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We all fail, but how do we keep failure from becoming part of our identity? This week, John Bailey and Mark Renfroe discuss the ways in which success and failing start to define our self-image and relationships, as well as how we recognize this tendency in ourselves and submit it to God.

Key Points from the Podcast

  • Failure is painful but inevitable. It is important that we learn to navigate failure well, seeing it as an opportunity for growth.

  • Mark Renfroe shares how John Mark is one of his favorite men from the Bible because he did not let failure hinder him from future success.

  • We must not hide our failures. Bring them to the light. Only bad things grow in secret. Take your failures to trusted people who can help you navigate through them.

  • Failing doesn’t mean you are a failure. Don’t let your failures define you. God wants us to learn and move on from our failures. The Bible tells us that the righteous man may stumble seven times but he gets back up.

  • When we fail, we may be tempted to deny it, but we must own our part and not blame others.

  • Humbly apologizing and asking forgiveness of those impacted by your actions, or lack of action, is a big part of biblically navigating failure.

  • If you are in Christ, you can rest in the fact that there is now no condemnation for you when fail.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast

About John Bailey

Pastor John Bailey serves as the Chief Operating Officer at World Challenge. John came to know Christ in jail after some difficult struggles as a young man, and God has done a powerful work of transformation since! Spending 13 years in Next Gen ministry, he excelled in discipleship and helping young leaders discover giftings to serve God. John was called next to serve as a missionary and pastor in Western Europe. John and his family then returned to plant the Springs Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Today, the church is a thriving body of believers excelling in outreach and missions. John has now brought his giftings and vision to World Challenge, accelerating the spread of the gospel in America and around the World.

About Mark Renfroe

Mark married his college sweetheart, Amy, with whom he has four adult children—one girl and three boys. The Renfroes have been involved in field missions work for 30 years. They served in the Arab community of San Francisco for four years before becoming foreign missionaries in 1995. Mark was asked to serve as the Area Director for Assemblies of God World Missions in 2007. As part of his role, he led missionaries and interfaced with national church leaders in the 18 countries of the Arab World. In 2017, Mark created Reaching Africa’s Muslims, an initiative to mobilize, equip, and deploy indigenous African missionaries to reach Muslims on the continent. Mark has graduate degrees in Intercultural Studies and Executive Leadership. He currently serves as the Chief Missions Officer for World Challenge in Colorado Springs.