Go ahead and criticize me

We often struggle to do proper performance evaluation. I will try to set a good example of how to solicit and welcome critical feedback.

Bruce at Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA on July 15. This tourist island of about six square miles is famous for having no cars. There’s a state “highway,” Michigan route 185, but it’s occupied by bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. (I’ve been on vacation for the last three weeks, but I have dutifully maintained my regular schedule of Monday and Friday blog posts.)

A few years ago, I was helping a Christian CEO prepare an annual report. I objected to many of the draft sections, stating, “All you say is that they held meetings. There is no evidence of impact.”

Unfortunately, those sections didn’t change much, because they were accurate. Several parts of the organization had just held meetings without any attempt to measure impact.

Evaluation should be an important component of every ministry. Improvement is impossible without a meaningful assessment of performance.

Goal setting is a necessary precursor to good evaluation. If you aren’t aiming at any goals, you usually won’t achieve anything.

I will briefly explain three types of evaluation and will then invite you to use them as your guide to evaluating me.

1. Output evaluation measures productivity and fulfillment of promises. If you say you would produce a monthly newsletter, hold a series of public meetings, or publish two blogs a week, then you should do what you promised, unless there is a good reason to alter your plans. As a biblical example of output measurement, Paul could tell the Christian leaders at Ephesus that he had fulfilled his responsibility to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). But as noted above, outputs alone do not indicate impact.

2. Quantitative evaluation measures countable results. Luke reports that 3,000 people accepted Christ on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41). He clearly believed that this amazing number was an important testimony to God’s work through the apostles.

Christian ministries should include quantitative evaluation. All other things being equal, I would rather influence 3,000 people than 30 or raise $1 million in contributions rather than $100,000. But all other things are not always equal. If attracting larger numbers requires me to do superficial, people-pleasing ministry, maybe God has a different preference. Jeremiah and Elijah were not suited to found megachurches; their ministries are memorable today precisely because they bucked the tide of compromise in their own generation.

3. Qualitative evaluation measures intangible results, such as spiritual transformation, motivation, or joy. This is the core of Christian work, but reliable measurement is often a challenge. Self-reported comments on surveys or in interviews are usually the easiest method.

Ted Esler of Missio Nexus, a provocative Substack writer for the world of missions, points out that using quantitative metrics for ministry is a form of reductionism, evaluating performance in terms of the number of people baptized or churches planted. “None of these are adequate for understanding heart change, spiritual brokenness, or other markers of deep discipleship,” he says. But on the other hand, Esler notes, transformation is a slippery thing to measure. “I realize how ‘untransformed’ I am,” he acknowledges. “Thus, I always walk away from these conversations feeling like transformation, while theologically rich, lacks helpful handles for ministry practitioners.”

A staff member at my church recently asked me how I would evaluate the performance of our small group ministry. She knew that just reporting the number of groups and participants said nothing about their quality or effectiveness. I suggested that some creative quantitative metrics, such as the frequency with which participants actually show up at group meetings or their self-reported ratings of the emotional support or biblical knowledge gained from the group, could provide greater insight.

Of course, any measurements require interpretation and explanation so as to guide improvement.

With this post, I complete six months as a blogger. I have published 68 blog posts, including every Monday and Friday without fail for 26 weeks. So I think my output and reliability have been solid. But what about the outcomes?

Quantitatively, I expected to reach 1,000 free subscribers in six months, as I did when I made the Evangelical Review of Theology an open-access publication in 2020. After early growth, the numbers have been fairly flat (rising only from 500 to 540) over the last two months. However, 10 posts have exceeded 1,000 views, and many have been republished by Christian news sources or shared by people with larger numbers of followers.

Qualitatively, I have received wonderful encouragement from many readers. The most common message is that I write carefully nuanced posts that often present more than one viewpoint and treat all perspectives respectfully.

I interpret this evidence as indicating that I should keep blogging, expand my marketing where possible, be responsive to personal requests from appreciative readers, and recognize that my numbers may remain modest because my primary calling is to inform and support influential leaders in global Christianity, not the general public.