But our commitment is to do what we have promised, not to meet expectations, whether our own or those of others. If we can learn to measure effectiveness in terms of discerning what is really worth doing and keeping a covenant to do it, we might be both faithful and effective.

We might even suggest to a society obsessed with results that there is a different way to think about what it expects from its entrepreneurs, political leaders, sports heroes–and preachers.

from “Faith Matters” (in Christian Century, 2006)