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When Good Enough, Isn't
It’s an alarming trend in church ecclesiology...at least it should be. The very thought of it should set off bells, buzzers, whistles, flashing lights; the whole smash! Yet, surprisingly it doesn’t.
So what is “it”? “It” is Intentionally striving for mediocrity.
At first glance my words may seem contradictory, but they are not. I chose them very carefully. Settling for mediocrity, or the practice of “just getting by” requires an intentional effort on our part.
Allow me to be perfectly clear: I am not talking about subjective opinions as to weather or not something could be better. I am talking about a mindset; a way of thinking that says, “Just getting by is good enough.”
It’s a mindset that removes striving for excellence from the equation. Once that happens our ecclesiology no longer lines up with the Gold standard found in Scripture.
Can our Christian experience settle for anything less than excellence? Honestly, I don’t think it can!
Scripture is full of God’s standard of excellence. The Book of Hebrews, for example, can be boiled down to the message that Jesus is better. He is the better High Priest. He is the better sacrifice. He is the better atonement. I realize it is an over used cliche, but when it comes to the salvation of our souls, God cared enough to send the very best!
So, how do we respond to this wonderfully, excellent gift of God’s grace? Well, many Christians, and churches, respond with a mindset that settles for getting by. Even more criminal, in my mind, is that we have accepted the lower standard as the new standard of excellence. Not only have we offered bronze in place of gold, we have convinced ourselves that bronze is as good as gold.
That said, this root cause is not blatantly obvious. People rarely stand up in a church meeting and say, “Whatever we decide to do, I think we should consider reducing our efforts so we can intentionally settle for mediocrity.”
However, it does present itself in a myriad of symptoms. For example: It’s found when worship team members and leaders fail to show up for practice. In extreme cases practice is reduced to a 10 minute run through on Sunday Morning. It is found when the facilities fall into disrepair. It is found when Sunday School Curriculum is outdated, but not replaced. It is found when people reduce their Christian experience to a couple hours on a Sunday morning.
In short, it is found in phrases like, “It’s good enough”, and, “This will have to do”, and, “God will understand.”
We can do better. No, scratch that. People far from God are desperately waiting for us to do better!
What are your thoughts on how to overcome mediocrity in the church?
Alan Chandler is a Consultant Partner with Church Doctor Ministries, a full-service church consultation ministry dedicated to helping Christians and churches become more effective for the Great Commission, to make disciples of all people. Alan can be reached at alanchandler@churchdoctor.org
So what is “it”? “It” is Intentionally striving for mediocrity.
At first glance my words may seem contradictory, but they are not. I chose them very carefully. Settling for mediocrity, or the practice of “just getting by” requires an intentional effort on our part.
Allow me to be perfectly clear: I am not talking about subjective opinions as to weather or not something could be better. I am talking about a mindset; a way of thinking that says, “Just getting by is good enough.”
It’s a mindset that removes striving for excellence from the equation. Once that happens our ecclesiology no longer lines up with the Gold standard found in Scripture.
Can our Christian experience settle for anything less than excellence? Honestly, I don’t think it can!
Scripture is full of God’s standard of excellence. The Book of Hebrews, for example, can be boiled down to the message that Jesus is better. He is the better High Priest. He is the better sacrifice. He is the better atonement. I realize it is an over used cliche, but when it comes to the salvation of our souls, God cared enough to send the very best!
So, how do we respond to this wonderfully, excellent gift of God’s grace? Well, many Christians, and churches, respond with a mindset that settles for getting by. Even more criminal, in my mind, is that we have accepted the lower standard as the new standard of excellence. Not only have we offered bronze in place of gold, we have convinced ourselves that bronze is as good as gold.
That said, this root cause is not blatantly obvious. People rarely stand up in a church meeting and say, “Whatever we decide to do, I think we should consider reducing our efforts so we can intentionally settle for mediocrity.”
However, it does present itself in a myriad of symptoms. For example: It’s found when worship team members and leaders fail to show up for practice. In extreme cases practice is reduced to a 10 minute run through on Sunday Morning. It is found when the facilities fall into disrepair. It is found when Sunday School Curriculum is outdated, but not replaced. It is found when people reduce their Christian experience to a couple hours on a Sunday morning.
In short, it is found in phrases like, “It’s good enough”, and, “This will have to do”, and, “God will understand.”
We can do better. No, scratch that. People far from God are desperately waiting for us to do better!
What are your thoughts on how to overcome mediocrity in the church?
Alan Chandler is a Consultant Partner with Church Doctor Ministries, a full-service church consultation ministry dedicated to helping Christians and churches become more effective for the Great Commission, to make disciples of all people. Alan can be reached at alanchandler@churchdoctor.org
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