Grace...we all need it...we should all give it. BUT. I had a conversation with Pastor Mark our music pastor, and Pastor Tommy the other day that has been replaying in my head. We were commenting on an ongoing frustration in all areas of ministry. Lack of commitment and excellence. Most people who commit to volunteering at church do an awesome job. We have a team of people that ROCK! But every church has volunteers who have the best of intentions and still struggle to follow through. For years, we in the church have been living in the land of grace. "Well, if I'm a few minutes late, it's church folks and they'll forgive me." "I didn't have time to study my Sunday School lesson, so I'll wing it....everyone is busy so they'll understand." "There are two other nursery workers scheduled so they probably won't care if I don't show up."
In our quest to be grace givers, we have allowed people to serve Christ in a haphazard, second best way. I realize people who volunteer at church also work other jobs and have busy lives. But we need to decide if we can afford to let this trend continue or if we have to have those hard conversations with those who serve in ministry. I don't like those conversations...I tend to lean towards mercy, but since that discussion with my fellow pastors, I have had to ask myself if I'm willing to sacrifice my comfort or sacrifice the effectiveness of the way we reach the lost. I truly believe Jesus is coming soon so therefor, I am willing to sacrifice my comfort and help those who need it to see how they can step up and do their ministry in a more effective way. Obviously, I have to do it in a Christ-like manner but it needs to be done. In anything and everything that we do, we should be doing it as unto the Lord himself. Sometimes we have only ONE opportunity to share Jesus with someone...I want to do my best. As a leader, I need to be able to set the pace, raise the bar and speak the truth. It may seem harsh but if we keep this pattern of good enough, we will never see a pattern of excellence. I need to be able to communicate to the people in my circle of influence that every Sunday is our Super Bowl!
I'd love to hear some feedback. How have you dealt with this?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Living in the Land of Grace
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3 comments:
What a great blog PL! This really spoke to me and would be a good thing to continually remind myself :) Thanks!
Our pastor always tells us that we "need to do better at what we do best". We need to always strive toward excellency, especially the things of God!
In my job, if we accept good enough, we are quickly moved to teach gym class! As a teacher, you have to continually change and improve. If one year I achieve excellence, the next year I strive to better than the year before. Excellence is never enough, and we often need encouragement and our fire reignited by our administration.
Now, after reading your post, I am really evaluating my role in church and volunteering! And I never want to accept good enough on doing my part for God. If I go to those lengths in my worldly job, doesn’t God deserve more? I will pray that God will give you the answers you need, and God's fire will be reignited in all His ministries!
Thank you Pastor Lori for that message!
--Darla
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