We all want to see progress in our work. As disciples of Jesus, we long to see people’s lives change as they encounter Christ and his Word. We want to see churches planted, and then see those churches grow in size and in their impact on their community. But maybe we should be looking first of all for progress within ourselves.
I have been a cross-cultural worker for more than 35 years. I believe that I have changed and grown in those three and a half decades. But do others see it as well? A few years ago a colleague told me that I led differently than I had in the past. I believe he said I had become a gentler leader. That was very encouraging for I realized that he had observed progress in me in areas that I really wanted to grow. It was also a reminder that I had not always been the type of leader that I wanted to be. Yes, growth was visible – but growth had also been necessary!
Paul’s charge to Timothy
In Paul’s first letter to his younger protégé, Timothy, he challenges him in a somewhat startling way:
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.1 Timothy 4:15–16 – NIV (2011)
Paul wants Timothy to show progress in certain “matters”. What are these matters that Paul is referring to? The context makes it clear that Paul is talking about Timothy’s own ministry within the church. “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you” (1 Tim 4:13-14). When Paul is talking about progress, he is not primarily referring to growth within the church, i.e. number of people saved, baptized or attending services. No, he is talking about growth in Timothy himself. “Your progress” is second person singular. The progress Paul desires is progress in the way that Timothy practices his ministry.