Redefining Success: The Shift to Process-Oriented Living

Process-oriented living is about redefining success. It’s a shift of mindset from sight to faith – from goals to processes. It’s a practical recognition of the sovereignty of God.

We are all naturally goal-oriented. It’s easy to measure success by goals – how much we can mark off the to-do list, or how closely our lives resemble the ideal that we are striving for. This sort of thinking is human-centered, because it defines success based on what we can do (or think we can do) rather than what God defines as success.

Goal-oriented living forgets the central truth of the providence of God: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). If you measure your success by your ability to accomplish your goals, then your failure to accomplish goals means that you are a failure.

God’s definition of success for us is not goal-oriented, but process-oriented. “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). God’s message of commendation for his servants highlights this trait: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

To be process-oriented, then, is to focus on doing the right things, consistently, regardless of the results. It means that the focus is on the process, not what occurs. Faithfulness to the right process is more important than apparent ‘success’.

This is important in the Christian life, and especially important in ministry. Anyone who defines ministry by ‘success’ is likely to get discouraged quickly. What we need is to ‘repent’ (μετανοια, ‘have a change of mind’) about our ideas of success, and instead focus on faithfulness to God’s processes.

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