May 30th marked the end of our fiscal year. Number 38.

We are about to engage in our annual audit. Upon completion, a public accounting firm will let us know how successful they feel our year has been--not just in terms of an income statement and balance sheet but also in integrity of process, systems, people, and governance policies. I expect their report to be more favorable than in any previous year of LAM. Thanks, accounting team. And thank You, Jesus!

But does that mean we have been successful? How do you measure the success of a ministry? a family? a church? a nation?

Two years ago, our Board and Advisory Council conducted a workshop on this very topic. The question was, "What should be the metrics of success for LAM?" The outcome was not what I expected, coming from a board comprised mostly of businessmen.

Much discussion was given to the importance of evaluating hard data--numbers and ratios. Then someone mentioned changed lives. Were lives genuinely transformed? And were they changed in proportionate quantity to the resources invested?

Someone quoted Paul in 1 Thess. 2:20, "You are our glory and joy," which seemed to be excellent criteria for measuring success. I quickly agreed, thinking, "If lives are not changed, then what's the use?"

Then two of those godly businessmen went deeper, to the real measurement of success. They proposed the question, "What if there is no outward evidence of success of any kind, but inwardly you know you have been obedient? Then isn't God glorified, and shouldn't that be our ultimate metric?"

Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence

Last week during our Senior Leadership Team retreat, we asked Crawford Loritts to lead a share-and-prayer time. When he did, he included the outline to his new book, Leadership as an Identity. (I believe this is the best book published on leadership since Oswald Sanders' classic Spiritual Leadership.)

He cited these four traits of someone with lasting influence:

   1. Brokenness . . . many of us are cracked, but are we really broken?
   2. Uncommon communion with the Lord . . . do we hear from Him?
   3. Servanthood as an identity . . . vs. perfunctory and mechanical
   4. Immediate and radical obedience . . . vs. delayed and controlled

Don't miss that last one. Immediate and radical obedience. Since we want a ministry of lasting influence, we must fully embrace obedience, regardless of the cost. That is success!

As a ministry this month, we've been focusing on our cutting-edge commitment of Living/Giving. Living means being obedient--obeying the truth of giving, not just knowing it or teaching it or being familiar with it from the past--even if it is radical giving.

Last week, at least six individuals came to faith in Christ at Family Camp. This week, another 23 families are attending. The Lodge is hosting a Pastors' Retreat. Our newest edition of Revive magazine is being printed. Nancy Leigh DeMoss is preparing for another recording session. And much more is happening simultaneously. Even if all of these come off without a hitch, the question remains: Were we obedient?

I want to be part of a ministry that witnesses the power of obedience for His glory. Let's ask ourselves three basic questions:

   1. Is there anything God has already asked of me that I have not fully obeyed?
   2. Have I asked God to show me a step of fresh obedience that I need to take?
   3. What would radical and immediate obedience look like in my life right now?