Tracking Faithfulness

"My obedience would be the only thing I would track."

The words echoed through my ears last Sunday afternoon when I sat around one of seven round tables hosting people who had come to learn how we can more faithfully be in ministry with people who are experiencing homelessness. The woman speaking was sharing her own story of being in community with people who are experiencing homelessness, a testimony that included admonitions to cherish dignity, kinship and mutuality. She had learned years ago that it's almost impossible to track success when it comes to ministry with people who sometimes face more obstacles than a turtle turned upside down until it rests on its shell. But her words opened an invitation for me to examine nearly every other aspect of my life.

What are the numbers you track?

What statistics have the power to define you?

I often track the number that appears on the scale while failing to track my obedience to counting calories on My Fitness Pal. Is it any wonder that one number doesn't budge much without the dedication to the other?

But what has the capacity to rob my joy even more are numbers related to my role as a pastor. And I know I'm not alone as I heard an extraordinarily gifted colleague share this week about all the good things happening in her church - the signs and wonders produced by people who are taking their discipleship seriously - before adding, "But our average worship attendance still gets me down."

Last week, while at Duke Divinity School, I heard a powerful testimony about the excellence being sought within the faculty. The professor of New Testament shared how the school is seeking to have "elite scholars who exemplify something of the subject matter they teach." The scholar knows that wisdom is about habits. "We have to become the person who thinks like the sort of person who lives as Christians when it comes to our loves, our passions and our habits." He then spoke of the hours of scholarship that are required for him to do his work. He cannot be faithful if he simply produces another book or offers a profound lecture that wows his students. His faithfulness comes through his obedience - his spiritual disposition, his deep and wise engagement with the text, his embodying the core practices of the church that transform us.

Too often we are tempted to believe that our objective is to have at least five people pat us on the back and say "great job," or worse yet, give us a standing ovation at least once a year. We have been seduced into believing that our faithfulness is measured by a number that the denomination most wants to know if you're a pastor. But what if, instead, we sought to track our faithfulness through these questions?

How much time did I spend searching the scriptures this week?

When did I put my own priorities aside to serve a neighbor in need?

Am I setting aside one day each week to find wonder, joy and delight in God and the gifts God has given to me? What are my practices of Sabbath keeping?

How much time do I devote to reading books that reveal a deeper understanding of who God is or how God is at work in the world?

Am I seeking to faithfully love God with my prayers, my presence, my gifts, my service and my witness?

Can people see what it means to be a Christian through my character?

If the life of another human being is what most motivates someone to follow Jesus, then how is my life motivating people to want to follow Jesus?

Am I fully seeking to love the Lord my God with my heart, soul, strength and mind?

I don't know about you, but I have some work to do.

And, I suspect that the more I track my own obedience to faithfulness, the more I'll see and sense God powerfully at work in my life and the world around me.

What will you track today?