Head of the Luftwaffe Herman Goering created this culture, and the notable feats of individuals were published in a regular bulletin to inspire both troops and civilians. The research showed that after a pilot was mentioned in the bulletin the kill rate of his peers rose from 0.8 to 1.2 aircraft shot down per month, but at the same time the death rate increased from 2.7% to 4%.

These higher death rates were primarily among more mediocre pilots, who needlessly put themselves in danger in the hope of achieving similar glory. This competitive culture was typified during the Battle of Britain when ace Werner Molders refused to return to German for a meeting unless his chief rival, Adolf Galland, was grounded for the period he was away from the front line.  

The researchers concluded: “High-powered incentives – in the form of public recognition – may backfire precisely because concerns about relative standing can induce too much risk-taking.”

The lessons from this research can, I think, be applied all too easily to gospel ministry. There is a tragically high fall-out rate from pastoral ministry – whether from disillusionment, burn-out or moral failure – and I suspect this is not helped by the creation of a competitive culture in which the notable feats of some who are exceptionally gifted are celebrated as an example or encouragement for others. Those that are highly successful in ministry can inadvertently have a detrimental impact on their peers.

We love to honour our perceived ministry “aces.” We can so easily boast of church size and church growth, number of books written or sold, number of churches planted, or social media profile. But the result  of such adulation is that more modestly able pastors feel inadequate, push themselves too hard, or take unnecessary risks and shortcuts to achieve a similar glory for themselves. Most pastors feel insecure about the fruitfulness of their gospel efforts compared to others in the limelight, even when they are experiencing what is perfectly normal for most people ministering in a comparable context.

We need to repent of jealousy and envy of others in our ministries, and to avoid glorifying their achievements and comparing ourselves to them. Gospel ministry should be a collaborative, rather than  competitive, activity as we all work together to build the kingdom of God. We can all too easily be envious of others’ greater gifting or the easier context in which they are labouring. We can even fall into a historical envy that leads us to wish we had been working in an earlier era of greater gospel progress, or which mistakenly assumes that the results of the past would be replicated in the present if only we adopted their methodologies. 

Resisting the competitive urge is especially difficult for the many men who enter gospel ministry who have type-A driven personalities, and who are used to being highly successful in their field. They carry an ingrained culture of success into their new calling, and expect to become an "ace" just as they may have been in other aspects of life. The work of the kingdom is not accomplished by a few super-star heroes “aces” who excel, but by an army of ordinary pastors plugging away. They may seem mediocre and average in comparison, but they are the workhorses that accomplish the goal. The German fighter “aces” could bask in their individual glory for a short time, but the unnecessary loss of so many “mediocre” pilots taking unnecessary risks arguable contributed to them losing the war.  We cannot allow this to happen in ministry.      

The vast majority of us can only expect to be average and not aces. To be average or mediocre is not to be a failure but to be normal!  I remember the ridicule that was heaped on government education targets a few years back that wanted all children to attain "above average" reading skills by the time they left school, which is of course impossible. It would be just as foolish to assume that most pastors will be "above average," and a sign of dangerous pride if we think that this is what we individually have to be.     

Gospel ministry “aces” prone to boasting and competitiveness ought rather to reflect on the truth that “from those who have much, much is expected.” Jesus will demand more from the ten-talent guy than the one-talent guy. Comparative objective performance does not tell you who has truly been a “good and faithful servant” of the master. The test is whether we have been fully faithful with what has been entrusted to us.