If you look up the term excellence in a dictionary you’ll find the following words used to define it: excelling, eminence, high quality, unusual goodness or worth… just to name a few.
As we strive for excellence as a church and I strive for excellence in my life and work, I’m starting to see that true excellence is all of those things, but one more qualifier must exist.
Excellence = removing everything (from a worship service, discipleship process, volunteer experience, my life, etc…) that distracts someone from seeing Jesus. We can offer great quality and effort in all we do, but if we’re not careful we can be so good that we make an idol out of whatever it is we’re doing so well and allow Jesus to be overlooked. That, by any definition, would not equal excellence.
Shane,
I agree. As I’ve considered creative arts and technology in the church lately, I’ve become more and more convinced that excellence should not be our goal. Our goals should be to support our pastors in presenting the gospel with clarity (Colossians 4:4) and extending the gospel’s reach (Matthew 10:27). Excellence is only a means to those ends. It is a powerful means to those ends, nevertheless, so pursue excellence, but excellence with guiderails. Any excellence we bring to our services should increase the clarity and extend the reach of the gospel. Anything else likely is, as you said, idolatry.
dave
Just wanted to say again how much I enjoy reading your blog. You bring truth, honesty, reminders and inspiration. Thanks for the great posts. As I find myself in a fairly new leadership position, your daily views and words have helped me greatly.