The Snares of Success

Every church leader dreams of the time when everything starts to come together and the church has succeeded in all areas of ministry. Success can be addictive and intoxicating to a point. And that's when things can start to go wrong. At first, we relied on God for everything which placed us in a place of dependence upon Him.

When things are going well in a church, it's easy to get caught up in the momentum. Suddenly, everyone is on the same page and making great progress. But if that progress is not directed by God, it can quickly lead to disaster.

The people of Babel learned this lesson the hard way. Their unity of vision and effort led to tremendous momentum, but they used that momentum to go in their own direction. As a result, God stopped their momentum by confusing their means of communication and scattered them to the four winds.

Don't let the snare of success catch you off guard. Make sure that your momentum is always directed by God's will, not your own. Otherwise, you may find yourself heading in the wrong direction - and that's a road you don't want to go down.

As a leader, don't let success in ministry get to your head. Too often as things get better and attendance is growing and finances are coming in and everything starts to almost drive itself, we can start to think it is because of us that it is all happening. We start to think because we made the right decisions at the right time that success is ours to claim. We begin to think it is our increase and forget about God's part in all of it.

We did nothing to deserve the increase. It is all God. We are just stewards of what He has given us. The danger in success is that we begin to take credit for things that only God can do and get a big head in the process.

In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, Paul says, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." We can see here that even though there are varying levels of involvement in ministry, it is God who gets the ultimate credit for any success.

We need to stay humble and remember that it is God who gives the increase. As soon as we take our eyes off of Him and start to think it is about us, we are in trouble. So enjoy the success God has given you, but don't let it go to your head. Remember that it is all because of Him and give Him the glory He deserves.

Then there is the church body as a whole. Many times churches that see a measure of momentum and success in their ministries start to see the church grounds as their kingdom and forget that it is God's Kingdom that we are working in. We begin to think that since we are doing so well and things are going so smoothly, this is the way it should always be.

But we need to remember that just like in our personal lives, things can change in an instant and the church body is not immune to this. We see it happen all too often where a church that was once thriving suddenly faces difficulties and even starts to decline.

There are many reasons why this can happen, but one of the main ones is that the church gets complacent and starts to take things for granted. They begin to think that since they have been successful in the past, they will always be successful. But that is not how it works.

Success in ministry is not guaranteed, no matter how well things have been going in the past. We need to always be on our guard and make sure that we are doing everything we can to further God's Kingdom, not just our own.

So what can we do to avoid these traps? First, we need to stay humble and remember that it is God who gives the increase. Second, we need to be on our guard and make sure that we are doing everything we can to further God's Kingdom, not just our own. By following these two simple principles, we can avoid the traps of success and stay focused on what matters - glorifying God in all that we do.

All churches at all stages of the life cycle need to be constantly implementing, evaluating, and adjusting so that we do not find ourselves taking the easy train of success for granted. Let us all stay focused on God and His Kingdom, not our own. only then can we truly be successful.

This is a great truth that every church needs to apply regardless of its size or stage in the life cycle! If you are currently in a season of success, don't let it go to your head - remember that it is all because of God, and give Him the glory He deserves. And if you find yourself in a time of difficulty, don't lose hope - remember that success is not guaranteed and press on in faithful obedience to God's call on your life.