Can ministry be measured as good or bad?

We’re so used to rating everything using a good/bad scale.

Kind of like pass/fail.

I suppose that works well with something that is easy to judge, like food, for instance.

But even with food it could be deemed bad for several reasons; yet, it might be incredibly good.

It could be a matter of taste.

However, when it comes to determining whether a particular ministry is good or bad, I think we can run into some real problems.

I’m not referring to judging whether a ministry is/was scriptural or not, for that is fairly easy to determine.

But good or bad?

“Wow, what a good sermon!”

“The worship service was bad today.”

“The worship leader did a good job today.”

How can we really place a good/bad sticker on something we have no true way of measuring?

What would make a song service good or bad? It’s length, volume, instrumentation, key range, tempo, song selection, few words, lots of words, hymns, choruses, old songs… And who makes that call?

How about the Sunday sermon? Easy to understand, short, few scriptures, expository, topical, loud, altar call, no altar call, intellectual… And whose job is it to do the grading?

Some may call a sermon good because they agreed with all the points. You know, someone in the choir.

Someone else might call it good because they received a piece to their life’s puzzle…

Same thing with worship. Good because… Bad because…?

How could we be so small minded as to think we can know what God is doing in and through the lives of those who hear us sing or speak? We sometimes miss what God is doing in our own life.

If we live to hear someone say, “Good job!” each time we minister, we’re being set up by the adversary for a hard fall.

And if someone is critical of our ministry, and we’re down in the dumps for days, that’s just as bad. We’re getting picked off by the enemy.

Maybe we shouldn’t call something good or bad.

I don’t know.

Do I want people to think well of me and my ministry? Of course. But I cannot let that be my focus.

Whether I lead worship or preach; before, during, and after, I should be looking and listening for one thing. I want to know if I’m doing exactly what Father God has instructed me to do.

“When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come…”, and it’s just the Lord and I, I’m wanting nothing less or more than a simple “That’s exactly what I wanted today” from Him.

To me, that’s good.