“…but i think where i land is that if there’s really truly sharing the one person doesn’t facilitate every other week but rather the load is shared a little bit more than that so it sort of decreases the impact a bit.”

That makes a lot of sense to me and I can get on board with that as well. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I have such joy and know it’s going to be a tremendous year as I screech down this last year to the big 5-0!

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alan – i think that’s what it is, that our definition of excellence is just that, our definition. man’s definition. and usually that is defined by the world, our culture, etc. and doesn’t usually have to do anything with God’s economy. in God’s economy, the least will be first. the weakest are the strongest. i don’t think excellence in performance is at the top of the list but rather purity of heart & commitment to serve & give. our measures are messed up, i am pretty sure, and i am just as guilty of getting sucked into them because they are so pervasive. God’s always about the heart and what is going on underneath.

jonathan – oh i loved this line: equality is the brother that kicks you in the ass. i finally watched this whole piece after having read the transcript when it first came out. it is so worth watching if anyone hasn’t yet. yeah, equality is painful and motivating and a big, big deal in the kingdom. thanks, jonathan! ps: i am getting ready to write something on grace jealousy next week!

tracy – oh my friend, i hear the dilemma and thank you so much for playing some of the other side because i know that is reality in so many ways. i definitely don’t have any easy answers but i think where i land is that if there’s really truly sharing the one person doesn’t facilitate every other week but rather the load is shareda little bit more than that so it sort of decreases the impact a bit. i am not saying that in community we can’t be honest a bit, too, of what works, what doesn’t. when things were confusing, when they were clear, but i think we need to take that on a more individual subjective basis instead of on an objective bar (this is good, this isn’t). some people are unaware completely of their strengths/weaknesses and need feedback and support and encouragement. other people, that is just who they are and they’re never going to “get better” possibly in some areas but it still lights their fire so why not make it an option. sometimes i have to sacrifice what i want/need/hope for for the next person. so i sit there irritated but that person is coming alive. i think there’s balance and i can see how there’s this line that crosses over where then it can be detrimental to others but i still would throw out the question: what spiritual transformation is taking place in me that is bigger than the moment? what is God trying to show me? what is God trying to show us as a community? what does it mean for this person to get to be part and how can i put my needs aside for them (especially if i have more power & margin). i believe in excellence in some areas, no doubt, i am one of the most get-it-done, perfectionistic, quality-oriented people around so my nerves take a beating a lot but i think the one thing i’m learning to focus on is noticing this other crazy thing in community that is so below the surface and seeing the beauty and glory in other people trying…bottom line: no easy answer and i think every person has to sort of figure out what works for them, what they can live with, what feeds their soul, etc. my biggest challenge, though, is to consider what God is up to in our hearts in the midst of our discomfort. ps: happy, happy birthday!

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I was once involved in a ministry that was reaching out to the broken. I’m purposely going to keep this vague to protect the “guilty.” Part of the evening every week was a time of teaching. There was this one guy who “felt called to teach” to this group of people. He did so about one out of every two times we met. He was horrible. I mean truly awful. I’m talking agony to listen to him for 45-60 minutes (and even then he did not want to stop…). Circular, going nowhere, having almost no meaning. Not only boring and dull (I can put up with that), but it was all injected with so much of his own “stuff” as to nearly obscure the gospel completely. Add the legalistic bent to it and it about put me over the edge. Seriously, I would rather have a root canal every week than to have to ever listen to someone like that again on a regular basis. So, no need to worry about “excellence” here. It was not even in the ball park. It broke my heart because we gave the “best” to those that could afford to pay their tithes in nice church buildings, but to those that are utterly down and out, any person with a bible in their hand and a self-proclaimed “call to teach” would do.

Scenario #2: A drummer who, seriously, could not keep the beat. Not even close. It threw off everyone, the other musicians, those trying to sing, etc. It was like this herky-jerky time. You could not focus on God for more than 5 seconds because you’d be jerked away by losing the spot of where you were in the song because the drummer had moved onto the drumming part of the chorus even though we were still in the verse. This went on for months until there even the hardiest of souls couldn’t take it any more and they finally had to suggest some lessons for this guy. No excellence there, either.

So, while I totally get what you mean when you say “excellence” and letting everyone have a part, the above two scenarios have also caused me to take a new look at my anti-excellence stance. I don’t want excellence just for the sake of excellence. It’s worthless before God and has no value or place in the Kingdom, in my opinion. But I also think that some people do seem better suited than others to doing some things, and it’s a wonderful thing if we can help them discover what those things are rather than letting them stumble around causing others agony by being in the wrong space for what they were created to do, you know? I wonder if we do a disservice to them by letting them keep on in areas where they just plain are awful at it.

I’m really asking this question here more than stating my opinion, as I have very mixed feelings on it. I know the pendulum has swung too far in one direction, toward the “excellence” camp. I reject that model, completely. But I’d love to hear if you folks think there needs to be a balance between not striving for “excellence” the way the church has historically defined it versus letting people do whatever they want for as long as they want even if they are truly horrible at it and there is no life in what is taking place. “Good enough” I agree with. I don’t want it all cleaned up and sterilized and “perfect.” “Excellence” in the traditional way it is used, I abhor. But, please, don’t ever make me sit and be tortured the way I was, above, for months and years on end.

Straighten me out, please. I’d really, seriously like to know if I’m missing the mark on this. I’m wide open to being dead wrong on this, truly.

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You are spot one concerning excellence! Excellence is performance related – no way around it. If those who perform better – using our own definition of “better”, I might add – are given more opportunities to perform than others, then we are demonstrating that our desire for performance is ruling our desire for relationship. God does not judge our performance – thank God! In God’s eyes, the one who stutters while speaking may be more beautiful, more useful, and more obedient than the polished speaking professional.

Thank you for this great post. It is very encouraging to see a group of believers attempting to live God’s love relationship with others. Life is messy, and God loves us in spite of the mess. If only we can look through the mess of others (and ourselves) and see the beauty that God has created! People who act out of that kind of attitude would truly become a community!

-Alan

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I was introduced to the pastorate through a WCA church (my first and final pastor gig, nine years of it), so I am quite familiar with the seventh core value, “We believe that the relentless pursuit of excellence honors God and inspires people”. This is what I was taught, believed, and passionately expected from everyone at our church. I think I understood it as “product excellence” for most of that time, but at the end was more convinced it was about doing what was “good enough”. I don’t know if it was the result of disillusionment with the “production” value in our services or just a growing understanding, but I came to believe that product excellence actually gets in the way of what God might be trying to do in our midst. We got so focused on every detail, every note, every comment (and yes…most definately the announcements) that we sort of lost sight of the role of the Holy Spirit in it all (at least I think I did…can’t speak for everyone on staff there).

There’s a war story (not sure which war) about a brigade who was ordered to build one of those floating bridges so the troops could get the heavy equipment and artillery across a swollen river. Time was critical. They had done this dozens of times, trained for it, and had the latest equipment and tools. The bridge kept washing out until finally they had to sort of duct tape the thing together. The general in charge was told of the problem and the team who built the bridge offered an apology for their failure to accomplish their mission with excellence. The general’s response? “Did the bridge hold long enough to get the equipment across the river?” Yes, it had. “Good enough is all we needed. Well done.”

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phyllis – i have been thinking about what you said a lot last night…that it has all become about product excellence not process excellence. and i really believe the process, the transforming, the learning, the growing, the becoming, that is what we should care about & what communities should be a safe container for…thanks again for sharing.

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