How to be (un)successful by Pete Portal 

'Insightful, positive and practical, exploring the idolatry of success'

How to be (un)successful - an unlikely guide to human flourishing
By Pete Portal     
24-7 Prayer   
ISBN 978-0-281-08817-1
Reviewed by Robert Draycott 

 
This is a good book, insightful, positive and practical, one which is in touch with trends in social media and in the church. The basic premise is there in the title, the idolatry of 'success'. The author lives and works in Manenberg a township on the eastern outskirts of Cape Town. It is 'a community that shouldn't exist', a concrete reminder of structural racism.

He is aware that while as a 'white British guy' others see him as the 'reeeeal deeeeal', he feels a failure, one who works in stony ground. This and his evangelical faith are where he is coming from. This book is the fruit of his reflections on his experience, and on how his engagement with the kingdom of God has led him to ask 'what is missing?' rather than 'what is wrong'.

One way of looking at this is to see it as a 'coming of age book', coming out of his lived experience of a discrepancy between expectations, pressure to 'succeed', to produce 'results' and inspiring testimonies' for a triumphalist Christian agenda etc, and his reality.

There are six chapters, their titles all begin 'Success is..... Following God's calling over good ideas; Pursuing relationship over relevance; Growing in depth over volume; Transforming over transferring; Being a faithful presence in culture wars; and finally- Living in power and participation.

Each chapter concludes with five questions for reflection. Here is his closing quotation, from Ruth Haley Barton:

'Love is our ultimate calling - love for God, love of self, love for others and love for the world....There is no other adequate measure of success for us as Christians.'
 

Robert Draycott is a retired Baptist minister (various pastorates here and in Brazil), and a former chaplain of Eltham College