ministry in their local contexts—within their churches, homes, and communities. And many of them are also experiencing the frustrations and feelings of fatigue that come with that, wondering if they've been successful, or questioning whether or not what they're doing actually matters. What are some helpful and biblical ways for us to think about success in the kingdom of God?
How do you define success in ministry?
How would you encourage others to evaluate their successes and failures?
Sometimes our ministry failures may actually indicate that we need to reconsider our commitments and obligations. How can we discern the difference between a closed door versus the need to persevere, even when things don't seem to be working well?
So many of our listeners are missionaries, mothers of young children, or pastor's wives... What encouragement do you have for women who are faithfully laboring in the work the Lord has set before them, but who don't see any fruit?
How can we keep ourselves from idolizing "success"?
If, after having listened to this conversation, some of us realize we're not viewing our work biblically, where would you suggest we go from here? How would you encourage us to grow in our biblical understanding of ministry or work? What's helped you develop a biblical understanding of work?
What helps you find rest when you're feeling weary in the work the Lord has set before you?
Notes & QUotes
“You know, I've been a Christian for a long time. And one of the things that I've learned is that I am no longer mesmerized by the famous. I'm actually, honestly, much more inspired by the faithful. The people who have come alongside me and invested in me for years, they taught me what true ministry success looks like. And it has been those people that are not the ones on the stage. And it's been those people that you don't really remember their name, but they are how the institution or the ministry or the thing is actually going. And those are the people I'm rushing to talk to. I want to talk to those leaders who are behind the scenes just serving the Lord week after week, year after year.”
“I think the way to actually assure that your ministry is successful—and this is what I've learned in my own house—the way I know I'm doing ministry well is if I'm being changed by it.”
“I'm going to be honest, one of the most humbling things that we can do in ministry is to recognize that God doesn't need us to do the work that he's called us to do. He doesn't need us to do anything. The need is not there. So the work can be done and will be done if we're not there. That's humbling, but that can also be encouraging because he can do the work, but he invites us into it.”
“Success is really not in the numbers, the number of people who showed up, the numbers of questions that were asked after Bible studies showing that they were just so riveted by me, or the numbers in our budget, the numbers of times we've been recognized by the pastor. But really, success in ministry is that consistent faithfulness.”
“If I come into this Bible study and I was faithful in my preparation and it doesn't land, I'm humbled, but I did my part. And particularly in a season where people can be on podcasts or write books, people think that equal success. But in reality true success is saying, ‘Lord, I am committed to the work you called me to, and I will do it no matter what.’”
Lauren: I love how Missie has been defining “success” in our work or our ministry—she talks about success simply as faithfulness to what God has called us to do. It simplifies it, doesn’t it? It helps us not to look to the left or the right to see what he’s doing or she’s doing, but to focus on the task that God has set before us today. I love too how Missie reminded us that ultimately God doesn’t need us to move his Kingdom forward, but instead that he invites us INTO his work and he empowers us to do it! Whether it’s the work of vocational ministry, our 9-5 job, or caring for our families and homes, we do our work with faithfulness and with humble confidence. We are characterized by humility—a modest view of ourselves, a distrust even of our ability to “do all the things”. And yet we’re also defined by a confidence—an understanding that by God’s strength we can do our work to the utmost of our ability, trusting that it is HE who will enable us to do it and HE who will ultimately work anything good out of our feeble attempts. It’s a difficult tension—working hard while also positioning ourselves in a way where we humbly declare we can do nothing apart from God. But this is the gospel, isn’t it? Trusting always in HIS work. Looking always to what HE has accomplished. And then working FROM that. Because ultimately all things are from him, through him, and to him, right? So even today, as we set our hands to the work that God has given us, let’s set our minds on the things above, knowing that as God works through our acts of everyday faithfulness on earth, he is preparing us for our eternal work, which will be forever and ever worshiping him.
“Failure is usually tied to when we're really being deceptive because we have people think that we're here for service when really we're here to be seen. I just think that failure is less about the moment and what's going on inside of us because I truly believe our ministry is changing us first.”
“The Spirit is doing the work in people's hearts that we can't see.”
“We are in a twisted society, an upside down society that believes that success comes from anything external. Success is not what you do. Success is not something that you necessarily achieve. The Lord determines what success is and then we run after that thing. And so I would encourage us to remove these self-imposed standards of success and really seek out what the Lord says is success.”
“When I read about women like Tabitha and Anna in the Bible, their names are literally in the Bible. But yet these are both women who were poor, who were single, probably widowed. And so we have to ask ourselves, would we consider that success? She's poor. She's been fasting for 60 years. But yet when you read their story, their whole lives equal success. And I think when we begin to recognize what success really is for the Christian and in God's economy, things become completely different. Because in God's economy, in order to live, you die. And in order to have, you give. And in order to be successful, you look for the things that God calls success.”
Lauren: “I don’t know about you, but Missie has brought some healthy conviction to me and my understanding of what success looks like. It’s too easy—isn’t it?—to get caught up in the world’s definition of success—it’s an idea of success that can be measured, which feels good to our approval-seeking hearts. But Missie redefines success as faithfulness, which can’t really be measured. Sometimes it can’t even be seen by others. But God sees it. And, we have to ask ourselves, is that enough? I wonder, as we set our hands to the work before us, are we tempted to do it for the praise, the likes, the subscribes, the applause, or the book purchases? As we go about our work in our homes, are we hoping for our hard efforts to be noticed or appreciated? Or are we doing our work as an act of worship? Do we realize that our work itself can be an act of obedience to, communion with, and intimacy with God? I’m not exempt from the conviction that these questions bring. In fact, I have to ask myself often, what is the motive in my work? What is at the root of my heart’s pull toward the need for “success”? Am I doing ministry to be recognized or to be obedient? Am I obeying God in order to get a certain outcome or in order to worship him? Even our very worthwhile, Kingdom work can be driven by selfish motives. But you know what? God has so much grace even for that. In fact, even in this struggle (as he does in all of life), he invites us near. He shows us the beauty of repentance, intimacy, and worship that can be found in our work. He shows us the worth of simply being faithful. He shows us how the applause and the recognition of the world is fleeting, but how our moments of ordinary faithfulness are eternally worthwhile.
“I have seen the incredibly dark side of what famous ministry and success in ministry looks like. And I don't want it. I don't want it. I want to be around people who lose Jesus. And I want people to feel like when they spent time with Missie, they felt Jesus, they heard Jesus, they saw Jesus.”
RESOURCES
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How do you define success in ministry?
What helps you find rest when you're feeling weary in the work the Lord has set before you?
Where in Scripture do you see mention of “success” in work or in contribution to the kingdom of God?
How would you encourage others to evaluate their ministry successes and failures?
How might you lean on the discipline of prayer as you seek to reorient your understanding of success and rest in God’s work through you?
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in today’s episode?
Important note
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
Affiliate links used are used where appropriate.
Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!
FOR MORE OF JOURNEYWOMEN
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook
Support the podcast by writing a review
