Mike Signorelli, lead pastor and founder of V1 Church in New York, says past success in ministry can become the biggest barrier to future success. Instead, he says, it’s vital that we forget not only our mistakes but our prior successes as well.
“So we talk about failure all the time, but actually your past success in ministry can be the biggest barrier to future success,” Signorelli says. “Because you could say, ‘Well, it kind of worked for me, so I’m going to keep doing it like this,’ you know what I mean? And you don’t find another way. So your biggest deterrent to future success can be past successes. That’s why when Paul said ‘I forget,’ he wasn’t just talking about forgetting the beatings. This is the duality to this message. It’s much deeper, because I’m going to unpack it as we go. He was saying, ‘I also forget the success.’ I also forget the success because there’s tens of thousands more people. So I can’t rest on my laurels like I won the Super Bowl. The new season starts and it’s Monday. Yesterday’s win is not today’s win. So when you’re in ministry, and someone says forget the past, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I get it, the failures.’ But I’m asking you to forget the successes too.”
Watch the full video clip here.
