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SKETCHES
S
@
of Leadership o o o o >
uccessful Failure
Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other
side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he
went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the
wind was against them.
25And early in the morning he came walking towards them
on the lake.
26But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrifi ed,
saying, `It is a ghost!' And they cried out in fear.
27But immediately Jesus spoke to
them and said, `Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.'
28Peter answered him, `Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.'
29He said, `Come.' So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and
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came towards Jesus.
30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened,
What does success and failure look like in this
passage?
and beginning to sink, he cried out, `Lord, save me!'
31Jesus immediately reached
out his hand and caught him, saying to him, `You of little faith, why did you doubt?'
32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33And those in the boat worshipped
him, saying, `Truly you are the Son of God.'
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #48
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
Have you noticed that pretty much every key character in
the Bible has a "famous failure"?
> Peter's Denial
> James and John: "Let us sit at your right and left..."
> Saul/Paul: The stoning of Stephen, persecution of the church
> Moses: angry at the rock
> Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Joseph
> David and Saul--the difference between them is not the nature of their failures, but the nature
of their responses: self-justifi cation vs. "I have sinned against the Lord."
What elements make failure successful?
1. None of us needs to choose failure--that will inevitably come. But its inevitability should take the sting out of it when it does. Further, it seems
that famous failure does us some deep good.
Grace is only possible
2. If failure is a part of our larger development--we need to fi nd ways to
a.
Seek honest even brutal feedback--have you ever been dissatisfi ed with the feedback you receive, because you
aren't sure it's the whole story? Perhaps our tendency is to be relieved--but instead work at hearing the whole story. Don't waste an op-
portunity to grow.
b.
Take risks in relationships. Look for ways to acknowledge your own failure rather than quickly identifying that of
others. Refuse to be defensive. When people point out your failings, get used to hearing yourself respond, "Oh, it is worse than you think."
c.
Don't move on too soon. Our temptation, when we realize we have tasted failure, is to move on from it as quickly
as possible. Chances are that failure lesson is longer than you would wish, though shorter than you fear. Give yourself to it.
3. Ultimately, the biggest failure is not failure itself, but failure
One difference between Peter and Judas,
after their failures, can be seen from their reactions. Peter ran to the tomb, to see if the news were true. Judas never hung around to fi nd out,
but fl ed his life in despair. The sweeping promises of Romans 8 tell us that no failure can separate us from the love of Jesus, if we are blithe to
be kept by him.
4. And what is there to fear?
Big enough, early enough, famously enough, often enough. We probably all
know peers or parents who've lived life in the shadow of the fear of failure, and we know that's no life we want to lead. For failure will lead us
> What has success looked like in your life?
How has God used this success in your growth and development?
For Refl ection:
> What has failure looked like, so far, in your life?
How has God used this failure in your growth and development?
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #48
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
SKETCHES
S
@
of Leadership o o o o >
uccessful Failure
Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other
side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he
went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the
wind was against them.
25And early in the morning he came walking towards them
on the lake.
26But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrifi ed,
saying, `It is a ghost!' And they cried out in fear.
27But immediately Jesus spoke to
them and said, `Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.'
28Peter answered him, `Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.'
29He said, `Come.' So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and
@
came towards Jesus.
30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened,
What does success and failure look like in this
passage?
and beginning to sink, he cried out, `Lord, save me!'
31Jesus immediately reached
out his hand and caught him, saying to him, `You of little faith, why did you doubt?'
· Failure: The disciples fail to recognize
Jesus--they failed in the previous story when
32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33And those in the boat worshipped
they didn't respond very well to the idea that
him, saying, `Truly you are the Son of God.'
they were to feed the crowds
· Success: Peter wants to be near Jesus, and
he begins in faith by asking Jesus to com-
mand him to come to him (he didn't want
to be out on the water unless he knew Jesus
authorized it)
· Success: Peter is able to walk on water--for
a little while.
· Failure: Peter is distracted by the wind and
waves, and he begins to sink. His faith is
overcome with his fear.
· Success: Peter calls out to Jesus (in a very
effi cient, every-word-matters prayer) for Jesus
to save him.
· Failure: Jesus saves Peter but points out
that his doubt was caused by his small faith.
· Failure: The other disciples didn't get out of
the boat at all--and never experienced the
chance to walk on water.
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #48
SKETCHES
of Leadership o o o o >
Have you noticed that pretty much every key character in
the Bible has a "famous failure"?
> Peter's Denial
> James and John: "Let us sit at your right and left..."
> Saul/Paul: The stoning of Stephen, persecution of the church
> Moses: angry at the rock
> Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Joseph
> David and Saul--the difference between them is not the nature of their failures, but the nature
of their responses: self-justifi cation vs. "I have sinned against the Lord."
What elements make failure successful?
1. None of us needs to choose failure--that will inevitably come. But its inevitability should take the sting out of it when it does. Further, it seems
that famous failure does us some deep good.
Only after the denial is Peter able to hear Jesus express forgiveness in his affection even as he calls him to suffer and die in Jesus' name.
Grace is only possible p a s t t h e l i m i t s o f o u r s u c c e s s .
2. If failure is a part of our larger development--we need to fi nd ways to lean into redemptive failure:
a. E v a l u a t i o n . Seek honest even brutal feedback--have you ever been dissatisfi ed with the feedback you receive, because you
aren't sure it's the whole story? Perhaps our tendency is to be relieved--but instead work at hearing the whole story. Don't waste an op-
portunity to grow.
b. R e c o n c i l i a t i o n . Take risks in relationships. Look for ways to acknowledge your own failure rather than quickly identifying that of
others. Refuse to be defensive. When people point out your failings, get used to hearing yourself respond, "Oh, it is worse than you think."
c. P a t i e n c e . Don't move on too soon. Our temptation, when we realize we have tasted failure, is to move on from it as quickly
as possible. Chances are that failure lesson is longer than you would wish, though shorter than you fear. Give yourself to it.
3. Ultimately, the biggest failure is not failure itself, but failure to lear n from failure. One difference between Peter and Judas,
after their failures, can be seen from their reactions. Peter ran to the tomb, to see if the news were true. Judas never hung around to fi nd out,
but fl ed his life in despair. The sweeping promises of Romans 8 tell us that no failure can separate us from the love of Jesus, if we are blithe to
be kept by him. You pay the tuition for failure, so go to class and write the paper!
4. And what is there to fear? Fear NOT failing. Big enough, early enough, famously enough, often enough. We probably all
know peers or parents who've lived life in the shadow of the fear of failure, and we know that's no life we want to lead. For failure will lead us
to wisdom with humility, which, in turn will lead us to a new and better version of success as children of God.
> What has success looked like in your life?
How has God used this success in your growth and development?
For Refl ection:
> What has failure looked like, so far, in your life?
How has God used this failure in your growth and development?
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #48
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
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