Mark Goldman
As a psychologist and researcher, Angela Duckworth was puzzled why some intelligent and talented people persisted while others quit.
Most of those she observed were probably far more gifted than I am, but raw talent was not a reliable predictor of success. What she found was one characteristic that repeatedly predicted success above raw talent—grit.
John Wayne would be proud.
Duckworth wrote a bestselling book about it, and a corresponding TED Talk, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. A person may not have the most talent, but if he or she has grit, look out! They will change, adapt, and keep finding a way to make it work.
We can see examples of this in history, business, athletics, and even ministry. In fact, grit may be the one quality we need to emphasize most in ministry today, especially as church fads come and go.
It is tempting to look at others with their degrees, church facilities, and social media reach and feel like we are an insignificant speck somewhere in flyover country. We may be overlooking one of the most important qualities we need.
One example of this is a virtually unknown Illinois Baptist pastor named Peter Hagler.
Hagler was a pioneer to the state when it was barely one decade old. He settled in an area outside of Du Quoin known as Nine Mile Prairie. As other believers moved in, the desire to start a church grew. They wrote to two ministers in Tennessee asking them to come to Illinois, but neither did. So, out of necessity, they began the church in Hagler’s log cabin in 1829.
“Now, while we were in this destitute condition, I felt deeply impressed with a sense of duty to preach the gospel. I do not mean to say that I felt qualified to preach, but I felt that the gospel ought to be preached,” Hagler said. He was appointed as the first pastor of Nine Mile Baptist Church at about age 22.
Monumental—Peter Hagler’s grave marker says he lived 79 years, 1 month, and 27 days. What he accomplished is told by nine churches founded, 3,000 baptisms, and the author of this essay.
Nine Mile went on to start eight other churches. Bro. Hagler—armed simply with a Bible, a hymn book, a pocket concordance, and “a heart consecrated to the work of winning souls”—became a circuit riding preacher.
“I used to furnish my own outfit,” he wrote, “and travel and preach for ten dollars per month… I was as poor as anybody. I lived on public land in a log cabin… I resolved to give myself to the work. I thought that if I could do my duty and please the Master, it would be enough… I never suffered rain or snow, nor heat or cold, to prevent me from filling my appointments, although they were frequently 25-to-35 miles from home; and yet I do not suppose that during the 30 years of my ministry, upon an average, I missed one appointment a year.
“Thus, I traveled a great many long, cold, snowy and rainy days across the lonely, wild prairies, sometimes dripping wet, sometimes my overcoat would be frozen stiff.”
It is estimated that Hagler baptized 3,000 people. Oh, and on top of that, he raised seven orphaned children.
Historian Justus Bulkley wrote of Hagler, “Very few men in Illinois have left such a record. The influence of such a life no human mind can estimate. Before the presence of such a character, we stand with feet unsandaled and head uncovered. We revere…such a man… His work will stand when the scepters of monarch and diadems of kings shall blend in common dust.”
I should know. I am one of the direct beneficiaries of his ministerial grit. I grew up in Nine Mile Baptist Church.
As an Illinois Baptist pastor for 20 years, I have seen many fads and fears, technologies, threats, and programs promising to be the magic bullet, but one underrated quality seems to be grit.
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart,” Paul says. Even though they were afflicted, crushed, perplexed, and driven to despair, ministry grit had the odd result of causing them to be renewed day by day.
God can use any of your skills and abilities, no matter how small they may seem to you. But one thing to remember, despite what you have, he can always use your grit.
Mark Goldman has served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Herrin since 2017.