Questions are the best tool for evaluation. We can’t just observe success or failure; we need to investigate. Questions help us get to the bottom of the situation, but they also help us prepare for the next stage. How do we avoid this mistake or repeat this success?

Last week, I asked you to paint a picture in your mind of what successful ministry looks like. It will be different for each of us, but we always know it when we see it. I then gave you three questions to ask when ministry goes well and you hit that bar of success: How will you scale success? How will you avoid burnout? How will you keep from taking the credit?

This week, I want to take the opposite approach. Below are three questions to ask when ministry does not go well. But first, I want us to look at that picture of success again.

So often in ministry, success is objective while failure is subjective. What I mean is that we can clearly see what others do right but only see our own performance clearly when things go wrong.

This is not a moment to beat yourself up over a missed goal or a less-than-perfect service. This is a time to accurately evaluate when you’ve missed the mark. What may seem like a failure to you is a success to anyone else. So, take a moment to understand what it means in your setting when ministry does not go well.

1. Am I Being Obedient?

The first thing to consider when you see ministry not going well is your obedience. In Joshua 6, after one of the greatest military victories in history, Joshua marches his men toward Ai — a single city that should have been a simple target. However, the Israelites were resoundingly defeated.

In the next chapter, Joshua seeks God for the reason and learns that there is disobedience in the camp. The reason for defeat was not bad scouting, inadequate planning or poor military execution. It was disobedience. Achan had sinned against a clear command from God. And because of that, things did not go well.

One of our first responses to failure is to take a defensive posture. We look everywhere else but within. But the truth is, many times we do come up short and that’s why we failed. Without obedience, we can never expect our ministries to go well.

We must have a humble spirit to ask these types of questions. And we can’t be quick to ask and dismiss the issue. We need to lean into the Holy Spirit’s conviction on this. King David asked God to search him and show him (Psalm 139:23-24). That’s what good leaders do.

This is a time to accurately evaluate when you’ve missed   the mark.

But it’s not just obedience to God that we need to examine. It starts with having pure motives and moral character. But it also includes our obedience to God’s calling. Did we take time to listen to God beforehand and act on His clear direction? Are we staying true to the vision He gave us? Did we do the last thing He asked us to do?

2. Do I Have the Right People in the Right Places?

The next question is a lot easier to ask than the first, but no less important. While evaluating your wins and challenges, ask if you have the right people on board and in the right places.

We have often used the analogy of the bus when it comes to hiring staff. You might have heard the phrase, “I’m not sure what seat you fill, but we want you on the bus.” The idea is that you hire the best candidate without regard to what need you have to fill. Ultimately, the hope is that they find their natural fit on your team.

This approach may or may not work, but I think it points to one area we need to seriously consider on our church staffs. How do we evaluate the fit of each team member?

It can sometimes be difficult to approach a staff member who is just not cut out for their current position. But leaving a person in a place where they are continually failing does not help them at all.

The best option is to put in place systems to evaluate each staff position. This should be done annually, at the very least. And the main thrust of the conversation should be whether someone is in the right place for their gift mix. If the answer is “no,” don’t kick them off the team. Find out where they best fit, and move their seat.

3. Am I the Problem?

This last question may be the toughest to ask. And you may not be the best to answer it. We all have blind spots in our lives, things that we can’t see but others can. It takes courage and vulnerability to ask someone else to help you see those areas.

When ministry is not going well, be honest with yourself. Are you putting in maximum effort? Are you experiencing restlessness, wishing you were somewhere else? Are you continuing to learn and grow, or have you stagnated? Are you leading your people well? These are difficult but important questions to ask.

If the answer is “no,” I’m not sure there’s an easy fix. And maybe there shouldn’t be. It takes a brave person to admit when they are wrong. But if you find a problem and fail to address it, you’ll continue to come up just short of your picture of success.

Be honest with yourself. Make the changes you can quickly. And then seek out help to address the rest.

Questions reveal problems, but they can also lead to solutions. Work as a team to answer these questions when ministry does not go well. And then band together to work through each challenge to create more wins.